548 replies to this topic

[fooey]

It probably sounds like I'm splitting hairs, but I'm not.

The closest analogy that comes to mind is making stock itself: don't stir, don't boil, skim fat and impurities as soon as they appear, etc.

Why?

So the stock is clear and tastes clean, not adultered by fats and impurities that get emulsified back into the stock by boiling or stirring.

It's not the best analogy, but it's close.

In this case, people are adding mirepoix to the hot roux + roux oil and then adding hot stock, etc. All of that oil in the roux is going right into the stock and, for the most part, it's not coming out. You almost have to ask why they even bother to skim the stock in the first place. It's not going to taste clean no matter what you do now, it's going to taste fatty.

Edited by fooey, 27 August 2009 - 07:41 PM.

[philadining]

I honestly don't know what I'm doing, so I can't authoritatively say what's happening to all my roux oil, but as I mentioned, after adding the stock and letting it simmer, I had a LOT of oil break out. That was undoubtedly some stock fat, some andouille fat, some residual chicken fat, and surely some oil from the roux.

All I know is that the final product did not, in fact, taste fatty, more like what you described: roux-thickened chicken soup. So think at least some of the fat from the roux is being released, and removed, just at different times in the different techniques.

Edited by philadining, 27 August 2009 - 07:42 PM.

[philadining]

I think you are splitting hairs - may I quote your original post?

6. I remove the fat at the very last moment, so it's a lot (stock fat, sausage fat, chicken fat, roux fat, etc.) I want all that goodness in the pot until the end stage.

So do you really labor over skimming your stock to be fat-free?

[fooey]

I honestly don't know what I'm doing, so I can't authoritatively say what's happening to all my roux oil, but as I mentioned, after adding the stock and letting it simmer, I had a LOT of oil break out. That was undoubtedly some stock fat, some andouille fat, some residual chicken fat, and surely some oil from the roux.

All I know is that the final product did not, in fact, taste fatty, more like what you described: roux-thickened chicken soup.   So think at least some of the fat from the roux is being released, and removed, just at different times in the different techniques.

There are so many variables, but if fat is coming to the top such that you can skim most of it, then you're doing something right.

But those gumbos where the fat doesn't come to the top at all, where the gumbo's thickening agent (liaison) is some sort of roux-fat emulsification, that's wrong.

If you look at my Picture 6, there's just a bunch of fat that comes to the top. There must have been 4 cups of it in all, but it all came to the top, where I could remove it. Picture 4 and 5 shows the gumbo once most of the fat is removed. Note how it doesn't look like a fatty emulsification, but like a roux-thickened chicken soup.

Edited by fooey, 27 August 2009 - 08:21 PM.

[fooey]

So do you really labor over skimming your stock to be fat-free?

I'd never get it to be fat free because, let's face it, gumbo is fat made jolly.

As much as I can skim, however, I do, unless it's a fat I really love, like duck fat. :)

But this is not the point I'm trying to make.

The point is that the way we Cajuns add oil-separated roux to stock does not result in an emulsification that traps the fat in the stock. The fat should not be part of the thickening; that's the purpose of the roux. The roux is used as it's supposed to be here, as liaison, as thickener. With this method, the fat eventually comes to the top where most of it can be skimmed.

This other method, adding mirepoix and then hot stock to roux that has not separated from its oil somehow results in an emulsification of fats and roux and everything else. I almost wonder if the fat is somehow modulating the thickening power of the roux. It's like the fats are being trapped in the gumbo, like oil gets trapped in egg to make mayonnaise. This is why many of the gumbos above look like fatty stews.

The fats do not come to the top and cannot be skimmed. This results in a fat-roux-thickened stew that, while it might taste like gumbo, completely lacks the correct viscosity or mouth-feel of authentic gumbo. It doesn't result in a clean-tasting soup bursting with the hearty flavors of its ingredients. In effect, these are much closer to fricassé than to gumbo.

Edited by fooey, 27 August 2009 - 08:31 PM.

[HungryC]

The point is that the way we Cajuns...

