Hmmmm…Life sure has been hectic over the last 2 months. We decorated; had the kids home for Christmas; shopped until we dropped; and spread good cheer. We have cooked and cleaned and cleaned and cooked. We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas dinner and then my best friend, John, had his 60th Birthday on New Year’s Eve, so we threw him a 60th Birthday party, Tex-Mexican style. Whew!!! As a result, the blog has lagged behind and many dishes have yet to be posted. Take this gumbo, for instance.
Part of the challenge of cooking is what to do with leftovers. This can be especially challenging during the Holidays when large meals are cooked for visiting family and friends. Inevitably, you always cook way more than you need because it is always better to have too much food than too little. Hence, there are always leftovers. Friends will only take so much with them (if any) and if its family visiting then it all stays in your fridge. This, in turn, creates additional problems because you only have so much refrigerator space. You can’t buy new food until the leftovers are eaten because it won’t fit in the fridge. 😮 You can only eat so much turkey and dressing, porchetta, standing rib roast., etc. So, you have to find some new and exciting way to fix the leftovers. This dish was one of those how do I get rid of leftovers recipes. You see, the suckling pig was delicious but an 18.7 lb. suckling pig was enough pork to feed 10 – 12 people a main serving and still have leftovers. There were only 6 of us. Even with 4 virile young men eating Christmas dinner we still had 3.5 lbs of deboned suckling pig remaining. If you’ve been paying any attention to this blog, you also knew there was no way I was going to let those beautiful bones go to waste, either. So, obviously, a pork stock was in the making. Sadly, I was too busy with other things that I didn’t get time to take any photos of the process but you follow the same process as in in a chicken/turkey stock. It yielded 1 gallon of delicate, lightly smokey, pork stock. Now that I had 1 gallon of pork stock and 3.5 lbs of pork off the bone, the only sensible thing to do was a gumbo. This is what we did.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb. boned, smoked piglet, large dice
- 1 lb. sausage, i.e. andouille, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
- 2-1/2 qts pork stock (you can substitute chicken stock)
- 1 cup peanut or canola oil
- 1 cup flour
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp hot sauce (you can substitute 2 tsp cayenne pepper)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Salt, to taste
- white rice, for serving
Instruction
First, make a brown roux. For instruction on making a brown roux click here.
Once the brown roux is made, add the vegetables to the roux and continue to cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
As you begin to cook the veggies, you may notice the roux begin to thicken. This is because the veggies are releasing their water which is combining with the flour in the roux to thicken it. At this point, add the pork stock.
Bring liquid to a boil and allow the flour to cook out and begin to thicken the gumbo. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the sausage.
Now, add the smoked piglet
Allow to cook for 30 minutes, or so, to develop the flavors. Taste and adjust salt to taste. Add black pepper and hot sauce.
Cook an additional 10 – 15 minutes to let flavors meld and develop.
To serve, place a mound of white rice in the middle of a bowl and ladle the gumbo around it. Serve & enjoy!
REMCooks 
Looks divine!!
Thanks, Liza. I thought you might like this one. 😉
I was wondering if we were going to see more of the piggy on this blog 🙂 The gumbo looks amazing and I wish I could have some for lunch on this cold Chicago day!
The piggy was pretty darn good, as is, and we nibbled on it for a day or so. Even after making this gumbo I still have some in the freezer (a pound or so) and will come up with something for the rest. On a cold, blustery, winter day/night, this gumbo sure hits the spot.
What a great idea for smoked pork. We have a smoker on our grill so I’ll have to try this.
We love gumbo. This was a perfect way to use the little piglet. The stock that came from the bones was really unbelievable. We used it in this gumbo and then Baby Lady made a batch of beans for our friend’s 60th Mexican style B-day party. If you like gumbos, have a smoker and want to try something completely over-the-top, try smoked duck gumbo. 🙂
Oh boy, that I would love to try. Sounds decadent!
What a great way to use your left-over pork, Richard. I can only imagine how flavorful your gumbo was with all of the smoked pork and andouille sausage in it. That little piggy sure did serve you guys well. 🙂
Thanks, John. This gumbo is really delish! The piglet was wonderful and we still have a little left. I’m thinking about doing a sandwich spread.
What? no gumbo filé thrown at the end of cooking? Just kidding, Richard. 🙂 Sounds good with the smoked pork, too! I never met a gumbo I didn’t like. Seems like no matter what meat/seafood/fowl I throw in the pot, they just seem to get better and better. I’ll have to try this next Boston butt we smoke on the grill. Thanks for your recipe. Looks delicious in your pic. Your food always does!
Thanks, Peggy. This was a wonderful gumbo. I enjoy gumbos like these because it reminds me of living in Louisiana. Most people associate seafood with gumbo but cajuns use all sorts of meats in gumbos.
First it was Tex-Mex with your grill avocado with pork and now it’s a terrific sounding gumbo…I’m going to have to cook something spicy over the weekend.
Thanks, Karen. We’re glad you like it. I’m eager to see what you fix this weekend. 🙂
Hi Richard, it sounds like life is full and you and family are living it to the max! Mmm…suckling pig is the penultimate delicacy and of course, that good meat and eating so (it could never go to waste!) Fact: I’ve never tried an authentic gumbo (living in Australia they’re hard to come by) I can tell with a beautiful home made stock, soft tender meat and spice, that it’s something not to be missed!
Hi, Alice. So you’ve never had an authentic gumbo? You really need to fix that, all pun intended. 😉 Gumbos may be my absolute favorite soup/stew. The depth of flavor from the stocks, meats, spices and rich, brown roux are simply unbelievable. Are you back from your travels? Looking forward to your new posts in 2013.
Agreed, I need to remedy that in 2013 for sure! As for travels back in Sydney now, already at work and my 2nd year of culinary school starts in s fortnight. Can’t complain though, cause it’s summer here and that’s all right by me!
I’m afraid I am as guilty as Alice. Though, it’s winter here and I could do with a nice hot bowl of this. It looks excellent Richard. Good to see the overpriced piglet serving for more than one post!
Best,
Conor
Thanks, Conor. It’s finally cold here and although we enjoy a good bowl of gumbo almost anytime, it’s especially nice during the winter. 🙂
Looks great! Yum 🙂
Thank you for dropping by and your nice compliment.
Hi there, I’ve nominated you for the Blogger of the Year 2012 Award. Here is the link for the info. http://ourgrowingpaynes.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/blogger-of-the-year-award-1st-star/
You know how I agree with using bones to make stock, and this looks and sounds delicious. I’ll have to remember to make stock out of the piggy we’re going to grill on a spit over an open fire this summer. The smoked duck gumbo sounds interesting as well. Is that made with a whole smoked duck?
I’ve been looking for a great gumbo recipe! Totally going to try this, thank you!!!