Wait just a darn second. When we signed up to live here in the Deep South, one of the big selling points was the warm weather and especially mild winters. What we’ve been experiencing here lately is what our neighbors to the north deal with on a regular winter basis.
The daytime highs are well below freezing and there is a steady mixture of sleet and snow covering everything in a sheet of ice. It’s a nasty mixture that makes you want to hunker down and stay off the dangerous roads. Too many didn’t take heed of the first icy warnings and paid the price. But we’re fast learners, and with this Arctic blast, traffic has mercifully come to a screeching halt.
Bill Daniels and Jack Cousins
It’s time to shift gears into survival mode, conserve energy, and ride out the storm in the warm confines of home. If cabin fever begins to numb you, it’s time to head for the kitchen. This is probably exactly how our great Southern forefathers invented gumbo and passed it down from each generation. It is warm, it is spicy, and a huge black pot can cook enough for a small army.
The flavor actually improves with time and it’s always better the next day.
It’s a slow process, but well worth the wait. Kick back and relax as those extra special flavors have a chance to blend. Our chosen gumbo for this winter storm features wild ducks taken right here in Louisiana and is seasoned with venison sausage that gives it a nice kick.
If your supply of ducks has been depleted due to one too many scratch hunts, try poor mouthing. This usually gets results, especially with family members.
In this case we leaned heavily on brother Kevin, who came through in a clutch with a nice stash of beautiful, dressed birds perfect for the occasion. Sometimes the key to effective belly-achin’ is persistence. This gumbo was on!
The process of creating a gumbo masterpiece is painstakingly slow, but don’t rush it. Pay attention to the details and let it brown to perfection. Those little birds should be thoroughly glazed over a deep, dark brown. When in doubt, brown them out!
Browned vegetables include garlic, celery, onions, and bell peppers, chopped fine. Mix in with the roux that you so painstakingly stirred for hours until it was chocolate brown and you should be well on your way to gumbo heaven.
Let it slow cook, adding chopped green onions, parsley and your sausage for the final touch. For lagniappe, drop in a few boiled eggs. Serve over white rice cooked nice and fluffy with a bowl of potato salad like grandma used to make for a side dish.
You know you’re ready when the meat is falling off the bone. Add a sprinkle of gumbo filé to taste and let nature take its course.
This is guaranteed to cure what ails you, and just what the doctor ordered.
Featured in the photo corner this week are two hunters, who between them have never turned down a bowl of gumbo. Bill Daniels and Jack Cousins are shown with a beautiful limit of specklebellies and lessor Canadian geese. The birds are well-schooled this late in the season, and the successful hunters adjust their methods accordingly to hunt them. Laissez les bons temps roule!
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