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I hunted some ducks this past winter and made gumbo. It's all down later in the post. First some booze. If any of you remember the stupid weekend that froze the south, when Atlanta ground to a halt and everyone and their mom bent one another's fenders, that was the weekend I decided to pull on the waders and go stand waist-deep in a marsh and shoot ducks. We almost didn't make it, coming up from New Orleans to a camp north of Baton Rouge. All the bridges over the Mississippi had frozen, so we went as far north as we could and hoped to get across the river. As luck had it, we made it across near Krotz Springs. When we got to the camp it was a sight like nothing we'd ever seen. Snow over everything. In the morning we left in the dark and watched the sun come up as we rode to our hole. We expected some ice ringing the hole that we would break and then get into the water, but the entire hole was frozen over with about a quarter inch of ice. Never seen that before. We broke through the ice for about twenty yards, punching holes with the butts of our shotguns until we got to the big opening. A duck hole in Louisiana marshland is a clearing in the woody marsh where the ducks like to swoop in and land to find food. These guys came in from Canada and the northern states, tired and lean and looking for warm weather. They probably got as far south as Arkansas and then holy howard the duck IT'S STILL COLD AS poo poo and they tried to get a little further south. Wood ducks and grey ducks and mallards and teals. So usually they land in the hole and we shoot them as they come in. But the hole is frozen solid, and before the sun comes up we are watching these wood ducks try to land on the water and they are literally bouncing off the ice. It's still dark and they can't see us and we are shooting them five feet in front of us, pellets pocking and feathers that usually sink staying in front of us like nothing we've ever seen. It goes on all morning as the sun rises. These ducks have no idea what is going on. Finally we are close to the limit and a flight of four or five woodies comes right at us, no deflection at all, and we let loose and nail four of them. Now is the part where I tell you that when I hunt, I kill animals. You should know that by now but there it is. I eat everything I kill. I have no trophies on the wall and I have no interest in that. I am not some kind of subsistence hunter but the act is real and alive and deadly and part of the world. I tell you that because one of the woody hens got winged, my bad shot, she's bleeding but not dead and my hunting partner grabs her and wrings her neck. We load everything up and start to come out of the hole, busting ice on the way out cause it froze over the last few hours. As we are moving I hear the hen in my ruck crying and I am bothered by this. I always try to kill the animal quickly, and mostly it happens. But not here. I say to myself get out of the hole asap and put her out of her misery. Fifteen feet later she quiets down and I think okay, get out of the hole and deal with it. I have a shotgun in one hand and a bunch of decoys in the other and I am standing in freezing water. I can't just put everything down and address the situation. I get another ten feet and my buddy says that hen is still alive, and I turn around and sure as poo poo she is sitting in the water where I just come from, looking at me. I go back to get her and she dives. When you clip a duck, you have to go back and kill them as soon as you can, because their instinct is to dive and hide and then they drown. So I see this duck diving and she goes under the ice and I need to get her. I see her on the other side of the ice, this busted duck swimming away form me, her body up against the ice and she has got to be scared out of her mind. I follow her breaking the ice as I go but I am standing in three feet of water, mud around my feet, and any minute I might step in a hole and drop up to my face in freezing water or trip on a cypress root and get dunked. So I punch through the ice and grab her---never expect to see or do this again in my life---and bring her up, wring her neck, and tie her to the ruck.  She's in there with the chicken and the rest of the duck breasts. I cleaned the ducks, had about 10 carcasses, and used the bones for stock to make the gumbo. 1 lb andouille, cut into 1/2" half moons 1 lb smoked sausage cut into 1/2" half moons 2 onions, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 10 cloves garlic, diced 1 tomato, seeded and chopped 6 green onions, cut into 1/4" slices 10 duck breasts 1 chicken, cut into eighths (breasts reserved) 6-10 sprigs thyme 2 cups sliced okra 1 handful basil 2 bay leaves 4 quarts duck stock Creole seasoning Worcestershire Salt & pepper to taste For the roux - one cup oil, one cup flour For the drink - rye whiskey, absinthe/herbsaint, sugar cube, peychaud bitters, lemon peel Put a tumbler in the freezer for later. Put on a little music. Wild Magnolias, "Smoke My Peace Pipe." Slice your salsiccia into half-moons, and chop your thyme and basil. Put on your cup of oil in a cast iron pot and heat at high until it starts to shimmer, before it smokes. Then whisk in the flour.  There are two ways to do your roux (I don't count cooking it in the oven which is apparently a viable solution). You can cook it forever at a low temp. This is very forgiving and very boring, like sixty minutes or more depending how low you go, and you don't really have to worry about it burning. Good for beginners. I prefer to do it at a high temp, very fast, whisking constantly. Takes about 30 minutes. Your roux will move from white to yellow to beige to peanut butter to milk chocolate to dark chocolate to burned. Milk chocolate is prime.  Have a beer while you wait.  Actually, get to work. Dust the chicken and duck in creole seasoning and brown in a skillet.   Your roux should be darkening.   Warm your stock on a low fire. When the roux gets as dark as you dare, throw in the onions. Remember that the darker your roux, the thinner your gumbo (and the more you risk a burned roux, and starting over). Cook the onions, stirring constantly.  It will immediately go nuts and you will need to keep whisking. If you've been doing it low and slow, turn the heat up to medium high. Let the onions caramelize a bit and the roux get darker, then stir in your celery and bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring the whole time.  Take your chicken and duck and put aside.  Get some of the grease out of your sausage in the skillet.  Toss the sausage into the pot with the garlic. Cook to combine, about a minute. Add the chicken and duck, stir, cook another five minutes. Start ladling in the stock. It should be warm and should not clump up the roux.  Once it's all in, add the basil, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir and bring to a simmer and let it bubble for about 45 minutes. Let's have a drink! Take out your chilled tumbler and swirl a bit of absinthe in the glass. Pernod or herbsaint will work if you have no absinthe.  Place a sugar cube in the glass and douse with a few dashes bitters, then muddle.  We are on to Kermit Ruffins at this point. Pour in your whiskey and stir, garnish with the lemon peel.  Very nice. Rebirth. Okay. Take your okra and saute it until the stringy mucus is gone, then add it to the mix.   Season with salt and pepper and cook another 30 minutes or so. Add the green onion.  Start your rice. I like basmati. I use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice. Rinse the rice completely, bring the water to a boil, then add the rice and bring back to a boil before covering and dropping heat to low and cooking for 14 minutes. Sounds dumb but I promise it works.  Enjoy. Phil Moscowitz fucked around with this message at 21:02 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 03:50
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 14:15 |
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Looks pretty fuckin' awesome!
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May 8, 2014 04:55
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Saved your recipe to hard drive. It looks wonderful. Also, I had my first Sazerac at Dick and Jenny's recently. It was magnificent.
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May 8, 2014 06:16
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I made a jambalaya with duck, chorizo, and shrimp, it was delicious.
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May 8, 2014 13:11
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If you despise okra as much as I do, get your hands on some file powder. Same thickening power, less grossness, and a really nice flavour that fits gumbo very well.
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May 8, 2014 16:54
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Yeah, I love okra in my gumbo but filé is a good alternative. Really as long as you have roux you are fine. I realize I forgot to note when I put in the tomato. Probably because it's an unnecessary afterthought. I usually add that toward the end. I also like adding shrimp, even in chicken & sausage gumbos, but the duck stock was so rich and gamey that I stuck with meat only.
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May 8, 2014 18:23
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my name is mindphlux and i approve this thread well done good fellow
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May 12, 2014 03:52
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 14:15 |
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loving gently caress yes. That looks wonderful
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May 12, 2014 05:02
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