Ingredients
½ stick butter and ½ cup oil
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all purpose flour
6 large onions, chopped (about 12 cups)
6 stop light bell peppers, seeded, chopped (about 7 cups)
8 celery stalks, chopped (about 3 cups)
16 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup chopped fresh thyme
6 bays leaves
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
4 8-ounce bottle clam juice
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 pounds whole blue crab, about 5-6(defaced, apron removed and cut in half)
4 pounds Conecuh sausage, cut crosswise into ½ inch thick slices
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
4 pounds peeled deveined medium shrimp
Fresh minced Italian parsley
Steamed rice
Preparation
Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken then remove. Heat oil in heavy 13-quart pot over medium high heat until very hot and almost smoking. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is dark reddish brown, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until onion are soft and brown, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cayenne and stir 2 minutes. Add wine, thyme, and bay leaves; bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes with juices, clam juice, broth, crabs, sausage, and chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. You can stop here and cool gumbo down, cover and chill over night. Bring back up to a simmer before adding the shrimp and cook just until opaque in center, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
