World Championship Seafood Gumbo Recipe

The World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off is held on the second weekend of October each year in New Iberia, Louisiana, and their organization has shared a winning recipe.

CAUTION: THIS GUMBO RECIPE CONTAINS TOMATOES.

There, I said it. Yes, the best gumbo in the world for 2013 contained tomatoes. Go  figure.

This winning World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off recipe was submitted by Team Bayou Roux & Unlimited from their 2013 championship entry. It is a seafood gumbo recipe, featuring shrimp, crab, and oysters. And tomatoes. TOMATOES!

The reason I am stressing the fact that the CHAMPIONSHIP recipe contained tomatoes is this: there are some people who are totally disgusted that some people put tomatoes in their gumbo. Well, here's a secret: I use tomatoes in my gumbo. Not chunks of tomatoes, mind you, but finely-blended (in a blender) Rotel tomatoes. I don't use cayenne or any hot sauce in my gumbo, it gets its spiciness from the Rotel.

Anyhoot, here's the recipe, as seen on the Iberia Travel website:

Ingredients:

•     5 quarts water
•     1 quart shrimp stock
•     1 teaspoon of crab boil mix
•     1 ½ cups light oil-based roux (available prepared at grocery stores)
•     1 large can of tomatoes (mashed with juice)
•     1 8oz can of tomato sauce
•     1 or 2 large onions (chopped)
•     1 cup green onions (chopped)
•     2 or 3 stalks of celery (chopped)
•     ½ cup parsley (chopped)
•     4 pounds raw Louisiana shrimp (peeled, de-veined and seasoned)
•     1 pound of Louisiana crabmeat
•     1 quart of Louisiana oysters with juice
•     (2) 1 pound containers of Louisiana crab fingers
•     Salt and Red pepper to taste
•     Rice (prepared)

Method of Preparation:

Peel and de-vein shrimp. Put raw shrimp aside. In a pot add shrimp peelings to 1 quart of water and boil 15 to 20 minutes. Remove peelings and throw away. Put stock to the side.

Sauté onions and celery in roux until cooked. Add in can of tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, 5 quarts water, shrimp stock and crab boil. Cook 1 1/2 hours. Add shrimp, crabmeat, crab fingers and oysters with juice. Season to taste with salt and red pepper. Add green onions and parsley. Let boil until seafood is cooked (approximately 20 minutes).

Serve over Louisiana rice and enjoy. Makes about 8 quarts.

There you have it:  a gumbo recipe that contains tomatoes that WON THE  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

(Iberia Travel)