MRS. ALICE'S CHICKEN OYSTER GUMBO
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 hens or fryers, cut up
• 1 lb ham (or couple of ham steaks), cut in pieces
• 1 lb smoked sausage, cut in pieces
• 2-3 heaping cooking spoons flour for roux
• 3 Tbsp Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce
• ½ cup cooking oil
• ½ bunch of celery, chopped
• ½ large onion (or 1 small), chopped
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped
• 1 whole head garlic, chopped
• 1 qt oysters •2 heaping Tbsp filé parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1.Salt, pepper and flour the chicken and fry in about 1 inch of cooking oil; partially cooked. Remove chicken.
2. In separate pan, fry down sausage, then ham. Set aside.
3. In about ¼ cup oil, sauté the celery, onion, green onions, garlic and parsley until celery and onions are transparent.
4. In a 10-quart heavy pot, brown flour in ¼ cup cooking oil for roux. Watch carefully, stirring so it won’t burn. Sauté until you get a light chocolate brown color. When you add water, the roux lightens in color. Add Kitchen Bouquet, which helps darken the flour mixture.
5. Add the sautéed seasonings to the roux, then add water as needed. Add the partially cooked chicken, salt and pepper (not too much salt). After it boils for a while, add ham and sausage. (Hens, if used, have to cook longer.) When it starts to boil again, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done, adding warm water, if needed.
6. Add oysters. Oysters are cooked when ends curl up. Add filé, turn off heat and let set until
ready to serve. Serve over rice in soup bowl.
