Name: Slow-Cooker Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Total time: 5 h
Cuisine: Creole & CajunUS & Canada
Ingredients: ½ cup vegetable oil; ¾ cup all-purpose flour; 2 onions , chopped; 1 green bell pepper , stemmed, seeded, and chopped; 1 celery rib , chopped fine; 4 garlic cloves , minced; 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning; 4 cups chicken broth; 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed; Salt and pepper; 12 ounces andouille sausage , sliced ½ inch thick; 10 ounces frozen cut okra; 2 bay leaves; 4 scallions , white and green parts separated and sliced thin; 4 cups cooked white rice; Hot sauce

Why This Recipe Works

The key to a truly remarkable gumbo is a dark roux: flour toasted in hot oil until it’s the color of a copper penny. So how could we make a gumbo in a slow cooker if it doesn’t get hot enough to make the roux? By starting on the stovetop. We heated the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet (rather than a Dutch oven) until it was just smoking and added the flour, maintaining relatively high heat. The skillet’s larger cooking surface translated into more-efficient browning, and its shallow shape allowed us to stir at an angle with a long-handled spatula, keeping our hands safely away from the heat. With the roux taken care of, finishing our recipe for slow-cooker chicken and sausage gumbo was a simple matter.

Before You Begin

The test kitchen’s favorite Creole seasoning is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. Trimming the fat from the raw chicken thighs reduces the amount of fat you’ll need to skim off the finished gumbo.

Instructions

Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour and cook until mixture is color of peanut butter, about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until roux is slightly darker and color of ground cinnamon, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Stir in onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and Creole seasoning and cook until vegetables are softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups broth and bring to simmer over high heat; transfer to slow cooker.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker. Stir in andouille, okra, bay leaves, and remaining 2 cups broth. Cook on low until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours.

Transfer chicken to plate. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Skim any excess fat from surface of gumbo and discard bay leaves. Stir in scallion whites and chicken. Serve over rice, sprinkled with scallion greens, passing hot sauce separately.