Cooking Adventurous? If you are here is my delicious Gumbo recipe. My sister and brother-in-law were with us this week to celebrate Fat Tuesday and to stick with the theme I made Duck and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. They loved it and for my it was FUNDERFUL!

The recipe isn’t hard but it does take time. I was in heaven because of the steps it takes to make a dish like this. Anyone who loves to cook will understand. Yes, there are a lot of steps but it is well worth it in the end.

One of the great things about this recipe was that I could make it the day before and just slowly heat it up when it was time to serve. Making it the day before made it easy to relax with our guests instead of spending hours in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up at the last minute. Plus the advanced cooking gives the Gumbo time to develop the flavors.

Serves 6

1          5-Pound Duck, Back Bone and Wings Removed and Cut Into Quarters (If you have a butcher you can count on, ask if they will cut the duck into quarters)

4          Teaspoons Emeril’s Essence, Divided

¼         Cup Vegetable Oil

1          Cup All-Purpose Flour

2          Cups Spanish or Vidalia Onions, Medium Dice

1          Cup Celery, Medium Dice

1          Cup Carrots, Medium Dice

1½      Cups Red Bell Pepper, Medium Dice

6          Garlic Cloves, Finely Minced

2          Cups Yukon Gold Potatoes, Skin Left On, Medium Dice

7-8      Cups Homemade Ham Stock or Rich Dark Homemade Chicken Stock, Heated

12       Ounces Smoked Andouille Sausage, Skin Removed, Sliced Into ¼” Discs (or Smoked Kielbasa)

12       Ounces Tasso Ham or Smoked Ham, Cut into ½” Cubes

2          Teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt

1          Teaspoon Dried Thyme

2          Bay Leaves

Rice Pilaf As An Accompaniment

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Season the duck pieces with 2 teaspoons of Emeril’s Essence. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat until hot. Add the duck pieces skin side down and brown until crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes. Turn the pieces over and repeat the process. Remove the pieces to a shallow roasting pan and transfer to the oven. Cook the duck for approximately 1 hour or until the duck is cooked through. When cooked remove from oven and let cool until the pieces can be handled to remove the meat from the skin and bones. Discard the skin and bones and set the meat aside.

While the duck is cooking reduce the heat to medium and add ¼ cup vegetable oil to the pan with the drippings from the duck. Immediately add the flour. Stir the flour with a whisk at first to incorporate the flour into the oil. Change to a large spoon and continue stirring the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux, constantly stirring and scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, for 15 minutes or until the flour turns a deep golden brown.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, red pepper, garlic, potatoes and sauté for about five minutes. Add the hot stock and stir to combine. Add the sausage, Tasso/ham, the two remaining teaspoons Emeril’s Essence, salt, thyme and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook the gumbo for 45 minutes covered, keeping the cover slightly off kilter, stirring often to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the duck meat to the gumbo and cook an additional 15 minutes. Serve immediately with cooked white rice.

Place heaping ½ cups of cooked rice in the middle of individual warm soup bowls and ladle a good portion of the gumbo around the rice. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.