You know when it's cold and dreary outside and all you want to do is make a gumbo and cuddle on the couch? Well, I have the perfect recipe for you!
Just when you thought Spring had arrived, Louisiana weather likes to throw you for a loop. It’s mid-March and we just had a weekend with temperatures in the low 30 degrees F. Can you believe it? I’m hoping this was the last cold snap of the year. Fingers crossed!
Preston (the husband) and River (our chocolate lab) brought home a good amount of ducks this season. Our freezer has been stocked up with duck and goose meat which means this girl needed to find a new recipe to make. HELLO DUCK GUMBO!!
We used a gadwall and a wood duck for this recipe. I would recommend using 4 ducks if they are smaller in size. If you have larger ducks, like mallards, 1 or 2 birds will be plenty. You want to end up with 1 or 2 lbs of duck meat. And if you don’t have enough, it’s ok! Just use a combo of duck and chicken meat.
Above is a picture of River and the wood duck he retrieved. So proud of him!
To the average person, this gumbo may not be anything special. But to us, it a representation of the circle of life. It is a beautiful thing to eat food that my husband harvested with his own hands. And knowing my dog picked up the duck. And I cooked it into a beautiful meal. It truly is a family contribution and it makes the gumbo taste that much better.
Louisiana Duck and Andouille Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2-4 ducks (de-boned and de-skinned) Cut into chunks
- 1 lb andouille sausage Cut into 1/2" slices
- 1/2 cup duck fat
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 10 cups duck stock (or chicken stock)
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup okra sliced and smothered
- 1 green onion stalk optional
Instructions
- First, take the duck meat off the bones. Remove the skin. You want to slice the meat into 2-inch chunks. You want to end up with at least 1lbof duck meat.
- Combine duck meat, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to a bowl. Stir together and marinate at room temperature while you make your roux.
- Dice all your vegetables and keep to the side.
- Make the roux: Heat a heavy-bottomed large pot over medium-high heat. Add the duck fat, butter, and oil to the pot. Once the oil mixture has heated up, add your flour. Stir continuously until your roux darkens to the color of milk chocolate. Stir, stir, stir. It is very important that you do not let your roux burn. It could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes for your roux to turn a milk chocolate color.
- Add your veggies: Once your roux is done, add the onion,stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Once onion has softened and turned golden, add bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Turn heat down to low setting, cover and let the vegetables smother until soft for about 20 minutes.
- Push vegetables to the side of the pot and place your duck meat in the middle of the pot. Raise the heat to medium and brown the duck for about 8 minutes per side. Once duck is browned, add sausage and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally so your veggies don’t burn.
- Add 1 cup of stock and your smothered okra. Scrape the bottom of the pot to get all of the crusty bits. This will add more flavor. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. This will help soften the duck meat.
- Add the rest of the stock and turn up the heat until boiling.Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours. Make sure to taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Serve over rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Till next time.