Kicking Against The Purists, Chapter 835: "That's Not A Gumbo"

It's been cold lately, if you haven't noticed. Really cold.  I figured some sort of spicy meat stew kind of thing would be just the thing.  The season finale of Treme also happened recently, and I was missing one of my favorite cities.  So, I decided to make something sort of kind of like a gumbo, but was totally not a gumbo.  But sorta.  Kinda.  A bit.

Anyway, start by browning and rendering some Andouille sausage.



Add to that some smoked sausage (or in this case, Keilbasa.  Yes, I know).



Get those out of the pot.  Next, shred/chop some already roasted chicken.  Season with whatever "Cajun" type seasoning you have (this is Joe's Stuff).  Brown it in the rendered fat.  It's already cooked, so we're just trying to jam some extra flavor in there.



Remove.  It's ok if there are a few crunchy bits left over, but do try to get as much out as possible.  OK, we're gonna make a roux.  Add enough fat (whatever you like, butter, oil, lard, bacon grease... I'm using whatever was left from the rendered sausage, some butter, and some olive oil) to make 3 Tb.  Turn the heat down to low.  When cool, add and equal amount of flour.  stir the flour into the fat, constantly, until brown.  How brown?  Some call for milk chocolate color, I'm going with cafe au lait.  This will take about 15-20 minutes.  Don't rush it, don't burn it.



Now some veggies.  Onion, roasted bell pepper, roasted poblano, jalepeno, celery.  Note the color of the roux beneath.  Turn the heat up slightly, and cook the vegetables in the roux for a few minutes.



Add garlic.



Return the meat to the pot, and stir to combine.



Slowly add stock to the pot (I used chicken, with a little beef for depth), then season with thyme and toss in a few bay leaves.  And a smoked ham hock.



Simmer for several hours.  Turn the hock several times, to warm it through and get it a little more tender.  The remove the hock and shred whatever meat you can find on it.  Return meat and bones to the pot, and cook some more.



When you simply can't stand it anymore, squeeze half a lemon into the pot.  Stir to combine.



You made rice, right?  Make rice.



Serve with cilantro and scallions/green onions, and file powder.  And wine.