To Seafood Gumbo or to Seafood Stew, That is the Question?

Saw a woman on shark tank that brought her invention of her own recipe of seafood gumbo, She needed a loan from the sharks to expand her seafood gumbo to other resturants around the world i believe, anyway i want to try the same as her recipe and never got much info that night to try and make my own.  the stews sounds wonderful that i saw on google too .now after seeing so many recipes for seafood gumbo and seafood stews i cant make all of them.. i want that louisanna taste to whatever one i choose to make .... anyone ever make that same recipe that has that cajun flavor seafood gumbo that they make in louisanna? I've been craving that gumbo ever since i saw that on the show  2 or 3 weeks ago..I googled that gumbo and omg their was about  30 different recipes just for the gumbo, and another 30 for the Seafood Stew..I remember that lady saying it has some good Louisanna taste to her recipe , thats what I want to try..thanks for any insight ..PeaceV Wendy

There are four million different recipes for everything, it is personal taste, try one that has ingredients you like and give it a shot.  If you hate it then lesson learned, I know of no other way to figure out which one is the "right" one.  I love stuffed cabbage, grew up with it as a kid, I searched for recipes and found a bunch and finally picked one that had ingredients that I remembered and then I added the sauce my grandmother used myself.  Nothing is worse then dry stuffed cabbage in my opinion.  But it was just trial and error.

Enjoy!

Hi Wendy. I'm a major gumbo fan. Lived in Louisiana for a while and I miss crawfish and gumbo. Nobody would give me their secret for the perfect roux. It's trial and error. Try some recipes and play with them. Just like chili, each one is different. It's a great WLS recipe full of protein and veggies. Gotta have the okra in there to make it authentic!

My grandmother was born in Algiers, Louisiana ( across the "rivah" from New Orleans) as she used to say. She would be 113 years old if she were alive today. My Mom (92) was born in New Orleans and so I grew up going down there and eating at all the restaurants in the Quarter. I have my grandmother's gumbo recipe as well as her creole recipe. They are very very old and easy. Shrimp creole is easier than the gumbo. I will look them up on the other computer in a bit and post them for you.

I LOL'd at across the "rivah"!

It IS all about the roux, yum gumbo is a staple at our house.  I don't eat much rice with it now but dang it's Ça c'est bon.  It's never too hot for gumbo (although some people "think" that) we just crank up the A/C more, haha.

The roux is KEY to a great gumbo. This is a mainstay in our family, ever since I can remember. Every XMAS eve, we had Gumbo, and I have carried that tradition on after I got married and moved away.
I would love to give you my family recipe, but I would be shot by my grandmother if she ever found out! lol
I will say, start with equal parts real butter and flour for the roux- you want it a nice deep caramel color. Stir it CONSTANTLY so it does not burn! It took me about 3 years to get it right. Add your sauteed trisomy (green pepper, onion and celery), diced stewed tomatoes, garlic powder, lemon juice, tabasco (yes name brand) worchester sauce, bay leaves, chicken or seafood broth, and let simmer stirring every now and then. Add your okra, seafood (we use shrimp, crab meat, snow crab legs and crayfish) and cook till done. Make sure you have your gumbo file on hand and extra tabasco to spice it up! The hotter the better!
Liek I said this is not an exact recipe, as I want to live a nice long life, but it gives you a decent base to start from!
Good Luck!
Jenn

Jenn, I agree the ROUX is so important to making gumbo or any good Cajun dish.  Letting the gumbo simmer for hours before adding the meat or seafood is also something that I find important to let the veggies and other ingredients mesh.  The leftovers the next day are even better :)

And please try not to let the roux fly on you while you are constantly stirring, because that really hurts!!