Wild Woman Kitchen

This is a classic Louisiana Creole shrimp and okra gumbo recipe. Let it stay safely warm in the Instant Pot overnight for another warm meal the next day. Just reserve some of the shrimp and okra in the refrigerator so it doesn’t overcook.

I love southern, Louisiana, Creole, and Cajun food! I spent some time in Baton Rouge where I learned to cook gumbo, a crawfish boil, and other southern dishes; and eat at Piccadilly’s. Loved that place. Some of you Southerners might freak out that I put Worcestershire in it, but it adds the umami flavor. If you don’t want to put it in the pot then try some in your bowl. For you non-Southerners, frozen okra is not slimy but it does have the thickening that you need for the gumbo. Try your best to get andouille sausage for this recipe.

This recipe like almost all Cajun/Creole dishes calls for the holy trinity ingredients of onions, bell peppers and celery. It is typically made in a 2-1-1 ratio, two parts onion to one part each celery and bell pepper.

Please use Seafood Watch to select your shrimp to keep our seafood food sources sustainable and to make sure it’s safe to eat.

Lard, made from rendered pig fat, may sound bad to some people, but it’s really not. Pure lard contains no trans fats. Lard is 60% monounsaturated fat, which is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Butter is 45% monounsaturated fat. Most of lard’s monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, a heart-healthy essential fatty acid. Lard contains about double the amount of oleic acid found in butter. So no reason to be worried about eating it especially because we don’t use it very often. Most importantly, it has a high smoke point at 375°. That means you can cook food over very high heat without it burning and making the food taste bad. That is why this recipe calls for ard and not olive oil.

EQUIPMENT: Instant Pot, wooden cutting board, chef’s knife (if you don’t have an instant pot you can make it on the stove with a heavy bottomed pot)

If you have been considering getting an instant pot I recommend the 8 Quart Instant Pot Duo Crisp 11-in-1 Air Fryer. It’s pretty big if you have a small counter, however the multifunction features replace individual appliances. I use it a lot in my tiny kitchen. It replaces cooking with several pots and pans. It also keeps your food warm, even overnight, and is perfect if you’re bringing food to a potluck.

Shrimp, Okra, and Andouille Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Recipe by Anna Stockel Cuisine: CreoleDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

A classic Louisiana Creole shrimp and okra gumbo recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons sea salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/3 cup lard

• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

• 16 oz bags frozen okra, defrosted

• 14.5 oz canned, diced tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

• 2 cups finely chopped onions

• 1 cup finely chopped green bell peppers

• 1 cup finely chopped celery

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 2 quarts shrimp stock*

• 1 1/2 tsp white pepper, in all

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, in all

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups finely chopped onions

• 8 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

• Worcestershire sauce

• Chili Gods or favorite hot sauce

• white Rice, for serving

Directions

• Combine paprika, sea salt, and pepper. Season the shrimp with spice mixture, cover and refrigerate until needed.
• In a Instant Pot, 5 1/2 quart saucepan, or large dutch oven, melt lard over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add sausage and cook, stirring often, to render the fat, about 5 minutes. Remove sausage with a fish flipper or slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add one bag okra and cook, stirring constantly, until the okra is browned.
• Add 1 teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and black pepper (the spice trinity).
• Stir in onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic, and cook, scraping pan bottom as needed, until the vegetables are soft.
• Add sausage back to the pot.
• Add 1 cup of stock and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom well.
• Add another 2 cups stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter and continue cooking over high heat, stirring until butter is melted and scraping the pan bottom well.
• Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, dried thyme, and remaining stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer very low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (Cook’s note: at this point, instead of simmering for an hour, I put the Instant pot on keep warm and went to bed until lunch the next day. Then brought back to a boil and reduced to a strong simmer. The flavors had really melded together and made a terrific stock. Alternatively, you can put it in the refrigerator overnight if you have room.)
• Taste. Correct seasoning with the remaining white pepper, cayenne pepper and salt as needed.
• Add the second bag of okra, fresh tomatoes, fresh thyme, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, until everything is heated through.
• Add shrimp and green onions and simmer until cooked through and no more. They should turn pink and curl.
• Taste and add hot sauce until the heat is per your liking.
• Serve over or with white rice on the side.

Notes

• *Unfortunately not everybody can get whole shrimp with the heads or crawfish or crab shells so it makes it difficult to make a proper seafood stock. I use four 8 oz bottles of clam juice and 32 fl oz organic, low sodium chicken broth. Vegetable broth works well too.