Crawfish Beef Short Rib Chile Gumbo

This food n this chere book be gonna make u slap ya momma!

Laisse le BON TEMPS ROLUER!



This chere is one of favorites, especially during Mardi Gras and I even prepare it for Lundi Gras! The secret to this dish is to make it hot and mild for the different tastes of the folks that are attending. It doesn’t take much effort on my part but the results are fantastic! Serve this with some Smoked Pulled Pork sliders, Bloody Mary’s, Sweet Cabbage Slaw and the cold beer of choice!


  • 4 pounds Beef Short Ribs, bones included
  • 1 pound Boudin Sausage
  • 1 pound Andouille Sausage
  • 2 pounds Crawfish Tails
  • 1 pound Chevrette peeled and deveined
  • 2 onions finely diced
  • 5 stalks celery finely diced
  • 5 medium carrots finely shredded and minced
  • 2 bulbs garlic, 1 bulb finely minced
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • 2 to 3 Jalapeno peppers or peppers of choice, finely minced
  • 5 dried chili peppers of choice
  • 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
  • 2 tablespoons thyme
  • 1 cup chili powder
  • ½ cup paprika
  • ½ cup cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons JKs Cajun Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons grated Mexican Chocolate
  • 3 tablespoons Louisiana Hot Sauce
  • 1 quart each seafood stock and beef stock
  • ½ gallon cheap white wine
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup vegetable oil

Hot rice, hot crusty bread, skillet cornbread to serve with

First off, we gonna put them short ribs into a pot with pepper, salt,  1 garlic bulb cut in half, 5 dried chili’s, trimmings from the vegetables being used, bouquet garni of fresh thyme, rosemary, cinnamon bark.  Brown the short ribs before adding in the other stuff to create another depth of flavor.  Add 3 quarts of cheap wine or water, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.  (Save the strained broth on this to use as replacement liquid in this dish)



Next, we gonna make a roux with the flour and vegetable oil. Have your whisk on the ready cause this gonna take a while. Making the roux requires constant attention and steady stirring. One of the tricks is to brown the flour in the oven before adding to the oil. I like a dark roux that has not burnt. If it burns, throw it out and start over. This takes about 20 plus minutes but worth the effort!

Put the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the oil gets hot, but not smoking, add the flour in and stir slowly. For the adventurous, add two tablespoons each of duck fat and bacon renderings! If you can get crawfish fat, that’s even better.  That really brings out the flavor. Stir over medium heat until the roux reaches the color of your choice. 
Set the roux aside and let’s get to the veggies!  Prepare and set aside.

Set a large pot on the stove and add two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Put the minced garlic into the pot and let it get soft.  Add the Sausages and brown until the grease is rendered.  At this point, you can remove the grease by straining the meats and returning to the pot or leave it in. The roux will combine it into the Chili Gumbo.

Add the vegetables and let them sweat with just a couple pinches of salt.

Add the roux and stir into the mix. It will make a paste ready for the liquids.

Add the stocks and the cheap wine and let simmer while taking the meat off the short ribs. I have a meat grinder to make a bit of mincemeat, but it must finely chopped for this recipe.

Add to the pot, cover and relax with a cold beer or a good cocktail!



After about 2 hours, or right before serving, add the crawfish tails and Chevrette to the pot and cook for 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Serve hot with the accompaniments!



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