Good Calories, Bad Calories

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, originally uploaded by livinlowcarbman.

This is in response to Nancy's comment, and a recommendation for anyone concerned about food: Good Calories, Bad Calories is a fascinating look at the cholesterol debate (a debate no one should even think about until they understand what cholesterol is), "western" diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, and of course, how mercilessly the few people who think these problems are caused by refined carbohydrates are beaten down. It's wonderful inspiration for us who embrace the carniverous side of their natures.

But now it's recipe blogging time!

No-Roux Gumbo

"No roux? That mean's it's not gumbo!" Sure, fine, whatever:

2 Smoked turkey legs ($2 to Emeril - these are tasty!)

1/2 cup each diced onion, celery, green bell pepper (the holy trinity) or 1 small onion, 3 stalks celery, 1 bell pepper if you aren't anal.

3 diced garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil


Stick turkey legs & chicken stock in a crockpot. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until the meat is easily removed. Take meat off & set aside. Place everything not meat from the legs back in crock pot & cook on high for 2 hours. Yes, you can add some more veggies to the crock pot for even more flavor in the stock. I didn't bother. In the meantime dice or pull the meat & chop the veggies.

Once 2 hours are done, strain out the remains & reserve the stock. There should be little fat so don't worry about removing it. The first time I made this I put the stock in the fridge to solidify the fat for removal but there was so little (just tiny beads) that next time I won't bother.

Put olive oil in big pot (dutch oven works nicely), heat medium high, and saute trinity veggies until translucent. Then add garlic. Not before. Stir some, add white wine. Stir some more while alcohol burns off.

Add chicken stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Once it is boiling add turkey back. If it seems like you could use more liquid, add some water or chicken stock. Part of the reason for cooking the bones for so long was to get all the collagen which should have thickened the stock a little. I like the consistency of the gumbo a little thicker than stew hence so little liquid. The flavors are so concentrated that I didn't miss the gravy. Matter of fact there's so much collagen that the leftovers I had in the fridge popped out of the tupperware like one big mound of jello.

Anyway, cook that on low for maybe 10 minutes or so, adding salt and pepper to taste.

As you may have noticed, this recipe is somewhat low-fat as well as low carb. You can always do what I did - during the veggie saute I threw in half a pound of andouille sausage (YUM!). Ham, bacon, or Kielbasa are also welcome.

If you have family members who are gritching about lack of gravy, have a bottle of filé powder ready for them. They can sprinkle it in their own stew until it's thick enough. That's how gumbo was served originally, anyway. You can also make a batch of rice for those more inclined to eat carbohydrates.