With this family recipe, the roux is made with bacon fat. For our first trial, we decided to follow the recipe and use freshly cooked bacon fat from a pack of hickory smoked bacon that we had just happily eaten. However, one problem that we came across in this process was the fact that we could not regulate how much fat our bacon emitted, and so we were not able to measure exactly 3/4 cups as the recipe had called for. Therefore, our solution to this problem was to add 2 Tbs of butter, which we melted into the roux as soon as we had noticed it was too dry. This fixed our roux from being too thick, but did not add so much that it messed with the outcome of the Maillard browning process.
In fact, by the end of this experiment, we had discovered that the process of making a roux moves much quicker when using butter instead of bacon drippings. In order to get our bacon fat roux to a chocolate color, we had to sit in the kitchen stirring the pan for an entire hour. One explanation of this is that there was less water present with the bacon fat than with butter, since butter is an emulsion of water and milk fat. In order for a Maillard reaction to occur, a small amount of water must be present in order for the sugars and the amino acids to be mobile and connect. With just a mixture of oil and flour, this would not occur.
This trial yielded a better flavor profile with the bacon fat, yet a much longer cook time. This is why the most experienced Gumbo cooks say that patience is key.
Below is a Time and Activity chart for the Gumbo recipe passed down in my family for years. The first two steps include instructions for making the bacon fat roux.
Ingredients
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Roux
- (Ingredients for Gumbo below)
Instructions
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Making the Roux
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Whisk flour and 3/4 cup bacon grease together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture
- Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat, continue whisking until mixture stops cooking. (Additional Gumbo instructions below)
- Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
- Bring the stock and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour, mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
- Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbs bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, chicken, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes.
- Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of filé gumbo powder.
Notes
The Kitchen As Laboratory : Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking, edited by César Vega, et al., Columbia University Press, 2012.
Splawn, Meghan. “5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Béchamel.” Kitchn, Apartment Therapy, LLC., 1 May 2019, https://www.thekitchn.com/mistakes-to-avoid-when-making-bechamel-243353.
BBC. (n.d.). The complex mix that makes Bacon taste so good. BBC Future. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150729-the-molecular-medley-that-gives-bacon-its-rich-flavour?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=twitter