Seafood Gumbo

A nice seafood gumbo is a great one-pot meal any time of year.  Throw in a crisp garden salad and some crunchy French bread and you have a dinner fit for a king!

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups chopped okra
1 1/2 cups of beer, such as Shiner Bock
6 cups seafood stock
2 Tbsp file powder
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 (8-ounce) container crab claw meat, picked free of shells
8 stone crab claws
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-pound medium fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1-pound red snapper or red drum fillets, chopped
2 (8-ounce) containers shucked oysters
1 (8-ounce) container jumbo lump crabmeat, picked free of shells
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. In an 8-quart stockpot, heat oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes; add flour and stir together to form a roux. Cook, stirring often, until roux is the color of peanut butter – about 20 minutes.
2. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and okra. Cook vegetables, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add beer, seafood stock, file powder, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, crab claw meat, Worcestershire, salt, and cayenne. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 1 hour.
3. Add shrimp, fish, oysters, lump crabmeat, and crab claws to mixture. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked through; add parsley.
4. Serve with rice, and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Yields – 8 Servings