Crock-Pot gumbo is a slow-cooked version of the traditional fish and sausage stew, originating from Louisiana. The dish requires a long cooking time and a roux base, with variations in ingredients and cooking methods. Slow cookers make gumbo more accessible for busy cooks, but require some preparation and monitoring. Gumbo is typically served with rice, and Crock-Pot gumbo can be cooked with or without the rice included.
Crock-Pot gumbo is any type of gumbo — traditionally a thick fish and sausage stew — that is prepared in a Crock-Pot slow cooker. Strictly speaking, the dish must be prepared in a Crock-Pot branded slow cooker to truly be considered a Crock-Pot gumbo. In many places, however, the term “Crock-Pot” has become something of a generic indicator for any type of slow cooking device, regardless of manufacturer. Most of the time, when people talk about Crock-Pot gumbo, they simply mean gumbo prepared in any such appliance.
Gumbo is a type of stew that originated in the American South, especially Louisiana, but is popular throughout the United States. There are many different recipes and variations on the dish, even in its more traditional form. Louisiana Cajun cooks can usually identify up to four different versions of “real” gumbo, although alterations, substitutions, and innovations are common and frequently celebrated. One thing that characterizes all the variations is the long cooking time. The ingredients have to simmer for many hours, which makes the dish quite labor intensive.
Using a slow cooker is one way to make gumbo more accessible to the time-pressed cook. Pots and pans are electrical appliances that cook raw food at low temperatures for hours on end, monitoring the contents internally and ultimately producing a finished meal that requires very little supervision. Slow cooker dinners are easy to assemble for professionals who work in the morning, get ready to cook during the day, then come home, done, in the evening.
Crock-Pot’s gumbo is still somewhat complex when it comes to preparation. Like many Crock-Pot dishes, it’s rarely as simple as simply tossing ingredients into the cooking chamber. Chefs need to start by cutting vegetables and meats. In most cases, they also have to pre-make the roux, or stew base, from scratch.
Not all gumbo dishes contain a roux, but many do. Roux is a Cajun word for a soup base that is basically equal parts fat and flour. Butter and oil are the most common fats. Cooks must combine the two ingredients in a saucepan, then stir constantly until the roux begins to brown. Too long and the roux will burn and ruin it, but too short and the base will be little more than a thick paste.
Cooks need to add the roux to the crock pot, along with the vegetables and meats. One of the most common slow cooking techniques involves browning the meat before adding it to the cooking chamber. Cooks who use chicken or other white meats usually brown the meat to prevent bacterial growth during simmering hours. Sausage, a more traditional gumbo beef, doesn’t usually carry as much risk and can usually be added raw.
Fish is an exception. Shrimp, crab and other shellfish are quite delicate and will fall apart with hours of simmering. These common gumbo ingredients are usually set aside and only added in the last few sips of cooking.
Most often, gumbo is served with rice. There is some difference of opinion among Cajun chefs as to whether the rice should be cooked in the broth so that the stew is truly all inclusive or cooked separately for the finished gumbo to be served. Crock-Pot gumbo can be prepared either way. Cooks choosing to add the rice to the stew as it cooks should be sure there is extra space at the top of the chamber, however, as the rice will expand considerably during cooking.
Crock-Pot cooking allows cooks to take a much more hands-on approach to traditionally labor-intensive dishes like gumbo. Likewise, it is never wise to leave electronics running for many hours without at least some casual supervision. For cooks who must be gone while cooking, cookware with auto shut-off features or timed cook settings are usually best.
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