Bengal Banter: A Perfect Tiger Gumbo...LSU Style

What is a gumbo…you may ask?

Louisianans are obviously very familiar with this savory, prominent state dish, and although there are thousands of recipes that call for all types of ingredients, our metaphorical pot will hold 11 special morsels…12 if you count the appetizer.

First, we’ll need to define our ingredients.

• 1 cup ‘Vandy’ oil - (I know, I know…the Vanderbilt’s made their money in Railroads & Shipping…but ‘Oil‘ comes to mind with ‘Blue Bloods‘)
• 1 cup flour - (La. Tech…because ‘flour’ and patty-cake come to mind…as in…why is LSU ‘playing’ these guys. Oh well…should be a nice scrimmage)
• 2 large Vidalia ‘Georgia’ onions, chopped (Can you say “Payback”)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (Sounds like what LSU will do to La. Lafayette)
• 4 ribs celery, chopped (And Tulane)
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced (Ole Miss and minced sound nice together)
• 4 quarts ‘Alabama’ chicken stock (Alabama…not what they are…but what they’ll taste like this year)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (The Miss St. offense and ‘dried’ seem to fit)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (The LSU/Auburn game brings ‘ground’ a whole new meaning)
• 2 pounds of ‘Gator’ (Sorry Tim…you should’ve gone pro)
• 2 pounds smoked ‘Hog’ (Arkansas) sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped
• 2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
• File powder to taste

Appetizer: Pacific Oysters (Washington St.) on the half-shell.

It will be a long way to get an appetizer…but it should hit the spot until the home opener.

Brown the Arkansas ‘Hog’ sausage, and pour off fat. Too much fat in the gumbo just makes it taste fatty and detracts for the complex ‘winning’ flavors of the other ingredients.

LSU seems to have forgotten over the years how important that is. Many a gumbo was spoiled by too much ’Hog’ fat.

In a large, heavy pot (Tiger Stadium), heat the oil (Vandy) and cook the flour (La. Tech) in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux-making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux.

Tiger Nation in ‘Death Valley’ will for sure be hot with anticipation this year and the Sept. 5 appetizer (Washington St.) will only whet the Tiger’s appetite for more. That’s not good news for Vandy coming to town for the home opener.

Add the vegetables (Georgia, Ole Miss, La. Lafayette, Tulane) and stir quickly.

LSU should chop-up La. Lafayette and Tulane pretty good…but that Georgia onion will be a tough chop. Not to worry…revenge can be a sharp blade which should cut through those ‘Dawgs’ pretty good and make our gumbo much ‘sweeter’ this year.

This cooks the vegetables and also stops the roux from cooking further. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about four minutes.

Add the stock (Alabama), seasonings (Miss St.), and sausage (Arkansas). Bring to a boil, and then cook for about one hour, skimming fat off the top as needed.

That pesky ‘Hog’ fat. If LSU gets past the big games with wins…the game with Arkansas is always close? Tigers!!! You gotta skim that fat! Don’t forget.

Add gator (Florida) in for the last 10 minutes of cooking so that you don't over cook it.

The Tigers will need to be careful in cooking these Gators...you certainly don’t want a tough gator in the gumbo. If LSU gets by Georgia with a win…the nation will have its collective eyes on Tiger Stadium for THE ’must-see’ game. Please CBS…don’t make it a day game…please.

Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and heat for 5 minutes. Serve over rice in large shallow bowls. Accompany with a good beer and lots of hot, crispy French bread.

YIELD: About 12 ‘winning’ sized servings.

Oh…almost forgot desert.

How about a nice Peach ‘Georgia Dome’ Cobbler?