Let's not over-generalize: the cooking techniques of south Louisiana are quite variable. The traditions of your family, or your town, do not necessarily represent the traditions of other French-speaking folks in south LA. Pardon me for belaboring the point, but "Cajun" culture is not a monolithic ethnic concept. French speaking folks across south LA have an incredibly diverse set of influences, ranging from Irish, Italian, German, Isleno, Alsatian, Native American, Senegalese, Congolese, etc. What Donald Link's Cajun-German-upland-South family shares as its food traditions have (sometimes more than subtle) distinctions from heavily Native American folks in southern Terrebonne parish, or the French-speaking African-Americans from Arnaudville, or the (vestigal) Spanish settlements around Sorrento & Gonzales. The seafood-heavy gumbos of southern Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Jefferson parish are worlds apart from the hen & smoked sausage gumbos of Evangeline parish.

Back to gumbo: how much fat cooks out toward the end is partly determined by the amount of fat in the sausage. If you continue to cook it, more fat will cook out of the sausage...the same is true if you're using skin-on chicken. I like to skim it off, but that's purely personal preference. Some folks like a slight sheen of oil on top. Beaucoup (non-fine-dining) restaurants in Louisiana will serve a bowl of gumbo with some oil floating on top, and it isn't considered inappropriate by (most) diners.

[fooey]

The point is that the way we Cajuns...

Let's not over-generalize: the cooking techniques of south Louisiana are quite variable. The traditions of your family, or your town, do not necessarily represent the traditions of other French-speaking folks in south LA. Pardon me for belaboring the point, but "Cajun" culture is not a monolithic ethnic concept. French speaking folks across south LA have an incredibly diverse set of influences.

Variable, yes, but there are fundamentals.

What I'm saying here is I think the method of adding stock and mirepoix to hot roux is essentially wrong as a fundamental step.

I'm fine if you want to say that it's just a variation of technique, but I stand by the fact that it results in a completely different "fatty gumbo", one where the fat is emulsified into the gumbo itself, not floating on top (see pictures above).

If all of roux fat eventually came to the top and you could skim it, I'm sure it would be fine, but that's not what's happening. The roux fat is being trapped or emulsified into the gumbo itself and is becoming part of the liaison, and that's not a technique variation, that's an error.

I mean, there are people that bring a white chicken chili to a Texas chili cookoff and expect to be taken seriously too. Is it chili? I suppose that depends on what you call chili.

We're are passionate about our food. The fact that is hasn't be codified like French cuisine is not a reason, I feel, to allow anything to pass as authentic. That's a slippery slope that leads to stuff like acceptable etouffeé being a pound of crawfish tails, trinity, and a can of Campbell's creme of mushroom soup in a pot.

Edited by fooey, 28 August 2009 - 09:36 AM.

[Ce'nedra]

Mmm this is making me ferociously hungry for some Southern food! I'll try out the gumbo recipe from my Culinaria America cookbook!

[Chris Amirault]

I have become a real proponent of using tasso, even in small quantities, in most of my gumbos. How do others approach that potent pork in theirs?

[HungryC]

I have become a real proponent of using tasso, even in small quantities, in most of my gumbos. How do others approach that potent pork in theirs?

Tasso is a real boost to a chicken or duck gumbo (wild duck, I mean), but I don't use it much with seafood. I prefer a quality smoked ham (less spice) or more lightly smoked & spiced sausage with shrimp, crab, and/or oysters (though tasso & oysters are goo-oood together in other ways).

[fooey]

I have become a real proponent of using tasso, even in small quantities, in most of my gumbos. How do others approach that potent pork in theirs?

I use it like I use smoked sausage, but not usually in place of, just as a compliment to, say if I don't have a smoky enough taste.

I'm careful to taste it before I use it in anything, however.

It's either much too salty or not salty at all.

If it's too salty, I rinse it, like I rinse brine off of brined meat.

It's the smoky flavour I want, and that survives desalination.

Edited by fooey, 18 September 2009 - 12:36 PM.

[HungryC]

Made a pot of okra-andouille-shrimp-oyster gumbo today, as my better half is feeling under the weather. At our house, gumbo functions as a cure-all slightly more effective than pho ga.

Cooked the onions in the roux...

Then I added the bell peppers, celery, & garlic...too bad you can't smell photos.

Water, plus andouille & seasonings. After the veggies stop foaming, I added shrimp, boiled for a while, then slipped in the oysters, green onions, and a spritz of lemon juice for a quick 10-15 minute final simmering.

Gumbo isn't very photogenic, but I was attempting to capture the okra & its little seedy bits...

Edited by HungryC, 13 November 2009 - 12:51 PM.

