Chicken Venison Gumbo with Sausage!

Cooking

Mar 31

Chicken Venison Gumbo!

With rice and last season's venison sausage added, an ordinary Chicken Venison Gumbo becomes a full meal deal: Chicken and Venison SAUSAGE Gumbo. Utilizing organic, free-range wild meat -- now that's Cajun! I like my rice on the bottom and Ritz crackers on the side. Some Cajuns would frown on my choice in crackers, but I find them great with gumbo.When we get the first hint of a cold spell in Texas, my youngest son (who is in his early twenties now) wants to know when I'm cooking the first pot of Chicken & Venison Sausage Gumbo. Then he times a trip home to eat his fill before escaping with several more servings. Chicken venison gumbo is a great dish made even better with the addition of venison sausage. We don't tire of eating it several days in a row. If any remains, we freeze it for future use. Try this recipe and I'm betting you'll revisit it again and again, enjoying this hearty gumbo for years to come.Cajun chefs use two basic gumbo bases: a roux and an okra-and-tomato-base thickened with a roux. Take your pick, but we use the roux here. This is a pretty basic recipe found in almost any Cajun cookbook and I play with it almost every time I cook it. Particular cooks get frustrated when others "junk up" their Chicken & Sausage Gumbo recipes, but through experimentation comes discovery. The Cajun tradition is an andouille sausage, but I have used doves as well as venison. I would encourage you to do the same and adjust as the game you harvest varies. I have never used chukar or pheasants in place of chicken, but I'll bet they would be great.Take a look at the recipe, watch the video and give it a go. In the video I offer some hints and time saving tips. I'm betting you'll love Chicken & Venison Sausage Gumbo as much as my family does -- maybe even as much as my son does.I use red bell peppers for the color and contrast they bring to Chicken Venison Gumbo.

CHICKEN VENSION GUMBO (Venison SAUSAGE Gumbo) RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1 c each of chopped onion, bell pepper, celery (I sometime use a little more onion and a little less bell pepper, just my personal preference)
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced (can substitute 2 tsp store bought minced garlic)
1 1/2 c flour
1 c cooking oil
2-3 bay leaves
4 to 8 chicken breast (can also use 2 rotisserie chickens, de-boned and chopped)
1-2 big boxes, unsalted chicken stock
Several links of your preferred venison sausage
Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. I use Tony Chachere's as it has the right balance of spices. Use it like salt and don't overuse it until you get a feel for how it cooks and works.
Several cups of rice, dependent upon the number of people you wish to serve
Optional: a pint of oysters and their juice

PREPARATION

Roux: mix 1 c of oil and 1 c of flour in a glass or Pyrex bowl. Place in microwave and cook at 30-50 percent power for 5-minute increments. Stir between each period. Plan on 2 to 3 of the 5-minute intervals. Next cook in 2 1/2 minute increments as the Roux begins to brown. I add 1 Tbs. flour when I stir it after cooking the third and fourth time. It will be hot and cooking now; be careful. Cook until it turns a pecan brown. This should take about 2 to 4 more intervals once you are cooking it in 2 1/2-minute increments.
Place the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic in a large cooking pot (I usually use a 12 qt.) over a medium flame. Cook until softened. Season a little with Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning.
Spoon out the Roux in the large cooking pot with the softened onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic.
Add 1 of the box of chicken stock. Keep the heat on medium or medium high to get broth, Roux and vegetables simmering. Add the other box of chicken broth. I use unsalted as I can always add salt (hard to take it out of a dish once its in there.) Bring to a boil before turning down to a nice simmer. Cover and cook for an hour.
Add 4 to 8 chicken breasts cut into 1 in cubes. Cook another hour. (A nice, delicious short-cut is to buy 1 or 2 rotisserie chickens, available from most stores these days. Bone and chop them). Add a little Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning.
Cut venison sausage into short pieces about 2 inches or so. I cut links into 1/4 in. slices, then halve those into a half moon. Add to the roux and cook for another hour.
Continue to taste and add Tony Chachere's"s Cajun seasoning if necessary. Carful with this! It can get hot in a hurry.
Serve over rice.
Chicken Venison Gumbo always tastes better the second day as the chicken shreds finer. If the rotisserie chickens are used, it will be fine the first day.
Most Cajuns cook seafood gumbo with a tomato and okra base. But, play with this and add what you want! I will present a nice seafood gumbo sometime in the future.
Lots of Cajuns like adding oysters and their juice the last hour to their Chicken Venison Gumbo. Normally I do not.
I sometimes use dove or other fowl. Try different things but use good quality clean game that has been taken care of and you will end up with a great dish!