Name: The Best Duck Gumbo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 4 duck breasts (from 2 ducks); 1 cup vegetable oil; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 2 large yellow onions, diced; 2 green bell peppers, diced; 4 stalks celery, diced; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; 1 32-ounce container chicken broth; 1 1/2 cups water; 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 pound andouille smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies; 1/2 pound medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined; 2 teaspoons gumbo filé powder; Hot cooked rice, for serving

This delicious and easy Duck Gumbo Recipe is a big bowl of comfort food that will leave you full and satisfied.

I spent a good 20 minutes staring into the open freezer in the basement, completely bewildered. My wife eventually found me, wondering why I couldn’t decide which wild game to use for dinner. This time of year offers so many choices - goose, duck, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, grouse, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk. I even have bighorn sheep gifted by a client. After much deliberation, I grabbed a bag labeled “Gadwall Breasts – October 2022.”

Here in North Dakota, the temperature hovers around -10 degrees F and too cold for outdoor fun. I decided to use the ducks in my freezer to make a dish celebrating Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras. A gumbo recipe felt perfect for such a frigid day, offering a stay-inside-and-cook-all-day kind of warmth for my family. While Louisiana natives have strict ideas about proper gumbo, I love experimenting with endless variations. This duck gumbo recipe combines duck, andouille, and shrimp with the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell pepper. I always include gumbo filé powder in every batch because, for me, it’s essential.

The end result is this cayenne-kissed dish that allows all of the ingredients to shine without it being too spicy for my 10-year-old daughter.

What's The Difference Between Gumbo and Etouffee?

If you want to learn the difference between gumbo and etouffee, check out my explanation included in my Duck Etouffee Recipe.

What Is Gumbo?

Gumbo serves as a hearty stew poured hot over rice, made with various combinations of meat, seafood, or vegetables. It symbolizes Louisiana cuisine, but its origins depend on whom you ask.

Author Toni Tipton-Martin explains in Jubilee, one of my favorite cookbooks, “The word gumbo comes from gombo, the word in several West African languages for okra. This may explain why early versions of the thick, aromatic stew contained okra, along with vegetables, meat, or seafood.”

Some historians trace gumbo’s roots to a Native American Choctaw stew, while others credit French influence. They argue that gumbo derives from bouillabaisse, a Provencal fish stew. Today, all gumbo recipes showcase Creole influence by starting with a roux to thicken the dish. If a recipe skips the roux, it simply isn’t gumbo!

How to Make This Duck Gumbo Recipe

1. Gather all of your ingredients.

2. Score the duck breast skin (but not the meat) in a cross pattern. This helps the fat render and will give you a crispier skin. Place both skin-on breasts on a plate and set in refrigerator until ready to use. Salt it well on both sides, then let it sit on a cutting board while you prepare the gumbo.

3. Place a larg e Du tch oven over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, until roux becomes smooth and thick and the color of a penny.

4. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, celery, and next 4 ingredients. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are tender.

5. Add the minced garlic and cook another 2 minutes.

6. Add chicken broth, water, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer 15 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil lay the duck breasts skin side down then turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes. Then flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes until an instant read meat thermometer shows it at 130 degrees F. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and let it rest, skin side up.

8. Add the andouille and diced tomatoes with juice to the gumbo, stir well to combine, and simmer another 10 minutes.

9. Add the shrimp and gumbo filé powder. Return heat to medium-high and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.

10. Use a sharp knife to cut those beautiful crispy duck breasts into slices.

11. To serve, spoon ½ cup cooked white rice in the middle of serving bowl. Spoon 1 cup gumbo over the top, making sure each person gets some andouille and shrimp. Then top each with a few slices of duck breast.

Duck Gumbo with andouille sausage and shrimp. Served over white rice.

More Duck Recipes

If you loved this Duck Gumbo Recipe and are looking for more great ways to use some of that duck in your freezer, be sure and check out some of our favorite duck recipes:

Come Duck Hunting in North Dakota

If you are headed our way for North Dakota waterfowl season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

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