[John DePaula]

Made a pot of okra-andouille-shrimp-oyster gumbo today, as my better half is feeling under the weather. At our house, gumbo functions as a cure-all slightly more effective than pho ga.

Gumbo isn't very photogenic, but I was attempting to capture the okra & its little seedy bits...

Looks pretty damn good to me!

Just got John Besh's book, My New Orleans and am all set to make Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo. Crossing my fingers, here... haven't made gumbo in many years.

Edited by John DePaula, 13 November 2009 - 03:45 PM.

[John DePaula]

Made a pot of okra-andouille-shrimp-oyster gumbo today, as my better half is feeling under the weather. At our house, gumbo functions as a cure-all slightly more effective than pho ga.

Gumbo isn't very photogenic, but I was attempting to capture the okra & its little seedy bits...

Looks pretty damn good to me!

Just got John Besh's book, My New Orleans and am all set to make Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo. Crossing my fingers, here... haven't made gumbo in many years.

Surprising how easy this dish was to make. Prep work took a while but once that was done, it was smooth sailing. The recipe produced a pretty solid example of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Didn't rock my world but was, nevertheless, quite enjoyable. The sausages I had access to were not as good as ones from New Orleans, and that made a difference. I think I've almost always had the seafood versions with shrimp, crab and oysters. That'll be my next gumbo.

[HungryC]

[quote name='John DePaula' date='15 November 2009 - 06:28 PM' timestamp='1258331291' post='1712854']
[/quote]
The sausages I had access to were not as good as ones from New Orleans, and that made a difference. I think I've almost always had the seafood versions with shrimp, crab and oysters. That'll be my next gumbo.
[/quote]
Quality "seasoning meat" (sausage, tasso, ham, smoked bacon, etc) is one of the most important things in Cajun cooking, IMHO. Insipid sausage makes for a boring gumbo. It's worth seeking out good stuff, and stockpiling the good stuff once you find it.

[Chris Amirault]

I've always got a pound or two of homemade tasso in the fridge just for this reason. It's very simple and terrifically good.

[PopsicleToze]

HungryC, your gumbo looks out of this world and is making me very hungry -- and it's a long time until lunch. BTW, love the color of your LC.

Rhonda

[cpl55]

Hello, all -

I have been wading through the extensive gumbo threads here, and they are fabulous and informative, but have left me a little overwhelmed and would love some input from those of you who tried some of them.

You see, I have this co-worker whose family is from Louisiana, and she has basically asserted that no one without such roots can make a decent gumbo. (A challenge if ever I've heard one!)

So, needless to say, I want to make the best, most authentic (must be New Orleans-style) gumbo anyone has ever tasted. My culinary honor is at stake...

I have used various recipes over the years, but this hasn't been an area of focus or expertise for me. If anyone can recommend a recipe, I would be forever grateful!

Cheers,

Christina

www.sleeplessfoodie.com

[John DePaula]

Well depending on the other replies you get, I can recommend this one by John Besh: Drew's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. (By the way, I love Besh's book My New Orleans, and I highly recommend it.) I think the hardest part might be to locate good sausage. It might be worth it to mail order some from a good shop in S. Louisiana/New Orleans.

[Chris Amirault]

I think that the debates above make it clear that looking for the "best" or "most authentic" is gonna get you in trouble fast. I think John is right about sausage and/or tasso, both of which you could make if you aren't happy with what you can find. Tasso, in particular, is pretty straightforward and makes a stunning difference to the quality of the final dish.

[cpl55]

John, thank you so much for the recommendation. I went with John Besh's "Drew's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo" recipe, and it was fabulous! It was met with rave reviews by all co-workers, and the one who had doubted my ability to make a decent gumbo in the first place conceded that it was as good as what she grew up with, and that I nailed it. It really was a fabulous gumbo, I recommend it to anyone looking for a good starting point!

Thanks again,

Christina

www.sleeplessfoodie.com

[philadining]

I've been making gumbo semi regularly for the last couple of years, using continually-evolving recipes based on info in this thread, with tweaks based on reading lots of cook books. I especially like some of the recipes in Besh's My New Orleans, and Link's Real Cajun.

Each batch is enjoyable, but I have to admit that they're partly a warm-up for one particular dinner. Each fall, I vacation with a group of friends that can range from 20-30 people, and we trade-off cooking duties, and gumbo works well for a crowd. Plus, the leftovers just get better and better.

