It's been a while since I've posted here on Tumblr! But thought this recipe warranted a return to my blog! Every year I take the carcass from our Thanksgiving turkey and make LEFTOVER HOLIDAY TURKEY GUMBO! It's DELISH & pretty easy to make! First you want to start off by making a turkey stock with the carcass. Here are the step by step instructions to make the stock & the gumbo! ENJOY!
RESCUED TURKEY STOCK
Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass
16 cups cold water
2 large celery ribs (rinsed & cut into large chunks)
2 large carrots (rinsed & cut into large chunks)
2 onions, quartered (do NOT peel)
10 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
1 Tbs black peppercorns
2 tsp dried thyme (or a few sprigs of fresh)
Directions: 1. Strip all meat off of the turkey carcass and save to add to gumbo later. Don’t worry if you can’t get it all, it’s okay to leave some on the bones. 2. Break up bones and put them in a large stock pot, along with any turkey skin or un-edible meat. 3. Add the cold water to the pot, turn heat to high & bring to a boil. 4. Prep vegetables. Leave the onion skin ON, as it gives your stock a lovely rich color. 5. When stock comes to a boil, add all remaining ingredients and turn heat down to a bubbling simmer. 6. Simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. 7. If you let the stock reduce down to where you only get 7-8 cups, it will have more flavor, even if you have to add water when making the gumbo later. 8. Once you feel your stock is ready, strain it through a fine-meshed sieve/colander into a large bowl. If your colander is not fine, line it first with a cheesecloth. Discard the bones and vegetables. 9. Refrigerate the stock if you are not using it right away. Once the stock has cooled overnight, you can freeze it, if you aren’t planning to use it soon.
LEFTOVER HOLIDAY TURKEY GUMBO
Ingredients:
6 quarts rescued turkey stock, made from your leftover turkey carcass
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat flour, as I haven’t used white flour in a few years now)
1 cup oil (I used canola oil, but you can use any oil, even bacon fat if you want to be really decadent)
1 lb. leftover turkey meat, white or dark, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. Andouille or smoked sausage, sliced (I used Cajun mild pork smoked sausage. If you wanted to make it a little healthier, you could use chicken or turkey sausage.)
2 lbs. small raw shrimp
2 lbs. okra, sliced (I used frozen, but you could use fresh)
2 onions, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
Several cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Creole seasoning to taste – OR black, white and cayenne peppers, to taste
Few dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste (I used Crystal)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Serve over cooked long grain rice (I always use brown rice).
Directions: 1. MAKE A ROUX - Blend oil and flour thoroughly in a thick stock pot or Dutch oven, large enough to cook gumbo in. Cook over medium-high to high heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. Be very careful not to burn it. If you start to see lots of black specks in the roux, dump it out and start over. Keep cooking and stirring until the roux gets darker and darker. If you use whole wheat flour, the roux will naturally start off a little “blonde” and you want it to eventually get the color of chocolate. This will take you approximately 15-20 minutes. You’ll get a good arm workout!
2. ADD THE HOLY TRINITY – When your roux is done, throw in all the onions, bell peppers, celery and the garlic, too! This will cool things down a bit and arrest the cooking process of the roux. Cook until the vegetables are soft.
3. BROWN THE SAUSAGE – You don’t have to do this step, but it cooks out some of the fat from the sausage. Brown the sausage in a separate frying pan. Remove sausage onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up more grease.
4. ADD STOCK, SAUSAGE & SEASONING – Once the vegetables are soft, add to the pot the stock, sausage, bay leaves, and Creole seasoning (or 3 ground peppers) to taste and stir. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting seasonings as needed.
5. ADD OKRA – Now add the okra and cook for another 30 minutes. Make sure that the “ropiness” or “stringiness” from the okra cooks away.
6. ADD PARSLEY & TURKEY MEAT – Now add the parsley and reserved turkey meat. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
7. ADD SHRIMP – Last but not least, add the shrimp and simmer for another 5-6 minutes, until the shrimp are just done, turning pink. Be very careful not to overcook the shrimp, which will make them rubbery.
8. ADJUST SEASONINGS – When the shrimp are done, you can adjust the seasonings by adding salt, pepper and or hot sauce. You don’t want it to be spicy. If there is any fat on the surface of the gumbo, try to skim off as much as possible.
9. READY TO EAT! Serve in a bowl with hot rice! ENJOY!
