Need good gumbo or sauce piquante recipe!

1 cup oil
1 cup flour
2 large onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
4 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large chicken (young hen preferred), cut into pieces
2 pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped
2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
Filé powder to taste
Season the chicken with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning and brown quickly. Brown the sausage, pour off fat and reserve meats.
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux-making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux. If you want to save time, or prefer a more New Orleans-style roux, cook it to a medium, peanut-butter color, over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.

Add the vegetables and stir quickly. This cooks the vegetables and also stops the roux from cooking further. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.

Add the stock, seasonings, chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then cook for about one hour, skimming fat off the top as needed.

Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and heat for 5 minutes. Serve over rice in large shallow bowls. Accompany with a good beer and lots of hot, crispy French bread.

YIELD: About 12 entrée sized servings.

This is the one I use. Works well for me. Don't forget the good beer.good beer

Your recipe is pretty close to mine, but I would tweak a few things

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1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

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I would double that. Also add tarragon - about a teaspoon.

Kingwood Tiger, I'm also a Kingwood resident. If you're looking for a good sauce piquante, try it at Babin's in The Woodlands. I don't think they serve it alone, but they use it with their crabcakes appetizer (if you get the entree version, you have to ask for the sauce piquante). I think it's a mix of creole with a roux. Fantastic stuff.

I would opt for the darker roux. You can also add flavor by using 1/2 cup butter w/ 1/2 cup olive oil instead of all oil.
BTW, good andouille sausage is hard to get up here in NW La. The stuff in the grocery stores is crap. Maxwell's on Line is the best I can do.

Thanks for the tips, I'll try it next time.

Florida Gator Sauce Piquante

Ingredients:
4 pounds alligator meat
1 tablespoon paprika

1 stick of butter
1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 bunches onion tops

1 green bell pepper
2 cups water

4 cloves garlic, minced
cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons finely sifted white flour
salt and black pepper

3 cans of cooked whole tomatoes (Rotel tomatoes)
1 8 ounce can of tomato paste
4 bay leaves
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound andouille (fat, smoked sausage

Directions:
Boil alligator meat for 5 minutes to remove fat. Rinse meat in clean water. Season meat with Tony Chachere's. Brown meat in black iron pot. Remove meat and clean pot. Place flour and oil in black pot. Cook stirring constantly until as dark as chocolate. Add onions and bell pepper. Cook until dark brown and soft. Add tomato paste and cooked tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. Add water, then add garlic, meat, seasonings, and andouille and simmer 25 minutes. Add butter and cook for another 40 minutes. Season with Tabasco and Worcestershire. Serve over rice.

Any meat can be substituted in a sauce piquante.

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anise-y flavor in gumbo? Blech

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Yeah, I know it sounds odd, but notice the small quantity. It's a substitute for oregano (which I only like in Italian dishes). For folks like me that can't stand bitter gumbos, small amounts of sweet herbs are a nice addition. I also add 1-2 tablespoons of basil.

Small chunks of chicken gizzards are also a cheap way to add bulk when cooking a large quantity. Too many people are afraid to use gizzards because they don't realize that it's just another muscle.

Basil is pretty common (check Folse's encyclopedia).
Tarragon, not so much (I would NEVER add it to seafood gumbo). It's primarily to complement the andouille (I noticed a couple of restaurants using a tarragon cream sauce with andouille sausage and thought it worked well together)