Although I was not born in New Orleans—we moved here when I was six—I most definitely consider it my hometown. Even post-hurricanes, I am eternally grateful to my dad for deciding to make this simmering, sumptuous, gumbo-of-a-city our permanent home when he retired from the navy. What a happy circumstance for a food lover like me! Speaking of gumbo, I could eat it every day of the week. And you can’t claim to be a cook in Louisiana without having your own version of its most famous dish. While I have to say that Donald Link, the chef at Herbsaint, makes the best gumbo I have ever eaten, I’ve learned to make a pretty mean version myself. Here is one of the most basic. Feel free to substitute an equal amount of roasted chicken for the duck.
To enrich your chicken broth or intensify a store-bought one, pour it into a pot, add the picked duck or chicken bones, and simmer for 15 minutes. You may need to add a little water to make sure you end up with 6 cups.
The right cookware is essential for gumbo—don’t even think about using a thin, flimsy pot.
