Gator Gumbo

Photo: flickr user VirtualErn

Ingredients

1 cup Oil

2 pounds Gator, cut up or boned

1 1/2 pounds Audouille

1 cup Flour

4 cups Chopped onions

2 cups Chopped celery

2 cups Chopped green pepper

1 tablespoon Chopped garlic

8 cups Stock or flavoured water

2 cups Chopped green onions

Cooked rice

Joe's Stuff seasoning

File

Preparation

1 Season and brown the gator in oil (lard or bacon dripping) over a medium heat. Add the sausage and saute with the gator. Remove both from the pot.

2 Make a roux with equal parts of the oil (must be free of food particles to avoid burning) and flour to a desired colour.

3 Add the onions, celery and green pepper. Add the garlic and stir continuously.

4 After the vegetables are tender, return the gator and sausage to the pot and cook, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in the liquid and bring to the boil.

5 Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for an hour or more. Season with Joe's Stuff. Approximately 10 minutes before serving, add the green onions. Serve over rice or with French bread.

File is a green powder of young, dried, ground sassafras leaves, used in gumbo for flavour and thickening.

It may be placed on the table to add to the gumbo as desired. 1/4 - 1/2 tsp