Food Network: File Gumbo

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File Gumbo
Recipe courtesy BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups

Ingredients
4 (3-pound) chickens, cut into small chunks
Vegetable oil
1 cup all purposes flour
1 cup butter
2 red, green, and yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
5 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 bay leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 1/2 quarts water
2 links andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch half circles

3/4 pound ham, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 pound small shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1/2 pound okra
5 tablespoons file powder

Instructions
Heat some vegetable oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat and
cook the chicken in batches until it is golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add
the flour to the chicken juices and stir continuously. Add the butter and cook the roux until it is
brown.

Add the peppers, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne, bay leaves, thyme, and 1 quart of
water. Stir well and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are soft, put the chicken back into the
pot and add the remaining water. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage and ham until they
are browned. Add them to the pot along with the shrimp and stir well. Let the gumbo simmer for 1
hour, then add the okra. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Ladle a couple of cups of the liquid
into a mixing bowl. Add the file powder and whisk until well blended. Pour back into the stock pot

and mix well. It's ready to serve!