She is not to be confused with the late, great Nana-in-law, whom I was often partners in crime and family scandals with.
My actual mother-in-law, Schere, had passed years before I met Husband, which is why his grandmother is referred to as my Nana-in-law. She has always been remembered by her family as a bit of a wild child with a big personality and a propensity for making people laugh.
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The Famous Schere |
Schere, like my own mom, hardly ever wrote down how she made anything in the kitchen, as most of it is sort of instinctive, made-up, or totally modified after learning a basic recipe. My mom's meatloaf, or leftover casserole, are great examples of how they both cooked in our respective childhoods.
With that in mind, I was pretty stoked when Husband's brother sent me some loose instructions on how their mother made gumbo for special occasions. Between my own knowledge of cooking, and how this gumbo has always been described, I managed to pull it together!
Schere's Gumbo
The Shit List
- 1 whole chicken, quartered (or 3lbs light/dark chicken you prefer)
- 1 Hillshire Farms Beef Smoked Sausage, sliced
- 1.5 lbs shrimp, shelled and de-veined
- 1 pint oysters, with juices
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1 cup vegetable oil (butter will work too)
- 1 lb fresh or frozen okra, sliced into rounds
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 5 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 bunches of green onions, separate greens and whites, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 tbspn chopped parsley
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 4 tbspn Tony Chachere's (cajun seasoning)
How to Handle That Shit
- I highly, highly recommend you prepare all of your vegetables the day before you start cooking, unless you want to spend close to 5 hours standing in your kitchen. This does not bode well for people like Husband and I, who hurt after sitting too long, much less standing.
- Brown chicken and sausage in stock pot, cover in 12 cups water, and boil into a stock. Usually takes about 20 minutes.
- Remove meat and put aside.
- Add in shrimp shells and boil into stock for 15 minutes. Strain out shells and put stock aside.
- Heat oil in a large stock pot and add flour to make a dark roux. By dark, I mean practically burnt. You want your smoke alarm to be somewhat concerned.
- Add bell peppers, yellow onion, celery, and white part of green onions to the roux, and cook until softened. This will take a good 10 minutes, easily.
- Add in garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add in the meat stock, and any additional water needed to reach desired "soupy" consistency, along with bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and Tony Chachere's.
- Raise to a boil, add in chicken and sausage, reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add in shrimp and okra to simmer an additional 15 minutes.
- Add oysters, in their liquid, and onion greens for another 10 minutes until oysters curl.
- Serve with Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste, and rice or french bread.