Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale And Gumbo

Gumbo And Beer

Winter is definitely here and with it the colder temperatures.  I’ve always found one of the best ways to cut the chill is to make a nice hearty soup or stew.  One of our favorites is Gumbo, which is a Cajun/Creole inspired soup that uses roux(flour and fat) for the major flavoring component.  It is usually a little spicy and contains some kind of meat or sausage.  I decided to make the Gumbo with some leftover ham and smoked Turkey legs.   For the beer, a nice Brown Ale should pair up great.  So I decided to try the Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale with the Gumbo:

The Beer

Indian Brown Ale is a very good beer which went perfectly with the Gumbo.  It has a nice malty flavor along with great aromatic hops.  There is a touch of bitterness at the end which helps clean things off.  The beer looked pretty good in the glass and left some nice lacing as I drank it.  Drinkability is pretty high as well, even with the 7.2% ABV.  This is a good combination beer with components of a Brown Ale, IPA, and Scottish Ale.  I really enjoyed this beer and can highly recommend it!

Here is the score:

1. Appearance- 8 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 9 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 18 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 9 points (out of 10)

Total 44 (out of 50) Points- A  4 Mug Rating

Approximate Calories: 208-235

Gumbo Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 6-8 cups chicken broth
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds meat of choice (usually chicken, sausage, ham, etc.)
• 1 to 2 cups sliced okra (optional, but does help thicken the gumbo)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• Tabasco (to taste)
• File (add to individual bowl to taste)
• boiled white rice

Preparation:

For the roux, in a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together flour and oil until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes or until roux is dark reddish brown.

Add onion, green pepper, garlic & celery to roux and stir to cover vegetables completely in the roux (if you are cooking meat like chicken add it at this point).  Saute for 5-10 minutes until vegetables are just tender and meat is done.  Add the broth, okra (if using), meat (if already cooked), salt pepper, and Tabasco. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 60 minutes.

Serve over hot cooked rice, sprinkle file on gumbo and stir to add extra flavor and help thicken.

Makes 6 servings.