I love gumbo. Rabbit gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, seafood gumbo, tasso gumbo, and the list goes on. If I can kill it, I like it in gumbo.

There is a problem with making gumbo on a camping trip. Roux takes a lot of time and effort to make. Veggies go bad. Veggies get bruised in a pack. Rice takes time to make. A kitchen is where gumbo is made without getting aggravated.

Unless ...

You prepare the gumbo fixin's and use the right ingredients. So here is my recipe for camp gumbo that'll make your Mountain House freeze-dried eating friends jealous.

A dead critter
Savoie's Dry Roux
Old Bay seasoning
Salt 'n' pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Dehydrated cooked rice
Dehydrated onions
Dehydrated bell peppers
Celery flakes
Water



Here is the prep (done before hitting the wilderness preferably):

Put 1-2 table spoons of roux powder (I use two since I like my gumbo thick), a teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning and salt and red+black pepper to taste in a small Ziplock bag. Go easy with the hot stuff and add more when cooking if you want it hotter.

Put 1/3 cup of dried bell peppers, 1/3 cup dried onions, 1/3 cup dried/cooked rice and a heaping table spoon of celery flakes in a Ziplock bag.



Everything you need for gumbo outdoors.



Here is what to do in the wild.

Kill a critter. Clean the critter and butcher 'em.

Brown the critter meat.

Add roux and seasoning bag's contents into about 3 cups of water in the pot with the meat. Boil for about 10 minutes then simmer until meat is fully cooked (you never know where that critter has been so cook him well). Add contents of veggie/rice bag to boiling water. Boil for 2-3 minutes then simmer for 10.

Let the gumbo cool a bit then dig in.

You can also just bag up all the ingredients separately to leave your menu options open to stuff other than gumbo.



I will get some pics next week of the finished critter gumbo on next week's camping trip.

How's that Ruger taste when cooked up... I would have thought it a little "chewy" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I look forward to the rest of the makings mate....!!

I chipped a tooth the first time I tried it, but the second time I figured out it was better to use it to kill the critters for eatin'

Nice pics JJ

Hey JJ, you need to put that in the cookbook thread! I figure a LOT of folks would like it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

thats a great idea skunk

yummm...gumbo...

we have a chicken and sausage gumbo recipe that is insanely good and maybe my favorite thing in the world to eat. Sucker takes like 6-8 hours to cook! You have to stir the roux for 45 minutes! But, when you add the...??? I forget...a chopped herb...Lord it is like heaven and you want to eat it right there! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

JJ, if you wanted to make say a half gallon or a gallon of your gumbo, how would you adjust the ingredients measurements?

I guess if we knew how much it made with your measurements we could figure out how to adjust it upward.

Try this next time you make gumbo. It is how my grandma made gumbo and is awesome.

As soon as you put the water into the roux to make the soupy stuff, add some hard boiled/peeled eggs. Make sure they go in as soon as you put the water in to give the roux time to penetrate. The entire whites will turn brown with delicious roux flavor.

Skunk, for a 6-8 serving gumbo, I use a large onion chopped, a batch of celery, two bell peppers and about half a cup of roux. (I like my gumbo thick, use less roux if you prefer a light gumbo). You can read the directions on the dehydrated veggies to see what they equal in non-dehydrated veggies.

Normally, I never actaully measure when making gumbo. Don't think I have ever made the same gumbo twice.

Oh mama, I want that right now!

JJ, not having to measure ingredients for a dish and knowing how to make it without a recipe is what makes it different, yet the same every time. Shows you TRULY know how to make it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I can abide celery cooked in food although it is NOT my favorite, but Patty truly hates it.

Very good Devil Dog, I'm looking forward to trying it. I need to ask the wife if I can beak into our emergency FD stores. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'll be hitting the road this Friday for a trout fishing trip up into the Adirondacks for a week.

..Which is the correct way to do it as far as I'm concerned. Love me some gumbo too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Interesting ingredients. I don't think I've ever seen dehydrated bell peppers or celery, do you make that yourself?