Get Your Ya Yas Out With Gumbo Ya Ya

Wondering what to do with leftover turkey or chicken? Pick off the remaining meat and boil the carcass for a flavorful stock to use as a base for gumbo ya ya. Grab a smoked sausage like andouille or kielbasa, a few vegetables and spices and you’re ready to go. Adapt according to ingredients you have on hand and start cooking a delicious gumbo ya ya without a recipe.

I had part of a roasted chicken left over, so I first picked off all the meat that I could and put that back in the refrigerator. Then I boiled the bones and carcass in water to make the stock for the gumbo. Zero waste cooking meant I ended up with about a quart of stock, which was just about right for the amount of roux that I made next.

Roux

When I first started making roux, which forms the base of the gumbo ya ya, I followed the slow method. I would combine equal parts of oil and flour and slowly stir with a wooden spoon over low heat until it reached the desired color of brown. While it’s easier to avoid burning it this way, it also requires continuously standing at the stove, stirring slowly for 45 minutes. A little tedious, which meant I didn’t want to do it very often.

Eventually, I learned from one of Paul Prudhomme’s cookbooks to do it faster. I did burn it once in the early days though, so although it’s my preferred method now, do proceed with caution. It’s no fun to have to throw it out and start over. Especially if you are making a fast roux, I recommend using a pot with rounded sides like this one, if you have it. Less opportunity for bits to turn black in the inside crease around the edge of a flat sided pot.

Before you begin making the roux, make sure you have already chopped your onion, bell pepper and celery because you will need to add them to the pot to stop your roux from burning. Timing is crucial. (The amount of onion I used equaled about the same amount of bell pepper and celery combined. Here that meant one onion, half a bell pepper and two small stalks of celery.

In this case, I didn’t have much grapeseed oil left, so I measured that first to see how much roux I could make. You want an oil with a high smoke point. Olive oil will not do for this. I found that I had a little less than half a cup of oil, so I measured about the same amount of flour and put them both into my pot over high heat and whisked quickly for a few minutes until it turned dark brown like chocolate.

Then I immediately took it off the heat and added the chopped vegetables, continuing to whisk everything together. Returning the pot to medium heat, I cooked it for a few minutes before adding the chicken stock. Be careful here. Pour the stock slowly and away from you. It’s nice if it has had a chance to cool slightly also. You don’t want to burn yourself splashing hot oil and stock around.

Now you want to get this to a simmer and you can relax while you chop your sausage, if you haven’t already done so. You can add it to the pot before or after adding the stock. Then you can go get your spices to season the gumbo.

Spices For Gumbo Ya Ya:

• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• cayenne (as much as your palate allows…I think I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
• paprika
• smoked paprika
• French thyme
• pinch of basil
• pinch of oregano
• a couple of cloves of garlic, minced
• file’ powder (add at the end of cooking)

Once you have added all your ingredients, except the cooked chicken, you should let the gumbo simmer for a couple of hours. I needed to go out, so I put it into a slow cooker and let it cook on high for 4 hours. Half an hour before serving, I tasted and decided how much salt it needed and added the cooked chicken. Use all your senses to start cooking more intuitively.

Just before serving, stir in some gumbo file’ powder. I used about half a teaspoon. I forgot to add it once and it wasn’t the end of the world. So if you don’t have any, try it without. It does add a certain special something though.

This yielded 4 very generous main course servings. By the way, this is one of those things that tastes even better the next day. Make a great big batch and put some in the freezer for later. It’s a fantastic treat to give yourself a day off of cooking by planning ahead.

Serve with rice. White is traditional, but I usually use brown for everything. Pictured above, I used some brown rice that was left over from another meal.

Basic Ingredients In Addition to Spices:

• oil
• flour
• chicken or turkey meat
• chicken or turkey stock
• andouille sausage
• onion
• bell pepper
• celery

Understanding basic proportions means you can cook intuitively without a recipe. In this case, using my available ingredients, I combined a half a cup each of flour and oil to make roux for a quart of stock. Obviously, a cup each of flour and oil would be enough for 2 quarts of stock for the consistency I enjoy in gumbo ya ya. More roux would yield a thicker gumbo. Less roux for a thinner one.

For more inspiration from New Orleans, please read Keen on Easy Red Beans and Greens next.