How To Make Gumbo With Fresh Dungeness Crab
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Gumbo is one of our favorite things to make with fresh Dungeness Crab. Winter is crab season on the North Coast of California and we try find ways to use as many of the delectable crustaceans as we can while they are available.
This recipe is made gluten free by using gluten free flour.
Watch A Video
Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Gumbo:
Ingredients For Gumbo:
- 1/3 Cup Bacon Fat
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Onion, cut in chunks
- 2 Celery Ribs, roughly chopped
- 1/2 Red Pepper, roughly chopped
- 2 Large Cloves of Garlic, peeled
- 1 Dried Chipotle, chopped
- 1/2 Pound Andouille Sausage
- 3 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon Cajun Spice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 4 Ounces Tomato Sauce
- 8 Ounces Peeled and Chopped Tomato Pieces
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- Splash of Hot Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Filé Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Bacon Fat
- 1 Package Frozen Okra
- 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
- 1 Pound Shrimp, cut in thirds
- 1/2 Pound Picked Dungeness Crab Meat
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Make The Roux
A good gumbo starts with a good roux and we are going to take some time to slowly cook a nice dark one. We’ll start by melting bacon grease in a saucepan or stockpot over low heat. Once our fat is melted we will sprinkle on the gluten free flour. We always wonder whether gluten free flour is going to work in these applications but never fear, it works great. We’ll use a whisk to get the flour stirred in so there are no lumps. This is a low and slow process so don’t rush it!
We are going to cook and stir for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour until we have a roux the color of mahogany. Be careful not to let it burn, just keep stirring and it will be fine.
Remove From Heat
When our roux is done we will remove it from the heat. Keep stirring for a moment because it will continue to cook.
The Trinity
We are going to chop up our version of the Cajun Trinity, using onion, celery, red pepper, garlic and one dried chipotle chile. We’ll roughly chop these into pieces and then put them in the food processor and grind them to a paste.
Add The Vegetables To The Roux
Once our trinity is all processed we will add it to the roux.
Andouille Sausage
Next we’ll add the andouille sausage to our mixture. We’ll put the pan back on the burner and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Boil The Beef Broth
While our roux, trinity and andouille are cooking together we will boil the beef broth in a large stockpot.
Add The Roux To The Broth
Once the vegetables have cooked and the broth is boiling we will pour the roux mixture into the boiling broth. You’ll want to use a whisk to get this all stirred together well.
Sugar and Cajun Spice
Next we’ll add our sugar and our cajun spice. We have an Emerill Blend that we make that works great for this job.
Salt, Tomato Sauce and Tomatoes
We’ll add a little salt, our tomato sauce and our chopped tomatoes. We have used canned diced tomatoes for this but you can also peel and chop fresh tomatoes.
Bay Leaves, Thyme and Hot Sauce
Our last flavorings are bay leaves, thyme and hot sauce. We use our Red Rocoto Sauce which works great for this. We are going to stir this all together and let it simmer for 45 minutes.
Filé Powder
After cooking for 45 minutes we’ll add 1 teaspoon of filé powder. This really makes it smell like gumbo! We’ll let this cook for another 20 minutes or so.
Cook The Okra
While that is cooking we can prepare our okra. We’ll melt some bacon fat in a small sauce pan and pour in the bag of okra. We’ll add a tablespoon of vinegar and cook, stirring for 15 minutes.
Rinse The Okra
After the okra has cooked we will transfer it to a fine mesh strainer and rinse it. You can skip this step but we are not fond of the slimy coating that is part of okra.
Add The Okra To The Gumbo
Now we’ll add the okra into our pot of gumbo. We’ll stir it in and let this all cook together for about 10 minutes.
Shrimp
Next we’ll add the shrimp. We’ve cut them into thirds for bite size pieces.
Crab
Now we add the Dungeness crab. We’ve shredded it so it will diffuse throughout our gumbo. This is the part we really like and it is why we wait until crab season to make gumbo.
Worcestershire Sauce
Our very last ingredient is Worcestershire Sauce.
Cook One More Hour
We’ll cook our gumbo on low heat for another hour to let all these flavors deepen and then it will be time to serve. We like this dish with gluten free cornbread.
Here are some other crab recipes to make with fresh dungeness crab.
- Thai Coconut Curry Crab
- Yellow Curry Crab
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
- Dungeness Crab Cakes
- Seafood Chowder
We have videos about cooking and picking crab that might be helpful if you are new to it.
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Gumbo With Fresh Dungeness Crab
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Bacon Fat
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Onion cut in chunks
- 2 Celery Ribs roughly chopped
- 1/2 Red Pepper roughly chopped
- 2 Large Cloves of Garlic peeled
- 1 Dried Chipotle chopped
- 1/2 Pound Andouille Sausage
- 3 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon Cajun Spice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 4 Ounces Tomato Sauce
- 8 Ounces Peeled and Chopped Tomato Pieces
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- Splash of Hot Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Filé Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Bacon Fat
- 1 Package Frozen Okra
- 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
- 1 Pound Shrimp cut in thirds
- 1/2 Pound Picked Dungeness Crab Meat
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Make a roux. Melt 1/3 Cup of bacon fat in a saucepan on medium low heat. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup of gluten free flour. Use a whisk to stir to make sure there are no lumps. Continue to cook the roux, stirring almost constantly for 30 minutes to an hour. be careful not to burn the flour. You want a roux that is a dark mahogany color. Don’t rush this step. When it is ready, remove from heat.
- Put the onion, celery, red pepper, garlic and dried chipotle in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it is smooth. Pour the mixture into the roux. Put the roux back on the heat and add the andouille sausage. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Put the beef broth in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Pour the roux into the boiling broth and stir thoroughly with a whisk.
- Add the sugar, cajun spice, salt, tomato sauce, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme and hot sauce and let cook for 45 minutes.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon of filé powder and cook 15 more minutes.
- Prepare the okra: Melt 2 tablespoons bacon fat in a saucepan. Pour in the okra. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and stir. Cook for 15 minutes. Rinse the okra and then add it to the gumbo. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the shrimp, crab and Worcestershire Sauce. Cook one more hour. Serve right away. This gumbo freezes well if you have leftovers.