Last year I had good luck making a big pot of duck and mushroom gumbo, and another of classic chicken and andouille. But they disappeared too quickly, so this year I upped the quantities, and made about 4-5 gallons of each.

I'm still getting my head around working with these large quantities, but it worked out pretty well this time (with only a couple of minor tragedies...) and I managed to document most of the process, so I figured I'd share.

Last year I mail-ordered andouille and tasso from Pochés, and was very happy with it, but I'd gotten an enthusiastic recommendation for Jacob's, so this year I tried them. I can't say that I strongly prefer one company's products over the other, I like them both.





I got 6 fresh ducks, 6 chickens, made a trip to Penzy's for spices, picked-up the requisite vegetables, and worked on it over the course of a couple of days. I had enough time to do some prep well ahead, and had many friends to aid in chopping, so I started early.

First, I roasted off the ducks and chickens, picked the meat, and made stock from the bones.











I actually had one big mishap - some friends had roasted a pig a few nights before I was scheduled to serve the gumbo, so I had the bright idea of popping the ducks into that big smoker after the pig came out.



Seemed like a good plan - but I hadn't anticipated that the ducks would put of so much fat so fast that it would overwhelm the drip pan, overflow into the coals, and ignite! By the time we noticed, and wrestled the rotisserie mechanism off of the smoker, the ducks were pretty much charcoal...



Amazingly, I was able to recover most of the breast meat from these 4 ducks, it tasted just fine, but the legs were too far gone, and the carcasses were no good for stock. Thankfully I still had a couple more ducks that I roasted conventionally in the oven, and got a decent amount of meat from them, and stock from those bones (with a couple of chickens thrown in) and a good supply of duck fat, so I was able to continue on my plan. I also made pork stock from the pig roast bones, so between 6 chickens, 2 ducks and leftovers from a 75 pound pig, I had plenty of meat, and lots of bones for stock.

Skimmed, de-fatted, chilled the stock, had it ready for the next day.

The next day, I chopped about 20 onions, 10 bell peppers and several bunches of celery. Then sliced up the Andouille and Tasso. Browned about half of the sausage, left the rest as-is.







I also got some slab bacon from Jacob's, and added that to the duck gumbo, to add the smokiness that I did NOT get from cooking the ducks in the smoker...



Made my spice mix: Three kinds of paprika (sweet, hot, and smoked) cayenne, a couple of kinds of freshly ground chili powders, black and white pepper, garlic powder, toasted onion powder.





Got that all organized, and ready to go, and got the stock simmering, before starting the roux.

The meeze:



I saved the fat from the ducks I roasted in the oven, and used that as a base for the roux. That was a very fine smelling roux, if I do say so myself!





It got much darker than this, but there was no opportunity to take pictures at that point, it was pretty frantic. As the roux got very dark, I dumped-in the onions. That's something I picked-up from the Besh cookbook: to do the onions first, before adding the peppers and celery. I think I'm going to keep doing that, I feel like the onions got better caramelized on their own.

I split the roux out into two pots, added the rest of the vegetables and the spice mix, sautéed them for a while. I then added that roux-spice-vegetable mix to the stocks (one pot of duck/chicken stock, one of chicken/pork stock.) Added the tasso and a little bit of chopped andouille.



Added bay leaves to each, a bunch of thyme to the duck gumbo, and let them simmer for a few hours. Skimmed fat. Then a couple of hours before service, I added the picked chicken and duck, and the andouille. Continued simmering, skimming fat, and then shortly before service, added salt to taste, and adjusted the spice a bit.

Cooked rice, served it, and then sat down for the first time in about 8 hours, and had an Abita.

In all the chaos of serving, I failed to get any pictures of the finished product, but it turned out well. I think I'll follow this basic procedure, except for being a little more careful when smoking ducks...

Lessons learned: Jacob's Andouille is tasty. It's good to have help chopping. Roux is $*&%##ing hot, especially when it spatters on your hand. Ducks output a lot of fat. Good gumbo is worth the trouble.

Edited by philadining, 06 October 2010 - 11:55 PM.

