Duck and Sausage Gumbo

[ruthcooks]

Duck and Sausage Gumbo

The original recipe, Gumbo with Herbs (read greens) came about after my trip to New Orleans in the late 60s. My boss had suggested we try the gumbo at Felix's Oyster Bar and I came home and tried to duplicate it to serve at my restaurant, Cherotree. We had boned about 16 ducks for a special Christmas dinner so had a lot of duck stock on hand. There wasn't quite enough left for another weekend (I served about 30 persons on Friday and Saturday by reservation, fixed menu)so I added a little more stock, some duck and sausage meat for this recipe, which was even better. It's still a big recipe, but freezes very well. I used spinach, turnip greens and mustard greens. Possibly kale or collards would work also.

• 
  

Roux

• 1 c duck fat
  
• 1-1/3 c all-purpose flour
  

The trinity

• 1 c chopped onion
  
• 1 c chopped red or green peppers
  
• 1 c chopped celery
  

Soup:

• 6 qt duck stock
  
• 3 lb canned tomatoes, pureed
  
• 4 10-ounce packages frozen greens, combination of your choice
  
• 1 10-ounce package frozen okra with tomatoes (or omit)
  

Seasonings

• Red pepper flakes
  
• Hot pepper sauce
  
• Salt and black pepper
  
• Thyme
  
• 2 bay leaves
  

Meat:

• 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage
  
• Meat of 1 duck
  

For serving

• Hot cooked rice
  

In a heavy stock pot, make a fairly dark roux of the fat and flour. I cook over a low heat for a long time, stirring occasionally, for about 1 ½ hours, but you can do it faster.

Add the onion, peppers and celery, and stir and cook until they are soft. Add six quarts duck stock (all at once), tomatoes, greens and okra. Stir until it comes to a boil. Add seasonings and simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Don’t overdo the seasonings, you will be correcting them later. Cool soup and refrigerate overnight for flavors to blend. If you leave soup in the pot, use ice water in the sink to cool faster.

Next day, bring soup to a boil. Cook Italian sausages, drain and dice. Add with duck meat to the soup. Let simmer until ready to use, then adjust seasonings. Thin with additional duck stock, if needed. Serve in soup plates with a scoop of rice in the center.

Keywords: Main Dish, Soup, Intermediate, Duck

( RG872 )