A bowl of Deep South goodness, this gumbo is seasoned with small gumbo crabs and then topped off with crabmeat and shrimp.
Crab and Shrimp Gumbo
Like chili, I'm always piddling around with my seafood gumbo recipes, trying to reach that one perfect gumbo my mama used to make.
Piddling around. Yes. That's a legit phrase in the Deep South!
Think of it as such a leisurely, relaxed approach to preparing that next pot of gumbo that you're willing to try something different instead of being a stickler to the same old same old.
For this crab heavy version, I decided to use a little more onion, bump up the okra to a full pound, and not take my roux quite as dark. I thought for a sweet, crab-based gumbo, this more mellow roux would be a bit more fitting, than the richer, dark and more full bodied roux I often use.
Here's what you'll need to make my Crab and Shrimp Gumbo:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 pound sliced okra
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 quarts seafood or shrimp stock, chicken stock, water or a combination
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Couple dashes of hot pepper sauce, optional
- 1 pound frozen gumbo crabs, cleaned and split
- 2 pounds medium (41/50 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Old Bay and/or Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), to taste
- 1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked through for any shell
- 4 large blue crabs, boiled, cleaned & bodies cut in half and/or prepared crab claws, optional
- Hot steamed rice
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions, for garnish, optional
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By the way, I'm using a package of what are called "gumbo crabs" for seasoning, to start off my gumbo. The gumbo crabs used here are for seasoning and not really for eating - sort of like a ham hock or ham bone in a pot of beans or soup - but, what exactly is a gumbo crab?
The truth is it's the same thing as a regular ole blue crab. The only difference between the two is basically their size. They are found in the freezer section.
Gumbo crabs are the smaller sized, though still mature, blue crabs, and are often used as a seasoning in stews, soups and, of course, a gumbo like this. Basically they are just the cleaned bodies of the crab, usually split in half, and when used in cooking, they impart a tremendous amount of deep crab flavor into the dish they are put in. Think like the difference between using a commercial broth versus a homemade stock.
For the most part, like bones in a homemade stock, they get tossed once they've done their job, but since lots of us like to dig in to pick and eat crabs as we enjoy our crab gumbo too - a mess, granted, but one mighty tasty mess - we often toss in a few larger, boiled and cleaned blue crab bodies toward the end too.
My mama made the hands-down best gumbo in the world, bar none, but my grandma used to make her gumbo that way, using crab bodies - and often from crabs that she and I had trapped that very morning!
What great memories I have as a young gal of toting 5 gallon buckets down by the Popps Ferry Bridge in Biloxi and setting out crab traps filled with chicken backs along the pier pilings just as the sun was rising.
We'd sit patiently for hours in the searing sun, listening to the seagulls and the water lapping along the bridge pilings, anxiously lifting the traps to see if we'd had any takers. What memories there are in those moments of time with my Grandma Mac.
Since my Mama made her gumbo with lump crab and didn't use gumbo crab bodies, it was always a special treat for me to have a bowl of my grandma's gumbo.
My father in law has much larger metal traps set out around the deeper waters of the Biloxi Bay and out toward the Gulf, but mostly down here along the Gulf Coast we buy our crabs from the seafood market like everyone else.
Frozen gumbo crabs are generally also available in boxes or bags in your grocer's freezer section. If you are unable to find gumbo crabs where you live, you can certainly substitute the larger blue crabs, or simply use extra fresh, already picked crab meat.
It'll be missing the infusion of crab flavor from those gumbo crabs, but it'll still be delicious. Just don't substitute canned crab - splurge on the good stuff for this crab central gumbo.
Remember, as with all gumbos, mise en place y'all, so get everything ready before you start. Warm the shrimp stock and get all of your veggies chopped before you begin cooking. Here's how to make a great pot of crab gumbo!
Southern Style Hissy Fit Warning: While I already mentioned the roux, I do want to say one more thing about roux, that I've repeated on all of my gumbo posts. Roux can be brought anywhere from very blonde, to light tan, mostly for gravies, to peanut butter colored, or more ruddy, like a copper penny, to chocolaty brown, to deep brown, to nearly black - or anywhere in between for gumbo. Bottom line is that it's really a personal preference and don't let anybody tell you that a gumbo roux has to be nearly black. That's just simply not true. While some chefs may do that, I don't know anybody who does that in a home kitchen.
For one, it weakens the thickening power of your roux substantially and makes for a very thin, soupy gumbo. For another, it's very robust and very strong flavored - good for some gumbo, say like wild duck, but not so good for others. For another, it can take a very long time and is easy to burn if you try to rush it with high heat. Take it to the level you like. Most folks I know don't want that strong flavor for a simple chicken or seafood gumbo and take the roux anywhere from peanut butter colored to a slightly darker brown.
For me, it's just a matter of patience, but I go a bit darker for seafood than I do for chicken.
Of course... there's aways premade, jarred dark roux (#ad) available online and at local grocery stores in the Deep South.
Let me also add, if you're gonna put crab in your seafood gumbo, and you want to call it authentic to the Gulf Coast region, it's blue crab. Not snow crab. {tucking away the soapbox}
As always with any gumbo, as delicious as it is day 1, it's even better the next day, so make it ahead whenever you can.
Here's how to make my Crab and Shrimp Gumbo!
Defrost them overnight in your fridge and when you're ready to make gumbo, put those in a colander and rinse them off. Set aside.
I also prefer to sweat my okra before adding it to the gumbo. This process suppresses the familiar slime of the okra, without taking away it's thickening power. To do this, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add okra.
Cook until roping ceases, about 30 minutes; set aside.
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Meanwhile in a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed stockpot - if you're lucky enough to have inherited a Magnalite pot, it's perfect for gumbo, though there is a brand available currently called Magnaware (#ad) which I own that's great - heat the 3/4 cup of oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour.
Cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is a milk chocolate color.
Whether you use okra in your gumbo or not, and yes, without okra it can still be a gumbo y'all, you have to have the trinity of southern cooking, that being onion, sweet bell pepper and celery.
Add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the roux.
Stir in.
Cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Begin adding the heated stock.
Stir it in a little at a time and be mindful of the steam so you don't get a burn facial!
Continue stirring until fully incorporated.
Add the tomatoes. Now, I guess you can say for whatever reasons, the addition of tomatoes in a gumbo is controversial, especially among the Cajuns of Louisiana. I add them to my seafood gumbos because my Mama did. Primarily I think it's because I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast which is roughly 90 miles from New Orleans, a city that leans more toward Creole cooking than it does Cajun cooking and tomatoes are often used in Creole dishes. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, but as I always say, you do you!
Stir those in.
Add the thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, salt and hot sauce.
Add the gumbo crab bodies and their whole claws.
Stir in the okra.
Bring to a near boil, reduce heat and low simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam and excess oil that accumulates on the top. Do not allow to boil.
Remove the gumbo crabs and add in the cleaned, boiled crab bodies and the prepared crab claws, if using.
Looking good already!
Toss the shrimp with Old Bay and Cajun seasoning.
Add to the gumbo pot, cook for about 4 minutes.
Pick through the crabmeat for any shell (or use a blacklight flashlight).
Add the crab to the gumbo.
Gently fold it in so as not to break up the crab too much.
Simmer but do not boil, just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve in bowls over hot, cooked rice and garnish each serving with green onion if desired. Pass hot sauce at the table.
For more of my favorite gumbo recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
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