2 Ways To Enhance Your Gumbo With Beer

A medley of flavorful ingredients, no gumbo is alike, yet the dish is always delicious. While some people are staunch believers in including okra and tomatoes in their recipes, others tend to focus more on using the right mix of meat and seafood. What's most important, however, is creating a rich base. For gumbo with a flavorful foundation, use beer in the broth or to deglaze the pan.

Gumbo's rich flavor is a credit to the dark roux that starts out the dish. The deep-colored fat and flour mix lends the gumbo a robust taste when combined with stock. Rather than adding stock to the roux, mix it with beer. The alcohol can make up the stew on its own or be used in conjunction with the stock. Either way, its malted taste makes the stew even richer, balancing out the earthy veggies and umami meat flavors. When the roux reaches the right color, add in the mirepoix before slowly pouring in the beer as you stir.

If you don't want the beer to make up a large component of the dish, you can try using it as a deglazing liquid instead. When browning andouille sausage for the gumbo, bits of the spicy meat tend to stick to the pan. The caramelized morsels shouldn't be left out of the stew, so you'll need to add a splash of liquid to scrape them up and toss into the pot of simmering gumbo. A small amount of beer can enhance your gumbo without completely transforming its taste.

To figure out what type of beer to use when cooking gumbo, spring for something that you would sip on when eating the dish. The spiced stew is delicious with something that's crisp and doesn't distract from the taste, such as an American pale ale. The light to medium-bodied beer has a malty flavor with a citrusy edge, perfect for a wide range of gumbos. The ale is an especially good pick for shrimp and okra gumbo, which has a slightly sweet, vegetal taste that shouldn't be dominated by heady flavors. The piney hops in the ale complement the dark roux, while the citrus, floral elements work well alongside the seafood.

For something that leans into the richness of the darker roux, opt for a brown ale. Its roasted flavor enhances the roux's velvety flair, adding depth to the gumbo. The ale has a slight bittersweetness, with notes of chocolate, raisins, and nuts rounding out the toasted beer. Brown ale's depth and layered flavor meshes well with a dish like crockpot chicken gumbo. The recipe pairs the poultry with andouille sausage, chicken stock, and fire-roasted tomatoes, and the inclusion of brown ale balances out the savory ingredients while further deepening the taste. In the final 30 minutes of cooking, add a splash of brown ale along with the okra for a heartier-tasting gumbo.