As much as I love traditional gumbo, I also love cooking a gumbo that is more like a stew. Along the northwest coast of Florida you can find restaurants that cook a delicious seafood gumbo without the roux. This recipe is the perfect one pot dish you can have prepared in the crockpot well before dinner using fresh seafood and seasonal vegetables.
Seafood Gumbo Stew
- 1/2 lb sliced bacon, diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes or about 1 1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned
- 1 lb fresh crabmeat
- 2 cups okra, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- Hot sauce to taste (optional)
Directions:
In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a slow cooker.
Discard all but a thin coating of fat from the skillet. Add the celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, about 7-10 minutes. Spoon the vegetables into the cooker and add the broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire, salt, and thyme.
Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours, or on high for 2 hours. Add the shrimp, crabmeat, and okra, and cook 1 hour longer on low heat or 1/2 hour longer on high.