[saturnbar]

Thanks for sharing. My biggest fear when doing such large portions is how much spice to add. Even salt gives me a hard time, the quantities are so large that its easy to really overdo or underdo, and I have a hard time trusting myself. Next time try getting some smoked sausage from Jacob's or Poche's, it really adds a ton of smoky flavor and I find the andouille a bit dry, so it helps balance things out on that front. What was your final consistency like? Was it yaya dark? I like the idea of whole chickens, for some reason I tend to go with just thighs and then deglaze the roasting pan after they have cooked to come up with some stock. Will try it your way next time I go industrial.

When are you coming down again? We have a few new spots, and still a few you haven't tried.

[philadining]

No solid plans yet, but, as always, I'm hoping to be down your way before too long - always appreciate any tips on new places to try!

It's funny, a friend asked me the same sausage question: whether I got any other sausages along with the andouille from Jacobs' and I had to smack myself in the head... of course, that would have been a good idea! The chicken and sausage gumbo turned out plenty smoky, with the andouille, the tasso, and the smoked paprika in the spice blend, but I definitely like the idea of a mix of sausages. I noticed that one of Besh's recipe uses primarily other sausages, with the Andouille more of an accent. Will definitely try that next.

Interestingly, the duck breasts that I rescued from the inferno wasn't smoky at all - I guess they didn't have time to absorb smoke, they were just subjected to a rapid, high-heat roast (the built-in thermometer on the smoker was pinned past 800 degrees!)

I know what you mean about worrying about spice levels. I just trusted my math in quintupling the recipes I riffed-on (for each pot) although I intentionally went a little light on the seasoning, and then added some more toward the end. I put NO salt in the spice mix, and none in the stocks either, and waited until pretty close to service to adjust for salt. Of course I ended up putting a good amount in at that point, but at least I wasn't surprised by it over concentrating as the gumbo simmered.

The final result wasn't quite as dark as I had intended. The roux itself was pretty dark, but that was one scale-up that I got wrong. I actually started out intending to make two batches, but when I was done with the first, it just seemed like SO much roux that I convinced myself that I must have done the math wrong, and didn't need any more. In the end, I would have liked a bit more, so I should have trusted my numbers, not my eyes.

I think that next time, I'll do a batch of roux ahead of time and have it standing by for last-minute adjustments.

If I'm making a small pot of gumbo, I'm like you, and just use chicken thighs, browning them off first and using both the fat and the fond. But for this project, I needed so much stock, both chicken and duck, that it seemed more practical to roast whole birds, pick all the meat and toss the carcasses in a stock pot. The breast meat from either bird stays fine, as long as you don't put it back in the gumbo in too early. Even if you do, it just falls apart, which isn't so terrible...

Thanks again for the sausage reminder - I hereby vow to diversify! I do sometimes find Andouille a little dry, but I've decided that it's not as big a problem if I put most of it in late in the game. I like to chop some up finely and get it in early, so the flavor fully permeates, but it seems that if you put all of it in too early, you can cook all the fat right out of it, and while your broth tastes great, the sausage itself can be a little cardboard-y.

I don't expect to ever perfect this recipe, and look forward to tweaking it, often.

Edited by philadining, 07 October 2010 - 03:01 PM.

[Chris Amirault]

Fantastic report. I'm interested to know how you'd compare Pochés, and Jacob's. I always use me own sausages, tasso, etc., but I'm interested to know how these two compare.

[saturnbar]

Thanks again for the sausage reminder - I hereby vow to diversify! I do sometimes find Andouille a little dry, but I've decided that it's not as big a problem if I put most of it in late in the game. I like to chop some up finely and get it in early, so the flavor fully permeates, but it seems that if you put all of it in too early, you can cook all the fat right out of it, and while your broth tastes great, the sausage itself can be a little cardboard-y.

I don't expect to ever perfect this recipe, and look forward to tweaking it, often.

The same holds true for smoked sausage even though it's fattier, you can still overcook it. And I think the smoked takes too browning a bit more than andouille. But you still don't need to brown all of it.

Give us shout when you are getting close to coming down. We just got a Feast (also of Houston) which people are digging.

Edited by saturnbar, 08 October 2010 - 06:22 AM.

[philadining]

Fantastic report. I'm interested to know how you'd compare Pochés, and Jacob's. I always use me own sausages, tasso, etc., but I'm interested to know how these two compare.

I expected to have a stronger opinion about Jacobs vs. Pochés, but to be honest, next year I might flip a coin!

