Creole Shrimp Gumbo with Duck

This is my take on gumbo, with shrimp and pulled duck breast to celebrate two of the finest ingredients in the Bayou, Gulf Shrimp and wild duck. The keys to this gumbo recipe are quality American shrimp, a strong roux, fresh okra and just a touch of file powder. It's perfectly fine to use domestic duck with this recipe, and you can even use chicken thighs. Take your time with this gumbo and you will be rewarded. Serve with a cold beer over rice. This recipe will serve 8-10 as a main course.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb medium peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 lb shredded cooked duck or chicken thighs
• 4 T. duck fat or bacon drippings
• 3 1/2 T. flour
• 1/2 lb sliced okra
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 4 T. duck fat or bacon drippings
• 1 T. thyme leaves
• 2 t. cayenne powder
• 4-6 chopped garlic cloves
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 T. file powder
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 qt. crab, fish or chicken stock
• Salt

Preparation:

Make the roux. In a heavy frying pan, make a roux by heating 4 tablespoons of duck fat over medium heat for a minute or two, then sprinkle in the flour a little at a time, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until it turns light brown, stirring often -- do not let it burn.

In a Dutch oven or other large stew pot, heat the other 4 tablespoons of oil and saute the okra, onion, bell pepper and celery over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. Add the garlic.

Once the roux is nice and brown, add the crab, fish or chicken stock and stir vigorously to combine. Pour this into the Dutch oven.

Add the cayenne, thyme, bay leaves and crushed tomatoes, then stir well to combine. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for an hour.

Add the file powder and stir well. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Add the shredded duck and the shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes, then check for salt again.

Serve over steamed white rice at once.