“WHO’S THERE?” shouted Uncle John Hooks as his shotgun swung up toward the little motorboat his nephew Steve and I were in. Steve hits the deck and shouts “DON’T SHOOT UNCLE JOHN, DON’T SHOOT, IT’S STEVE!” 10 minutes later, after some delicate negotiations, long pauses and overcoming my strong desire to turn tail and run, I found myself in a little two room ramshackle shack perched on a small island of solid ground deep in the Atchafalaya swamps near Breaux Bridge, LA during the yearly Craw Fish Festival. A drunken offer to let me learn to make Gumbo from a real Cajun master paid off with this recipe, several more beers and some whispered secrets from Uncle John who always keep his shotgun and a couple of beers close at hand.

UNCLE JOHNS SECRETS TO A GREAT GUMBO

1. Get a good fresh hen chicken and a lot of beer!
   “You put beer in Gumbo?” I asked innocently. “Hell No, you DRINK the beer” he says sounding a little disgusted that he has to deal with this West coast greenhorn. “The beers what keeps you puttin’ the red pepper in, long after you shouda stopped. And if the rest of ‘em drink enough of it, the damn fools‘ll eat it anyway.”

2. “No matter what anybody tells you, you caint never use too many onions.”
   But you damn sure can use to few, so go big, go big!
   
   
3. Don’t never rush the roux! This one is key. Low heat, lots of slow stirring and cook it until it’s a nutty brown. Uncle John showed me his leathered old brown belt and told me to stand there and stir until the roux was “jest as brown at that.”
4. Laissez le bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

For the Roux

1 cup white flour

1 cup vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a large cast iron or other heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Slowly stir in the flour. Constant stirring is the secret. Don’t rush it and don’t let it burn. A dark chocolate brown to almost black is the true Cajun way. The length of time will vary depending on the type of pot you are using and the level of the heat under your pot. Through in one cup chopped onion (from recipe below) and stir after removing from the heat to help the roux cool down.

For the Gumbo

2 gallons water

Roux (from above)

4 to 5 cups chopped onions

1 cup bell pepper, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

½ head garlic, minced

1 whole chicken cut up (reserve organ meat for another use)

2 pounds sausage andouille when these are available.)

1 bunch scallions, chopped, tops only

1 bunch parsley, chopped

salt, black pepper, cayenne to taste

In a large pot, boil two quarts of water. Once boiling rapidly, slowly stir in the roux while stirring hard and fast. When the roux is fully diluted the mixture will begin to foam up rapidly. Continue to stir! Add the rest of the water and all the vegetables. Return to boil and stir more. When it foams up again, add chicken, sausage, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

Cook over medium-high heat until tender. DO NOT COVER.

5 minutes before serving add scallions and parsley. When the five minutes are up, remove the pot from the heat.

Serve over white rice in a bowl