Reviewed: Jun. 9, 2009

This is a pretty standard gumbo recipe, but always, always, wait until 5 to 10 minutes before serving to add the shrimp. Otherwise, as others complained, they'll be tough as shoe leather. I include a cup of chopped celery with the onion and bell pepper to be authentic. I always season with Tony Chachere's and some hot sauce (I love Cholula) and add sliced smoked sausage (which you can add early).

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madknglud

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Reviewed: Oct. 10, 2008

For everyone not from the south.. Friendly tip!*** I recommend to buy the shrimp with heads on them. You save the heads and boil them in a couple cups of water. It adds another layer of flavor to the gumbo!

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Lindsey

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Reviewed: Aug. 24, 2008

Not good as posted. I suggest adding cayenne pepper and salt to your liking and don't add the shrimp till the last 5 minutes of cooking. The key is to taste, taste, taste while your stock is boiling so you can add seasoning till it is right for your taste buds. Add more roux if you want it thicker and kitchen bouquet will make it look better on the plate. The recipe has the basic ingredients but you have to modify it to your liking and never put the shrimp in till the stock is done or you'll be chewing rubber.

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krum

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Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2008

Because of some of the comments, I added about a teaspoon of straight chili powder, and extra garlic. Sooooo good! I had company, and it was a big success. The added chili was just enough to make you start sniffing a bit at the end - not enough to cause even the two 8 year olds eating it any difficulties, and they polished it off. I'll be making this again, for sure.

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Dos Flores

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2007

We enjoyed this recipe very much, but with a couple of additions: Joe's cajun seasoning and Louisiana hot sauce. I used frozen Okra and deveined shrimp to keep it simple and fast. And I added an extra tablespoon of oil to the roux - makes it fail proof! Hearty and tasty! Enjoy!

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Goldilox

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Reviewed: May 3, 2007

I thought this was a pretty good recipe once you add some flavor to it. I added some Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and cayenne pepper to taste and instead of red peppers I added green bell peppers. I also added some snow crab legs and you can't add the shrimp or crab legs until the last ten minutes or so or they will be tuff. It turned out pretty good once I added this to the recipe.

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eerodgers23

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Reviewed: Dec. 17, 2006

I did change a couple of things on it though. I added Tony's seasoning along with the salt and pepper to taste. I also limited the amount of garlic used. Other than that everyone loved it!

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Kimber

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Kerrville, Texas, USA

Living In: Wahiawa, Hawaii, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 7, 2004

We were really disappointed in this recipe.

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Shara in Pdx

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Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2004

This was the most bland gumbo I've ever made. I even added spicy sausage to this and it didn't help.

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readernut

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Living In: Hermann, Missouri, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 28, 2002

This recipe was very bland and the shrimp was tough after cooking it so long, it was long in preparing. Add some cajun spices to it (louisianna hot sauce is wonderful)and use pre-deveined shrimp and frozen, chopped okra and that would cut the prep time down a lot.

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ARTHURBERTA

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Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2002

I found this recipe to be VERY bland and watery, and if you add the shrimp at the beginning it makes it very "TUFF" and I cant see it being from Louisiana with it having zero flavor. And to peel 2lbs of shrimp and chop all the other ingredients takes ALOT longer than 5 minutes. NOT RECOMENDED

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JACKIE2153

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2000

The prep time is actually much longer. Cutting up 3 cups of okra and shelling and deveining 2 pounds of shrimp take a lot longer than 5 minutes. It is also a bit bland.

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