Instant Pot Gumbo

Thaw the frozen okra by placing it in a strainer and running hot water over it until it becomes room temperature and breaks apart. Set aside Add the butter to the Instant Pot, hit “Sauté” and Adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. Once the butter’s melted and bubbling, add in the onions, bell pepper, celery and white part of the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes until softened Now add in the sausage and chicken and cook for another 3-5 minutes in the butter with the vegetables and cook until the sausage is lightly cooked and the chicken is white (it shouldn’t be fully cooked). When done, remove the liner pot and dump the veggies, chicken and sausage in a large bowl and set aside (it’s okay if a few stragglers remain in the pot) Next, create the Cajun roux (which is a thickening base and gives a Gumbo its color) by adding in the vegetable oil, flour and 1 tsp of the Tony Chachere’s Creole/Cajun seasoning. Whisk/stir often for a solid 5 minutes until it becomes a nicely browned roux (the color should look like peanut butter) Note: Make sure you whisk often/constantly or it will want to burn onto the pot. Deglaze (scrape the bottom of the pot) often with a wooden spatula or spoon After about 5 minutes of stirring and once the roux is beginning to darken, add the Gravy Master, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Zatarain’s crab boil. The roux will puff up now! Add the garlic and stir for another minute Now, add in the ham broth, chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Deglaze the bottom of the pot again to make sure none of the roux is sticking to it. Then add in the other 1.5 tbsp of Tony Chachere’s Creole/Cajun seasoning, light brown sugar, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin and dried thyme. Stir well and add back in the chicken and sausage Secure the lid, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 10 minutes (it will take 10-20 mins to come to pressure considering how much is in the pot so just be a little patient). When done cooking, allow a 10 minute natural release (meaning you do nothing for 10 minutes) followed by a quick release When the lid comes off, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Sauté” and adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. Stir in the okra and the softer, greener half of the scallions. Once bubbling, add in the cornstarch slurry and ketchup and let bubble for 2 minutes Lightly rub the shrimp in some Cajun/Creole seasoning, add them to the pot and cook for about 3-5 minutes (depending on their size and if raw or frozen), stirring occasionally and checking on the shrimp so they don’t overcook (they cook fast)! They should be a pinkish-white color and curled up when done When ready to serve, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” until the pot is on low heat and keeping the Gumbo warm and the bubbles die down Serve with some white rice scooped into the bowl and some buttery crackers (like Oyster Crackers, Lance Captain’s Wafers or Club) on the side Enjoy!