This delightful Seafood Gumbo is full of shrimp and crab and it has a nice spicy kick. There’s nothing like a warm bowl of gumbo, and I especially like a seafood gumbo.
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Making a big pot of gumbo is a little labor intensive, but it lasts for days and only gets better with time. It’s perfect for a lazy afternoon spent at home. Build a nice fire in the fireplace and put your biggest pot on the stove.
The most time-consuming part and the most important part is making the roux. It is a process that should not be rushed. It forms the base of the flavor and you really want to take the time and develop a deep, robust flavor. Making roux can take some practice. Turn the heat up too high and it will burn and you will have to start again.
In addition to shrimp and crab, this Seafood Gumbo is also flavored with the Holy Trinity- (onions, bell pepper, and celery), lots of garlic, a bottle of beer, thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, and lots of Cajun seasoning. Plus there’s a pound of andouille sausage for some meatiness.
Equipment Needed
- 6 to 7-quart Dutch Oven– It’s important to use a Dutch oven with a thick, heavy bottom so the roux doesn’t burn. This Dutch Oven is perfect.
- Fine-Meshed Sieve– for straining the shrimp stock. This set of 3 strainers is very useful in the kitchen.
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Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 pounds unpeeled fresh large shrimp
- 1/2 cup butter, divided
- 2 (32-ounce) cartons chicken broth
- 1 pound andouille sausage,, sliced
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup green onion tops
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pound lump crabmeat
- Cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Peel and devein shrimp, placing shrimp shells in a large pot. Refrigerate shrimp until needed.
- In a large pot, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and cook until pink. Then add broth.
- Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm until needed.
- In a large Dutch oven, cook sausage until browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add oil and remaining 1/4 cup butter to Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat until butter is completely melted.
- Add flour and stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
- Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently until roux is a dark caramel color. This will take 30 to 40 minutes.
- Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add green pepper and celery and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add beer and stir in well.
- Pour shrimp stock through a fine-meshed sieve into Dutch oven. (I like to add it in 3 separate additions, mixing well between additions.
- Add Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves, plus the reserved andouille sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- Add green onions, parsley, and shrimp. When shrimp are pink, remove from heat and stir in crabmeat.
- Serve with white rice.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe made 14 cups. I wanted to freeze half of it so I prepared everything according to the recipe, included the sausage and crabmeat and then put half of it in a container for the freezer. I read where cooked shrimp doesn’t freeze too well so I left the shrimp out before freezing. When I take it out of the freezer to have at a later date, I’ll heat the gumbo and then add a pound of raw shrimp to cook the night we have it for dinner. Really delicious recipe!
Can I substitute olive oil for the vegetable oil?
So delicious. A little lengthier than I thought but so worth it!
This was a huge hit! My neighbor requested I make this for him for his birthday today. I just hope it comes out as great as it did the first time. Thanks.
This was an awesome recipe! I tweeked a little and used shredded chicken instead of the crab due to it is so expensive right now. My husband is also GF, so I used gluten free flour, and used low sodium cajun seasoning. It was the bomb and everyone loved it for our superbowl party!
Modified the recipe…did not use beer, subbed plant-based sweet Italian sausage for the andouille. Added some smoked paprika. Really yummy. Time-consuming, but it was worth it!
Absolutely amazing! My family raved over how delicious this recipe was. It took some time to make, but was well worth it. The large batch recipe allowed us to enjoy it for a couple of days which tastes even better due to the flavors having even more time to harmonize.
Absolutely amazing! My family raved over how delicious this recipe was. It took some time to make, but was well worth it. The large batch recipe allowed us to enjoy it for a couple of days which tastes even better due to the flavors having even more time to harmonize.
Time consuming but soothing while preparing it. Delicious and filling!