Smoked Turkey Gumbo

BigEasyEggor

Hi folks I have been a long time lurker and have learned a lot from others. I thought that I would go ahead and post this recipe in time for Thanksgiving. It is a lot of work but a great use of leftover turkey which we always have. It is great to have around for watching the football games of the weekend.[p]Smoked Turkey Gumbo[p]Ingredients:
1 Smoked Turkey
2 lbs Sliced Okra
¾ cup Vegetable Oil
2 lbs Hot Sausage
½ lb. Bacon, cut into 1” pieces
1 cup Flour
8 ribs Celery, chopped.
4 Large Onions, chopped.
2 Bell Peppers, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced.
½ cup Chopped Parsley
½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce, Cayenne Pepper, to taste.
1 12 oz can Tomatoes
1 10 oz can Rotel Tomatoes
1 ½ tbs. Salt
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 tbs. Lemon Juice
4 cups Rice, cooked.[p]Directions:[p]Smoke turkey and cool. Remove most meat from bones, reserve. Crack carcass into several pieces, place in kettle with 3 qts water and 1 tsp salt. Boil 2 hours, remove carcass, cool, reserve stock.[p]Fry okra in ¼ cup oil until lightly brown, drain, set aside. Cut sausage into ¼” slices, fry till crisp, drain and set aside. Cook bacon, set aside and save grease. Make roux by heating bacon grease with ½ cup oil, add flour, stir constantly until dark brown. Add celery, onions, bell pepper, garlic, parsley. Cook 15-20 minutes stirring constantly. Add okra and sausage, cook 5 minutes.[p]Add 2 qts stock, 2 qts water, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, salt, bacon, bay leaves, cayenne. Simmer covered 2 ½ - 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Skim grease, add meat, simmer 30 minutes. When serving, add sugar and lemon juice.[p]Yields 16-18 servings.

Unknown

BigEasyEggor,
We always enjoy turkey frame soup, I will be using your recipe this year because it sounds so good with all that okra in it - which I love in any soup. BTW - I'm not clear if you cooked the gumbo in the egg or not? I would highly recommend it, it's just something you may not think would add much too a recipe, but it does.

Bob V

Only thing you're lacking is some andouille - but then from your name I can surmise it is just a short run to Delchamps away...[p]Bob V

BigEasyEggor

Chet,[p]It has never crossed my mind to cook it on the egg. It predates my time with an egg by many years. It seems like it would be hard to make the roux on the egg but after that point I may try it.[p]

Unknown

BigEasyEggor,
for sure, yea, you would be better off making the roux inside.

WooDoggies

Chet,[p]Ditto on that.... t'would save yourself some grief to be sure. :~)

Midnight Smoker

BigEasyEggor,[p]Going to give the recipe a whirl....looks good! But, what are Rotel tomatos?[p]Paul

BigEasyEggor

Midnight Smoker,
Rotel is a brand of canned tomatoes that have some peppers and other things in them that make them a bit spicy. They are in all of the grocery stores down here. If you can't find them in your area I would guess that another brand would work.