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John Besh
Star chef John Besh on Lake Pontchartrain (Andrew Hetherington)

King of Crabs

New Orleans chef John Besh dishes up the ultimate seafood-gumbo recipe

Published: 
John Besh
(Photo: Andrew Hetherington)

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No one has done more to keep Louisiana鈥檚 seafood traditions alive than . The 43-year-old chef, who grew up hunting and fishing along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, had just opened his second restaurant in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. He found himself cooking vats of red beans and rice in his driveway for emergency responders, and his life has been a blur of fundraisers ever since鈥攆irst for Katrina relief, lately for fishermen forced out of work by the April 2010 BP oil spill. Besh, who now owns eight restaurants in New Orleans, makes it a point to use seafood from Gulf Coast waters, hundreds of pounds every day. That large-scale locavorism, combined with a willingness to stray from Louisiana鈥檚 tried-and-true recipes, has proved hugely profitable. The Besh empire now includes TV shows, three books, and a contract supplying meals for government emergency responders. I spent a day fishing with Besh last fall on Lake Pontchartrain, then cooking up the catch back at his house. (OK, he cooked鈥擨 ate.) We talked shop, and eventually I pried his gumbo recipe out of him.听

The Gumbo Chronicles

Seafood freak ROWAN JACOBSEN packs his bib and heads south to cook up a locally sourced gumbo in the aftermath of the BP听oil spill recovery efforts.

OUTSIDE: What was your introduction to these culinary traditions?
BESH: So much of my cooking is rooted in my childhood. I love this marsh. Love being out here at sunrise. Fishing and hunting鈥攖hat鈥檚 how I fell in love with food. The adventure of it all. It doesn鈥檛 stop with landing the fish. You catch a redfish: How you gonna cook it? That鈥檚 how this culture developed. It鈥檚 still like that today. You eat what you have. You shouldn鈥檛 see crawfish or soft-shell crab on a menu unless it鈥檚 in season.听

What was your reaction to the spill?
I was pissed off. Food is the thing that ties this culture together. When that鈥檚 threatened鈥攏ot just livelihoods, but the actual food sources that we鈥檝e all grown up with and reveled in鈥攖hat鈥檚 scary.

Has the press gone overboard in its scrutiny of the Gulf?
The truth is, we need to be skeptical of our food supply. But we also need to ask these questions of the foreign fish and shrimp that are raised in unsanitary conditions in Southeast Asia, being fed who knows what.听

What are your feelings about messing with tradition in your own cooking?
One thing that worries me is when people start saying, 鈥淥h, you can鈥檛 do it that way.鈥 What we have in Louisiana is the ultimate fusion food. It came about because of all the different people who settled here. There鈥檚 nothing pure about it. It needs to continue to evolve. That being said, I think gumbo鈥檚 too important to deconstruct. You don鈥檛 fool around with that sort of thing.听

What鈥檚 the key to good gumbo?
I look for two things: first, a deep shellfish flavor, which I accomplish by allowing quartered crabs to cook for at least 45 minutes before adding any other seafood. Second, I鈥檓 looking for the seafood鈥攕hrimp, crabmeat, and oysters鈥攖o be perfectly tender, not overcooked, just as the gumbo is served.

Seafood Gumbo

Serves 10

Seafood gumbo
Seafood gumbo (Daymon Gardner)

The Gumbo Chronicles

Seafood freak ROWAN JACOBSEN packs his bib and heads south to cook up a locally sourced gumbo in the aftermath of the BP听oil spill recovery efforts.

Ingredients

1 cup canola oil
1 cup flour
2 large onions, diced
6 jumbo blue crabs, quartered
1 pound andouille sausage links, sliced thick
1 celery stalk, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh okra, sliced
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 quarts shellfish stock
2 bay leaves
1 pound medium Louisiana or wild American shrimp
1 cup shucked oysters
1 cup lump crabmeat
1 cup green onion, minced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Creole spices
Worcestershire
Tabasco
4鈥6 cups cooked Louisiana white rice

Make a roux by heating oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat and whisking flour into hot oil. Reduce heat to moderate and continue whisking until the roux takes on a brown color, about 15 minutes. Add onions, stirring them into the roux with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the roux is dark brown鈥攁bout 10 minutes.

Add blue crabs and sausage and stir for a minute before adding celery, bell peppers, garlic, and okra. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, for about three minutes. Add thyme, shellfish stock, and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and skim off any fat from the surface.

Add shrimp, oysters, crabmeat, and green onion and cook 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, 颅Creole spices, Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Serve with rice.

Shellfish Stock

Makes 3 quarts

Seafood gumbo
Seafood gumbo (Daymon Gardner)

The Gumbo Chronicles

Seafood freak ROWAN JACOBSEN packs his bib and heads south to cook up a locally sourced gumbo in the aftermath of the BP听oil spill recovery efforts.

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 leeks, coarsely chopped
8 garlic cloves, crushed
2 pounds shells from shrimp, blue crab, crawfish, or lobster
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons black peppercorns

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Cook onions, celery, carrots, leeks, and garlic, stirring often, until soft but not brown, about three minutes. Add shells, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, and six quarts water. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and gently simmer until stock has reduced by half鈥攔oughly two hours. Skim off any foam. Strain through a fine sieve into a container, then cover. Allow stock to cool, then refrigerate. Skim off any fat before using.

Creole Spices

Makes 1/2 cup

Seafood gumbo
Seafood gumbo (Daymon Gardner)

The Gumbo Chronicles

Seafood freak ROWAN JACOBSEN packs his bib and heads south to cook up a locally sourced gumbo in the aftermath of the BP听oil spill recovery efforts.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons celery salt
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

From 国产吃瓜黑料 Magazine, Apr 2012
Filed to:
Lead Photo: Andrew Hetherington

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