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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
Ask people who’ve lived in gumbo country—a contentious term, but for now we’ll define it as almost anywhere along the Gulf Coast—and you’re likely to get a different answer from everyone. Some say it must have okra since the word gumbo most likely comes from the West African Bambara language, in which okra is called gombo. Others claim it’s not gumbo without filé powder, the dried and pounded leaves of the sassafras tree. Most agree that there must be roux, the French word for the mixture of fat and flour used as a thickener. And you don’t even want to mention tomatoes.
While I’m not from Louisiana, this version of gumbo comes from the New Orleans kitchen of my friend Pableaux Johnson, a prairie Cajun from New Iberia. He collects post-Thanksgiving turkey carcasses to make stock. Like most Cajun gumbos, much of the flavor comes from roux cooked until it’s the color of dark chocolate. Long-cooked roux loses most of its thickening power, so the gumbo is more like soup than chunky stew.
Most people serve gumbo with rice, but some folks like to add a scoop of potato salad as well. Bowls are often sprinkled with finely chopped parsley and sliced green onions. Some consider a splash of Crystal hot sauce essential. No matter how you eat your gumbo, there’s somebody out there who’ll tell you it’s wrong.
Turkey Bone Gumbo
- ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 turkey leg
- 4 cups water
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 link smoked sausage, cut into small pieces
- Kosher-style sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Cayenne powder or other red pepper to taste, optional
In a cast-iron skillet or similar oven-proof pan, stir together the flour and oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about two hours, or until the roux’s color turns dark chocolate. Remove from the oven.
While the roux is cooking, roast the turkey leg in a separate pan, but for only an hour or so. When the skin is nicely browned, transfer it to a large pot. Add the water, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the meat falls from the bone. Remove the turkey leg and pick off the meat, but keep the stock in the pot.
Cook the onion, bell pepper, and celery in the roux over medium low heat until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add the sausage, salt, black pepper and cayenne, and cook for another 20 minutes. Add the roux mixture and turkey meat to the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for at least an hour. Taste, then add salt, pepper and cayenne as needed. Serve in a bowl with a scoop of rice.