Seafood Gumbo Recipe (2024)

I'm from New Orleans but have been living away for many years. Good fresh okra is almost impossible to find in markets even in the height of summer. Tends to be tough and woody. Why gamble? Good frozen okra is a sure bet and you can find it year round.
If you object to the sliminess of okra, pan roast it for a few minutes to kill the mucus-y stuff before adding to the gumbo. Easy to do and you might even find that okra is a pretty tasty vegetable on its own.

I'm from New Orleans and never heard of cooking rice in the gumbo. It is cooked separately. A scoop is placed into the serving bowl and the gumbo ladled overtop.

Traditionally roux is equal parts fat and flour. For 2 qts. of liquid one would normally use 2/3 c of each plus 1-3T. file powder depending upon how thick you want the gumbo. Extra fat should be skimmed before adding file. Usually either file or okra is used to thicken, not both. Vegetables are finely chopped. Celery is not used but bay leaves are a must. This recipe may be a very good soup, but is not even close to gumbo we make here in New Orleans.

I was alway taught one used file' or okra but not both

This may offend purists but it saves time and calories. I brown my flour ahead of time (no oil at this point) in a 300' oven until it reaches a deep caramel color and store it in the frig. On gumbo day it gets stirred into oil at a ratio of 1 part oil to 2 parts flour,. The time to get to a nice brown roux is cut down to 5 or 7 minutes instead of 30 or more, and the calorie count from fat is cut in half.

Gumbo can handle almost any ingredient, with one exception:
tomatos do not ever ever ever belong in Gumbo. Period.The end.

This is probably a good soup/stew, but it is not a Louisiana gumbo. Tomatoes are never put in gumbo. Rice is cooked separately and added to each individual bowl of gumbo.

I've been making Gumbo for years and one thing you should not do is add the file' while the gumbo is still cooking. Always add it as a spice once in the serving bowl. Adding it while it is cooking will cause it to get stringy. Using a homemade seafood broth will make this dish shine!

I’m from New Orleans, too.In the seafood gumbo:Frozen okra works out well.Tomato is not normally used.Gumbo is served on top of the rice which is cooked separately. This allows people to choose how much rice they want in their gumbo.File is normally used in turkey / andouille sausage gumbo but not in seafood okra gumbo. If you are going to use it, it goes in your bowl when you serve it.

Well that was yummy! (Frozen okra was fine.) Would definitely make it again. Served with corn muffins.

I made this yesterday as it was a perfect 35 rainy and grey outside. This recipe really let down the wife and I. We thought it was lacking in oomph and dint have enough flavor. I also added andouille sausage and crawfish and followed the rest of the recipe. This one was disappointing.

I made this the other night; it was one of the worst things we ever had from these recipes. The only thing omitted was the tomato; I did everything else as instructed. There was hardly any taste, and the okra didn't help with the consistency of the gumbo. My wife insisted that we have it again on the second night, hoping the flavors would come out. Nope; I dumped the rest. I would suggest the scallop gumbo from these recipes instead. That was very good.

roast flour in 300 degree oven until caramel colored. use 2 pts flour to 1 pt oil for roux. cuts down roux time to 5-7 minutes.to eliminate okra sliminess, pan roast frozen sliced okra (thawed) several minutes before adding to gumbo

This is not a "rule," although clearly some people think they have the last word. There are Cajun cooks in Louisiana who add tomatoes to their gumbos. Generally, there are no rules with gumbo with the possible exception that a roux is made, and they are traditionally served with rice.

Never never never let file powder boil. It will turn the gumbo stringy. And not that it changes the physics of gumbo, but I'm also from New Orleans.

Cooked the rice separately, omitted the tomato and added a splash of Marsala wine. Also used scallops, lobster meat, and salmon. Scallops were the last addition because they get chewy even faster than shrimp. Like others have suggested, I pan roasted the okra and omitted the file powder.

I just made a “lighter” version of this w/o fish and rice (just water… gasp!), and it’s really good! Love how versatile this is, and will definitely make the fully loaded recipe for filled with PNW goodies.

This is just like what I've always made, except that file seasoning is hard to come by in my neck of the world, so I substitute for that and thyme with Bell's Seasoning and dried Kaffir lime leaves. I use a package of mixed frozen seafood (clams, squid, etc.) and a package of large shrimp (no fish as it falls apart the next day). Also four good-sized sausages, and the for the roux, butter, always butter. And definitely yellow bell peppers for the color and homemade chicken soup for the stock.

I don’t know what recipe these naysayers were following, but we thought it was absolutely out of this world. If we served it with company we’d add a little more fish. At first I was dubious about just adding the vegetables to the liquid. Usually I would expect the vegetables to be sautéed first, but it all worked out just fine.

We save shrimp shells with onion tops, celery leaves, etc. to make homemade shrimp stock, a great base for this. Seems a bit bland if only water.

This note is addressed to people not from Louisiana who want to make gumbo: For some reason, gumbo stimulates a particularly Louisianian snootiness from many Louisiana cooks. It is my recommendation that you ignore all these people saying that you must do or not do this or that when making gumbo. There are as many ways to make gumbo as there are people making it. It is made in wide variety in Louisiana. Make it how it seems right to you and make it until it becomes your own.

Only 1 jalapeño, no more! Added 2 this time and it was too spicy. Try adding sausage. Make cornbread for the side.

the first time i made gumbo for a potluck i decided to add the rice rather than carry two hot pots. big mistake. the rice soaked up all of the liquid and the dish became more of a dry-ish jambalaya. all was eaten, but not with the joy i had anticipated. next time i did it the right qay.

I love that people are arguing with Jacques Pepin.

This is a chefs gumbo - meaning the flavors are light yet complex. I do agree with a few other comments being too light. To boost, I added about a cup of olive oil. In hindsight, I wish I had used a vegetable or chicken stock instead water. I stand behind water in a recipe is almost always an opportunity to add more flavor by replacing it. Overall, I'd suggest moving over to the scallop gumbo in here - also suggested in prior comments - before I'd make this recipe by the book.

I did not read the reviews when I decided to make this. After the fact , I read them and worried that it would not be good. I used the sausage as suggested and added some fresh lobster meat. It was wonderful. My husband is very critical and has excellent taste. He loved it. I even liked the tomatos.

Another New Orleans native here. I made this recipe with a few changes. Not a fan of okra in my gumbo, nor am I a fan of file' powder. I used this recipe because the normal fish and crabs I'd use in NOLA are unavailable in Dallas. I agree that a gumbo is normally served over rice, but I don't agree that adding the rice to the gumbo is heresy. In fact, i doubled the rice for the thickening factor. The resulting gumbo was very bland. Thank goodness for Creole Seasoning. I added quite a bit.

used homemade chicken stock instead of water, added an andouille sausage, everyone loved it.

This was a great base for a gumbo. I reviewed the recipe and made a few changes asI made it. I reduced the poaching liquid by 1 cup and added a crumbled bay leaf. I also added 1 t allspice and 2 grilled and sliced jalapeno sausage links. I used 2 fresh jalapenos and omitted the cayenne. Several folks added hot sauce at the table. I served with additional rice and a skillet of cornbread along with a green salad. It was well received by all.

I liked that the vegetables stayed crunchy. I didn't have enough shrimp so I mixed in scallops. I cooked the shrimp in their shells, then de-shelled after they cooled. I added:Andouille sausage, 1 Tb Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp AllspiceI eliminated the file powder. If you don't like okra, use less. Perhaps add another Jalapeno?