Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is a great reason to fire up your pellet grill or smoker and make some delicious cajun food! Summer has finally arrived and it’s time to enjoy all of the flavors!
There’s a new kind of cooking I’ve been obsessed with lately, and if you follow me over on Instagram, you may have seen a few of my behind the scenes stories of me with my new favorite toy, my Traeger Grill! I’d actually been using a borrowed small Traeger for a couple of years, but last year I upgraded to a shiny new and very large grill and I’ve caught the bug to learn about all the things smoking and grilling! This Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is one of our repeat family favorites.
And the answer to the question I think you may be thinking is yes, this is a bit time consuming. But today, let’s focus on the smoker and the low and slow aspect of making a dish like this in the outdoors! Here is the grill that I use and can honestly say I’m obsessed with!!
Reasons to make this smoked chicken and sausage gumbo on your smoker/grill:
- that smoky flavor!
- enjoy the outdoors on a beautiful day
- keep the mess out of the kitchen
What is the main ingredient in a gumbo?
I’ve been completely obsessed with gumbo since first making this recipe and I’ve since had the opportunity to try true gulf shore gumbo as well as some gumbo from a food truck. I’ve got to say, once trying the gumbo from the food truck here at a food truck festival, I was blown away and immediately wanted to recreate it. My previous gumbo experience involved seafood and I quickly learned that chicken gumbo can be just as, if not even more, amazing. Of course, the base of any good gumbo is essential, so keep reading.
How do I make gumbo?
So, out I went to fire up the grill and try my hand at this new way to make smoked chicken and sausage gumbo. I’m hooked! I seared the chicken thighs and smoked the roux and added my personal favorite mirepoix blend that adds in some sweet bell peppers. You can chop it up by hand, but I like using my mini-chopper instead. It makes fast work plus just gets the veggies nice and tiny, the way I like them in this soup.
Of course, no gumbo is complete without serving it in a cup that says gumbo, right? 😆 I found this on our Alabama adventures and had to have it! So tell me, when it comes to food, are you all about the convenience, or are you die hard like me and believe in your heart that delicious foods can are sometimes worth the wait? Anyone else like slow smoking on a pellet grill or other smoker?
Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 dash salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 large orange or yellow pepper
- 1 stalk celery
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 1 pound andouille sausage
- 4 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat smoker/pellet grill to 400 degrees
- Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and place on heated grill
- In a large grill safe dutch oven, add flour and butter
- Close and let chicken cook for about 5 minutes until seared on one side, then flip and cook on other side for about 5 more minutes
- Stir butter/flour and let continue to smoke and form a paste
- Remove chicken from grill and cover with foil
- Reduce heat on grill to 350 degrees and let flour/butter smoke for about 10 more minutes, stirring every 5 minutes
- Peel and finely chop carrot, celery, onion and pepper and add to pan and let cook for about 5 more minutes while continuing to stir
- Slowly (very slowly so as not to create lumps) add in broth while stirring constantly
- Stir in seasoning blend
- Slice sausage and add to pan along with returning the chicken
- Cover the pan and close the lid and let it continue to cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until chicken is fully cooked and shreds easily
- Shred chicken and serve gumbo with cooked rice or as desired. Garnished with parsley.
Need alllllll of this in my life. Looks so bold and flavorful and delicious- cannot wait to try!
Thanks Karly!
What kind of pellets did you use?
I believe I used mesquite for this recipe.