This recipe is from our New Orleans Kitchen feature.
Gumbo is a hotly contested specialty in New Orleans, with the best version usually made by your mama. And while arguing over which roux is darker and who serves the best gumbo can be fighting words, mention Dooky Chase and heads start nodding. Often called the Queen of Creole Cuisine, the revered late chef/owner Leah Chase served gumbo to luminaries from Duke Ellington to President Barack Obama (who earned demerits for adding hot sauce to the bowl). Chase’s family recipe is still the gold standard. No wonder this down-home restaurant, a Treme landmark since 1941, was awarded a 2025 James Beard America’s Classics Award, saluting it as “a cornerstone of Creole cuisine and Black American culture.”
The history of gumbo is impossible to separate from the history of New Orleans and Louisiana. What’s in the pot reflects directly to the inhabitants of the region, from French Creoles and Cajuns to indigenous people, enslaved Africans and Spaniards. The name comes from a West African word for okra, ki ngombo, suggesting that gumbo was originally made with okra. The Choctaws and, possibly, other local indigenous people, contributed the use of filé (dried and ground sassafras leaves) as a thickener. Of course, the French brought the technique of making a roux, although New Orleans gumbo is based on a much darker roux than the classic French style.
“The Creole Cookery Book,” published by the Christian Woman’s Exchange of New Orleans in 1885, calls gumbo making an “occult science” that “should be allowed its proper place in the gastronomical world.” In a city that is bewitched by gumbo of all types, this iconic dish always casts a spell.
Shrimp Gumbo
“The Creole Cookery Book,” published by the Christian Woman’s Exchange of New Orleans in 1885, calls gumbo making an “occult science” that “should be allowed its proper place in the gastronomical world.” In a city that is bewitched by gumbo of all types, this iconic dish always casts a spell.
Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut oil
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup chopped onions
1 lb small white shrimp (30/40), peeled and deveined
8 oz Creole hot sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz beef stew meat, cubed
8 oz smoked ham, cubed
6 chicken wings, cut in half
1 Tbsp file powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp salt
2 dozen oysters, with their liquid
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground thyme
Directions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over low heat and add the flour to make a roux, browning until golden about 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook over low heat until the onions wilt about 4 minutes.
- Put the shrimp, sausages, stew meat and ham in a 5-quart pot over medium heat. Pour the onion mixture over the ingredients and add 3 quarts water, the chicken wings, file powder, paprika and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes or until broth reaches desired thickness.
- Add the oysters, parsley, garlic and thyme. Lower the heat and cook until the shrimp is pink, about 10 minutes more, before serving.
Notes
- Shrimp (30/40) means that there are between 30 and 40 shrimp per pound, indicating a medium-sized shrimp
