Gumbo: "First you make a roux?"

      I have a culinary bay tree in my yard, grown from a cutting from my grandmother's tree. The thing is taller than my house and not terribly attractive by landscaping standards, but I would not get rid of it for the world! Bay leaf is an amazing herb! So fragrant... it adds just the right touch to simmering pots of gumbo (I was shocked several years ago to see jars of dried bay leaves for sale on the grocery spice aisle. People actually pay for bay leaf?? I have a gold mine!)!
     It's cold, at least for South Louisiana, and for me, any outside temperature below 60 degrees means gumbo weather! After Christmas and New Year's, I usually have chicken and a bit of sausage left over from the magic worked by the Mister and his smoker (his secret is pecan wood...). Chicken and sausage gumbo is my sister's favorite!
      It has been said of making gumbo, "First, you make a roux." Well, no... First, you have to chop seasoning and make stock.
      Roux ("Roo") is flour browned in oil, which acts to color, flavor, and thicken. Combined with stock or broth, it is a base for gumbo or etouffee ("A-2-fay"). Stock and broth are terms sometimes used interchangeably but they aren't precisely the same. Stock is water in which beef or chicken bones (or shrimp heads and crab shells) have been simmered (the longer the better), extracting flavor and gelatin. Broth is stock fortified by meat and additional seasoning.
      #GumboWars is trending on twitter, and some of the offerings look quite elaborate. Gumbo, however, is not "froo-froo." It is the South Louisiana equivalent of French peasant comfort food. It also has roots in African and Caribbean one-pot meals. The word "Gumbo" means "okra" in one African dialect. 

     You can start with fancy Pecan Wood Smoked Chicken but frankly, grocery store rotisserie chicken is fine, as is left-over baked or roasted poultry of any description. The Mister also eschews high-brow sausage in favor of what he finds at the warehouse club. No kidding, folks have told me, "This is the best smoked sausage I have ever tasted! What brand is it??" It's not the brand. It's whatever magic happens when it is placed in a 250 degree smoker with pecan wood "until it splits."
      I start by removing whatever large pieces of meat are left on the chicken bones. I put the bones and skin in my big stock pot, cover with water, place the lid, and set it to simmer. Meanwhile, I chop onion and celery (about 2/3 cup each), garlic (2 heaping tablespoons), fresh parsley (1/3 cup), basil (1/4 cup) and thyme (2 tsp). I know others who use chopped green pepper, but I just don't care for it. Feel free to add some if you like. Any stems or end pieces of herbs get tossed into the stock pot. Strain before use. Reserved chicken meat and sausages are cut into bite-sized pieces.
     Creole tomato season starts at the end of May. This being January, fresh tomatoes are unreliable hot house entities. Unless you "put up" tomatoes during the summer, you may get better flavor with canned. Without mentioning a specific brand, I go with a chopped tomato and green chili product. It is absolutely consistent and the heat level is perfect. I open one can and have it standing by.
     My gumbo pot is a heavy-bottom copper clad behemoth (I need a step-stool to stir efficiently). I start my roux by heating half olive oil, half butter; the amounts depend on how much stock I have: 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil to 2 tbsp flour and 2 cups stock, but this is in theory only, depending on how thick or thin you like your finished product. Once the oil is hot, I add flour and stir with a whisk constantly until the flour is nearly chocolate brown. Do not turn your back on a roux and do not stop stirring! It will go through stages, first blonde, then resembling peanut butter, and then melted milk chocolate.

At that point, I add the chopped onion. The sugars in the onion carmelize, taking the roux one shade darker (I learned this from New Orleans foodie Poppy Tooker).

 After a minute or two, I add the chopped celery and garlic, and the canned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, and then slowly add stock and stir some more. In principle, you should be able to add 1 cup of stock per tablespoon of flour in the roux, but that can seemingly depend on relative humidity and wind direction....plus, I like a nice, thick gumbo, so it's not an exact science. Once you are happy with the consistency,  add a "glug" or two of Worcestershire sauce and several shakes of a Louisiana-style hot pepper sauce. Stir and taste. You may find you need cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, but adjust to your preference. Add reserved chicken and sausage, chopped herbs, and two dried bay leaves. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally and tasting for seasoning.  If it seems to need "something," add a bit more garlic! Serve over rice, with warm french bread on the side.

Edited to add:

To make seafood gumbo, omit chicken, sausage, and Worcestershire sauce. Add instead:

2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and "deveined." Use heads and shells for stock. Stir in the shrimp once you are happy with your roux/stock/seasoning. Once the shrimp are pink, stir in:

1 lb crabmeat (we like claw meat)

1 pint raw oysters. The extra "oyster liquer" can be added to your stock.