Smoked Turkey, Collard Green and Shrimp Gumbo

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups small diced onions
• 3/4 cup small diced celery
• 3/4 cup small diced green, red, and/or yellow bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle stout beer (recommended: Abita Turbo Dog)
• 8 cups dark chicken stock, chicken stock, or water
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds smoked turkey legs
• 1 pound collard greens, stemmed and rough chopped
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Directions

Heat a large, 6-quart, wide-mouthed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and oil to the pan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour mixture is a deep chocolate brown color, about 20 minutes. Add the onions, celery and peppers to the roux and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook the garlic for 1 minute. Add the beer to the roux, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of Essence, salt, and cayenne to the pan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the turkey legs to the pan. Cook until the turkey legs are falling-from-the-bone-tender, about 3 hours.

Remove the turkey from the pot and transfer to a plate to cool. Add the collard greens to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. When the turkey is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and tear into bite-size pieces. Discard the skin and bones. Return the turkey meat to the gumbo. Season the shrimp with the remaining 2 teaspoons of Essence and add them to the gumbo during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Taste the gumbo, re-season if necessary, and add the green onions and parsley to the pot. Serve with steamed white rice.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.