Guinea Gumbo
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This is a deeper, darker gumbo with an exceptional flavor that only guinea hen can deliver.
Recipe by:
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
  • 6 strips smoked bacon, chopped
  • 1 whole guinea hen, cut into pieces
  • 1 tablespoon Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
  • 2 cups diced yellow onions
  • 2 cups diced green bell pepper
  • 2 cups diced celery
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 cups dark chicken stock, plus more if needed
  • 1 cup dark roux, such as Rox's Roux or make your own from scratch (see recipe)
  • 3 links garlic smoked pork sausage
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Dash of hot sauce
  • 8 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice, such as Supreme
  • 1 cup diced green onion tops
  • Filé powder, for serving
  • Mustard potato salad, for serving
Instructions
  1. In a large cast-iron pot with a heavy lid over medium-high heat, add the bacon and cook until fully rendered. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and reserve the rest.
  2. Lightly sprinkle the guinea hen pieces with Cajun seasoning and place into the hot fat. Brown on all sides and remove to a platter.
  3. In the same pot over medium-high heat, add more bacon grease to the pot, if needed. Add the onions, bell pepper, and celery and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, cayenne, and bay leaves. Add the guinea hen to the pot and pour over the stock. Bring the pot to a simmer and add the roux. Place the whole sausage links along with the bacon pieces into the pot and immerse in the stock. Cover and let cook on simmer for 1 hour.
  4. Uncover and stir the pot. Using a ladle, skim the surface of any excess oil and discard. If too thick, add more stock. If too thin, add more roux. Add salt and pepper to taste along with a dash of hot sauce. Cover and cook on low for 1 hour longer.
  5. Skim the surface of excess oil and discard. At this point, you can leave the guinea hen on the bone or debone by removing the bones and skin from each of the pieces, and adding the meat back to the pot. Remove the sausage links, slice into bite-sized pieces and return to the pot. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
  6. For serving, ladle the gumbo over white rice and serve with a sprinkle of diced green onion tops and filé powder on the side. Also, a Cajun tradition is to add a scoop of potato salad on the edge of the bowl to eat along with the gumbo. Give it a try.
Notes
If you don't want to make your own roux from scratch; buy Rox's Roux from our STORE on our website. Unlike thinner gumbos, a guinea gumbo has a thicker (almost stew-like) consistency, so adjust your stock and roux ratio according to your taste. If you have trouble finding guinea hen, you can source the product online at D'Artagnan. Substituting guinea hen with a stewing hen or rooster is acceptable, but the flavors will be much different. I like to place the sausage links whole into the gumbo and let them plump up. They can be sliced later and added back to the pot for the final cooking. I highly recommend making dark chicken stock from scratch, and it's easy when you follow my recipe.
Recipe by Acadiana Table at https://acadianatable.com/2024/11/04/guinea-gumbo/