Saturday Crawfish Boil and Makin' Gumbo

nolaegghead

Yesterday we went to a crawfish boil then cooked gumbo at my buddy's house.

Yeah, I know.  He has a primo. 

We roasted two turkeys the day before.

nolaegghead

TexanOfTheNorth

Wish we could get crayfish up here!

That's a lot of gumbo... sure looks good.

grege345

That kettle is legit!! Where do you find something like that?

nolaegghead

grege345 said:

That kettle is legit!! Where do you find something like that?

He traded a bunch of cutting boards for it with a store owner that sold his stuff.  You can search for "cast iron caldron" and find them online.

nolaegghead

The gumbo:

Prep:

Roasted 2 turkeys the day before.
Ate one boneless breast for dinner.  The rest we pulled and chopped.

Diced into 1/4" cubes/pieces
8 onions
4 bunches green onions
bunch chinese celery
4 green bell peppers
4 red bell pepper

Smoked (with cherry) 6 pounds andouille sausage
Cut down center and into 1/2" pieces.

Process:

Made a dark roux 1:1 oil/flour in an 18" pan over fire.  About 1 hour.
Started a stock with all the skin/fat/bones (what was left of the turkeys).  Threw in some onions, parsley.
Cook 6 pounds okra for about 30 minutes in cast iron pot.  Then added all the chopped vegetables (except parsley).   Cooked that high heat until soft.
Added some filtered broth, let it cook down.
Added most of the rest of the broth, brought to a boil then added the roux.
stir stir stir
Add turkey and andouille.
Salt, pepper, hot sauce, other spices...add several bunches of chopped parsley,
eat. adjust eat, adjust eat, adjust.

Gets better with time.  Serve over white rice. 

SmokeyPitt

Looks like a really fun day and cook.  Your friend has some serious cooking swag...even if he does have an oval shaped knock-off  . 

nolaegghead

SmokeyPitt said:

Looks like a really fun day and cook.  Your friend has some serious cooking swag...even if he does have an oval shaped knock-off  . 

He's had several BGEs in the past.  Used to do BBQ competition for 12 years.  He cooks whole pigs now.  Here's the big smoker, cooking the turkey.

DMW

Those Meadowcreek PR cookers are nice. I did a whole pig on one last July 4th, but on the charcoal version. I'm going to their consignment sale next week and there are 4 used PR60's being sold. And SWMBO will be out of country. Hmmm....

Eggpharmer

@nolaegghead‌ - what are crawfish going for down there? Still about $4/lb here in central ms

Skiddymarker

Awesome, That is a big swack of gumbo. Okra, my favourite part, do not see it too much in Canuck cooking. 

Eggcelsior

Nola, since you and I are both gay(based on others) we should totally get together sometime. I'll bring crab cakes and you can bring the gumbo.

hapster

Fantastic... Looks like an awesome time

nolaegghead

@Eggpharmer - I think they're around $2.5 to 3.00/lb live.  High for this time of the year because all the cold weather.  That fest was all-you-can-eat for $25 admission.  Fortunately I know one of the organizers and got 4 of us in free.

@Eggcelsior - sure, we'll hook up at 1310monster's house.  I hear he has a unicorn-rainbow room with a big waterbed.

nolaegghead

DMW said:

Those Meadowcreek PR cookers are nice. I did a whole pig on one last July 4th, but on the charcoal version. I'm going to their consignment sale next week and there are 4 used PR60's being sold. And SWMBO will be out of country. Hmmm....

Randy got that Meadowcreek less than a year ago.  He's cooked a bunch of whole pigs.  I welded a smoke-wood rack and a pig rack for him.  It's a very well-made grill, and you can easily feed 50 people.

Chris_Wang

Looks like a great weekend! Thanks for sharing.

RAC

Chris_Wang said:

Looks like a great weekend! Thanks for sharing.

+1

Spring Hen

ooohhh dat looks good yeah, me sha...

berndcrisp

Holy cow! Is that cooking, production or manufacturing?

nolan8v

Where was the Crawfish Festival held at?  Tulane?

Thanks for the gumbo recipe.

I will try it next weekend and let you know how It came out.

I currently use a modified recipe from the old NOPSI cookbook.

NOLA-N8V 

nolaegghead

Crawfish fest was at the Imaculate Conception Catholic Girls school in Marrero.

http://louisianacrawfishchamps.org/index.htm

CPARKTX

Looks awesome. I sure miss Louisiana cooking.

Parallel

One of the four DELICIOUS seasons here in Louisiana (Crawfish season, Oyster season, Crab season, Shrimp season)

buzd504

nolaegghead said:

Crawfish fest was at the Imaculate Conception Catholic Girls school in Marrero.

http://louisianacrawfishchamps.org/index.htm

I've been to that festival several times. It's a great time.

caliking

Man, am I jealous. Looks like an awesome time was had by all. Bookmarked for the gumbo recipe!

cazzy

Damn son!   That looked like it was a fun freaking day!!

Austin Egghead

Wow!! What a great time y'all had. Thanks for sharing. Can't decide which is favorite pic: the shot of the veggies on the BB table (awesome and beautiful); cauldron chocked full of goodness or the Meadowcreek parked under the window unit.....How did the new white dry box perform?

nolaegghead

Austin Egghead said:

Wow!! What a great time y'all had. Thanks for sharing. Can't decide which is favorite pic: the shot of the veggies on the BB table (awesome and beautiful); cauldron chocked full of goodness or the Meadowcreek parked under the window unit.....How did the new white dry box perform?

I strapped it to my cargo BGE bike after loading it up as a portable bar.  It's a great cooler - air tight and light!

nolaegghead

gumbo....bump

Carolina Q

Thank you.

SonVolt

That’s gotta be the biggest butcher’s block I’ve ever seen.