The Ten Commandments of Gumbo And the Gumbo of NO!

On National Gumbo Day, you need to know that there are right and very wrong ways to make, serve and eat gumbo.

We hope this enlightens folks from near and far so you never make a faux pas on the ten commandments of gumbo.

#1- Gumbo is one of the most beloved entrees in the great state of Louisiana. People from around the world enjoy this amazing soup of rouxy goodness, but dare NOT mess up any of the golden rules of a good gumbo. 

Five Food Facts about Gumbo:

1. Gumbo is the official cuisine of the state of Louisiana.
2. There are several different varieties of gumbo based on the type of thickener used to create the dish.
3. Creole gumbo contains shellfish and tomatoes whereas Cajun gumbo is generally spicier with shellfish or chicken.
4. Gumbo may have flavors rooted in Native American, African, Caribbean, Spanish, and French cuisines.
5. No one is certain of the dish’s origin; the oldest mention is by French explorer C.C. Robin on the Acadian coast in 1803.

• I

  Thou Shalt Never Use Tomatoes

  If we've learned anything from the Disney folks, it's this. Any cooyon with half a brain knows "Making Gumbo 101" contains this golden rule -- it's roux-based and not tomato-based! Tomatoes are for things like spaghetti sauce.
• II

  Thou Shalt Not Use Un-Cajun Sausage

  Sausage in your gumbo can only come from authorized vendors. Brands like Savoie's, Richard's  or any name ending in "eaux" and you good, bebe!
• III

  Thou Shalt Not Use Store-Bought Roux

  Don't even entertain this thought. Now don't get me wrong, there are some that are just fine...if you paresseux comme ca! This a movement that needs to start immediately. Don't be lazy, stand by the stove and stir that flour and oil patiently until it's a perfect brown.
• IV

  Thou Shalt Always Use a Bowl

  There is always that one person who "just can't stand all that juice" and will insist on making them a plate of rice covered with gumbo. That's not gumbo bruh, that's rice and gravy!

• DISNEY’S GUMBO 

DISNEY’S GUMBO REACTION VIDEO. NOOOOOOO!

• V

  Thou Shalt Only Use a Wooden Spoon

  I guarantee you that gumbo knows what's stirring it. It has feelings too you know! There's only one kind of spoon that can enter a gumbo pot, and that's a wooden one.
• VI

  Thou Shalt Adhere to the 'Gumbo-to-Rice' Ratio

  Two parts gumbo, one part rice. It's simple math. You don't want it runny and you don't want it ricey. (Yeah, I don't know what "ricey" is either, but you comprende, oui?!)
• VII

  Thou Shalt Always Keep Filé In Ya Cabinet

  Don't make me fill my bowl with rice then add all that chicken and sausage goodness, plop some potato salad next to it and then find out you out of filé. Oh, we gonna fight, yeah!
• VIII

  Thou Shalt Not Mix Chicken & Sausage with Seafood

  Chicken and sausage gumbo = mais yeah cher! Seafood gumbo = pie-yow comme ca! Chicken and Sausage + Seafood = that don't go together, no! Stop that. Leave that separate, please.
• IX

  Thou Shalt Never Tell People Where the Potato Salad Goes

  It's an age-old question: Should the potato salad go straight in the bowl or in a bowl of its own? That's a personal choice. It's like politics, leave that discussion out of the kitchen.