The Textural Mistake You Need To Avoid When Cooking Meats For Gumbo

Cooking gumbo properly is a labor of love, requiring attention to detail and patience to achieve the rich and complex flavors. The foundation of any great gumbo lies in its ingredients, especially the flavorful meats. Along with its aromatic base of onion, celery, and bell peppers, the Louisiana specialty often includes a wide variety of meats such as Andouille sausage, chicken, and seafood like shrimp or crab which should all be added at different stages of cooking to make sure they are simmered to perfection and not tough or overcooked. Getting the texture of all the meat just right is one of the finer points of learning to make a good gumbo. 

Poultry and sausage should go in the pot first so they're fully cooked, and seafood should be added at the last minute, allowing just enough time to fully cook. Having an intuitive understanding of how long the proteins need to cook lets you be creative without fear of overcooked, stringy meat in your masterpiece, or the worst mistake, uncooked chunks of chicken. 

There are many interpretations of gumbo across Louisiana, and in all of them, hearty chicken and sausages are the first to be added to the pot. These proteins will not only hold up to longer simmering, but they also add their flavors to the broth as they cook. Chunks of chicken thigh and sliced sausage should be seared in the cooking pot first to contribute their fat and flavor to the initial cooking of the roux and aromatic vegetables. Browning these proteins adds another layer of flavor to the gumbo and ensures fully cooked, tender meat. 

However, delicate seafood like crab and shrimp should be added close to serving time. These proteins cook quickly and become tough and unappetizing when they're overcooked. Raw seafood can be added to a simmering pot of gumbo just a few minutes before serving time, allowing it to poach in the soup and absorb some of the seasonings. Chunks of fish or oysters can cook for a few minutes longer until fully cooked, but don't bring the gumbo to a boil after adding seafood — that high heat makes overcooking them more likely.