I apologize for not taking a good cross-section photo of the Jacob's. I do have one of the Poché's, but please not that this photo is NOT a side-by-side comparison of Jacobs and Pochés, the smaller sausage in this photo is a very good-tasting andouille, but one made close to me, by Leidy's.



The only real cross-section photo I have of the Jacob's is this one:



It's hard to compare the two from these photos, but the Jacob's is smaller in diameter, a bit more finely-ground, but still chunky, and denser. They were both quite good though, eating them on their own, or in the gumbo.

A local food critic here in Philly, who had been a restaurant reviewer in New Orleans for several years, had recommended Jacob's, and was somewhat dismissive of Poché's, because Poché's uses liquid smoke in their andouille. I found that hard to believe, but sure enough, they list it plainly in the ingredients... But that really doesn't bother me: the sausage was delicious, and I could detect nothing artificial about its smokiness, perhaps they just put a little in to add an extra kick. Hey, if it works, it works.

The Jacob's tasso was in smaller pieces than the Poché's, but I don't know if that's always true, or just what I happened to get from each place. And I'm not even sure which I prefer - the smaller pieces certainly have a higher spice and smoke ratio, but are also a bit drier, and more tedious to chop.




Both places shipped in a timely manner. The Poché's packaging was a little better, they used a styrofoam-lined box and a chunk of dry ice, while Jacobs just used a regular cardboard box and a regular freezer pack. But that's almost an insignificant distinction, these are smoked meats, in cryovac, I suspect they're pretty hardy. I used 2-day shipping from Jacob's - Poché's says they only do overnight, and the Poché's was definitely a little cooler when it arrived, but I don't think it actually made any difference.

The two places calculate the costs differently: Poché's per-pound prices include shipping, and there's a 10 pound minimum. Jacob's says they charge you only for the actual shipping cost, and don't add a premium for handling it. As it worked out for me, on the east coast, it cost a little more for the Jacob's order: about $100 total for 10 pounds of meat and shipping. Poché's would have charged $82.50 for a similar order. But the Jacob's shipping charges will likely be different for different areas, it might be cheaper if you're closer, and in the end, it's not THAT big of a difference.

I sincerely enjoyed the products from both places, they seemed very similar to me in terms of quality. The Poché's was larger in diameter, coarser, and less dense than the Jacob's, but I honestly can't say that I strongly preferred one over the other.

I found that the shipping costs and speed of other sources, such as Cajun Grocer, were not as good: both pricier and slower.

I placed an order for some popcorn rice and some Steen's cane syrup from the Prudhomme online store, and they didn't even ship the order for almost 2 weeks (not in time... ) My Cajun Grocer order took longer than I'd expected it to, but arrived just in the nick of time. Cajun Grocer carries Pochés, and does not have the minimum 10-pound order, so it might be more convenient to order from them, but the prices, especially shipping, are definitely better ordering direct from Poché's.

So, sorry that I can't say anything definitive... maybe sometime I'll order from both! And more than just Andouille and tasso too.

[Katie Meadow]

Never made a gumbo, but I'm already bored with Thanksgiving and thinking ahead to the weekend after. Traditionally I make turkey soup, as my pre-nup specifies that I get the carcass every year, plus a reasonable amount of meat to take home (it's mostly dark meat after we give my MIL her due.) Too bad my teenage nephews are starting to outnumber the vegetarians--they are really cutting into my take.

But this year I'm feeling ambitious; pictures of spicy turkey gumbo over beautiful white rice are calling to me. I've been scanning this thread and reading other recipes from various places and pretty much have an idea how a gumbo comes together, but I have one technique question that has to do with the roux and adding the elements of the trinity.

All my cooking instincts tell me to saute the trinity in oil or bacon fat or whatever until softened and flavorful, and THEN add it to the finished roux. But many of the southern recipes I've looked at just dump the chopped raw trinity right into the roux and then cook that down for a few minutes more. John Besh adds just the onions to the roux first and cooks it another ten minutes, then adds the celery and green pepper after that when the next bunch of ingredients is added. Is there some flavor advantage to doing this? I can't imagine why. It just isn't what I would think to do.

[MikeHartnett]

Adding the vegetables without heating them first helps cool down the roux and stop it from overcooking or burning. Not sure if there's more to it than that.

[Chris Amirault]

I've always thought that as well. Of course, there's the benefit of being at the stove at the moment the trinity hits the roux, one of the truly remarkable sensory experiences in cooking.