SEAFOOD GUMBO WITHOUT CHICKEN?? Blasphemy. Let me tell you how to cook it. Go to Greers or the piggly wiggly and buy a pack of chicken legs, not just any chicken legs, look for the pack that says “discounted for quick sale”. They usually a little off colored but don’t worry it’s perfect. Go home and change out of your good clothes but leave the chicken in the backseat. Once you change and it’s dark, hop back in the hot car and enjoy the aroma of the discounted chicken. Head to the causeway. Go to the boat launch. Not the nice one by Ralph and Cacos but the one further down that’s crappy. Take the chicken leg and tie a piece of white string to it. Don’t try to cut corners and use fishing line you already got in your tool box. It’s dark and those crappy lights at the launch makes it where you can’t see good and you’ll be searching for the fishing line all night. Throw the chicken leg about 4-5 foot off the end of the dock by the launch. Sit down, pop a top and wait. But don’t drink Bud Light because those 3 guys in the little John boat that did use the crappy launch will give you funny looks when they finally make it back to the launch. Wait till you feel a little tug on the line, then pull it in slowly. Be real gentle. Well lookahere! One of the tastiest creatures God ever made is on the other end. Scoop him up and put him in a bucket, basket, crate, car trunk or whatever you can find so he don’t get away. Repeat until you got a dozen crabs. When you are done, give the chicken legs to the stray cats that have been trying to eat the crabs all night. Hopefully it didn’t take but a few hours and you are fit to drive home.

Next day:

Boil the crabs and pick 11 of them. Take the last one and cut it in half.

Now start the roux. Just like AU338MAG said get the oil hot and stir like a mad man. Get it dark. I mean real dark. How dark? My grandma says dark, dark… right before it scorches. Yeah you got to scorch a few rouxs to know when that point is I’m afraid. When it’s dark enough, throw in your trinity, and some seasoning. When the trinity is wilted a little throw in some seafood stock. If you don’t have any boil your shrimp hulls the day before and use that water. Throw in a little okra, lump crab, claw meat and claws, and the two crab halves. Oysters if you like. I don’t put tomatoes in mine. Those are for a sauce piquant. Put a few bay leaves and minced garlic in there too. Let all that simmer a few hours or 3. Add salt and spice to taste. At the end of the cook, about 7 minutes before serving, add in your shrimp. Serve over rice. Add file if you like it thick.

Pro tip… you can grab the crabs in the middle of their back and they can’t pinch you. But at first you aren’t sure if this is true and you will be a little jumpy. Don’t let anyone see you jerk your hand back or you lose all your cool points.

Another pro tip… You can also blanch your shrimp before you peel them and use that water for your stock. But don’t let the shrimp get past a light pink color or they will be rubbery in the gumbo.

Another pro tip… bring bug spray to the causeway. It’s not for the bugs, these bugs ignore bug spray and it actually makes them swarm. But the Crabs seem feed better when the over spray deet gets in the water.

Is that you stalekracker?

🤣

See my gumbo thread. Add shrimp Ramen.