Smothered okra with shrimp

I smother a lot of okra every year since I have lots of it growing in the garden. I picked over 100 pods just yesterday.

I wash the okra then slice it in 1/4 in. rings across the pod. Once it is all sliced, I take a large enough pot and add some oil to the bottom of the pan, add diced onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. That will cook down and blend the flavors and to that I'll add the sliced okra and mix it well.

It will be fairly dry so if making what you are proposing, I'd add shrimp stock and cook that all down for at least a couple hours to get past the "slime" stage and at the end, add the fresh shrimp to finish it off.


If you wanted to add a bit of gumbo color to it, you can add a little roux along the way. I keep homemade roux in my fridge all the time to use without having to make it every time.

I got this recipe on here a few years back but don’t remember who shared. It looks like a Meridian Dog recipe since it starts with frying some bacon . It's a great recipe that I've made several times. I usually don't add sausage.

- 1 lb Uncooked Shrimp - medium size (18-20 count)
- (Optional) 1 link smoked sausage or tasso ( I used andouille) diced
- 2lb Fresh cut okra
- 1 green bell pepper - chopped
- 1 red bell pepper - chopped
- 1 sweet pepper - chopped. Double delight hybrid Sweet Pepper. If you can’t find, just use another green bell pepper
- 1 Medium onion, chopped
- 2 pods minced garlic
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 1 large and 1 medium sized garden tomatoes, peeled and diced into large pieces
- 1 can seafood broth (or chicken if you can't do seafood broth)
- Salt, Black Pepper, Creole / Cajun Seasoning (Tony’s, SYM, etc), Thyme Leaves, Dried Parsley (To Taste)
Cook some rice and set it aside.
- 1 bunch green onion, chopped


Peel and season the shrimp with Creole Seasoning (Tony’s) and thyme, Set the shrimp aside (in fridge) until needed. Much of the seasoning for the dish is added to the shrimp and then to the stew later on.

Cook bacon it in the pan / large pot you will use to make the stew, then set aside to cool. Once it has cooled, crumble bacon into smaller pieces.

Cook okra in fat from bacon. Add the cut okra to the skillet / pot, season it with salt and black pepper. Add some water to cover the bottom of the skillet / pot and cover to steam the okra. I like to steam the okra with a lid to help it cook until the slime is gone. I use medium heat So I can cook it longer without burning it. Lift lid and stir occasionally to make sure you don’t brown the okra too much or burn it. You may have to add more water if it all boils out. Just keep doing this until you notice minimal or no slime left. This could take 30 minutes to an hour.

After the okra is fully cooked, the Peppers, garlic and Onion are added, stirred in and sautéed until they are tender. Add your parsley.

When the vegetables are cooked (onions are translucent), add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until they are very soft and want to fall apart.

When the tomatoes are done, add the smoked meat.

The can of broth is now added. One can is plenty for my likes. You could add more if you like, or shrimp stock if that is what you want.

The stew in now simmered on low heat with a lid for 20 minutes

After 20 minutes, add the peeled, seasoned raw shrimp. Stir them in and cook them for maybe 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, add a lid and allow the stew for sit for 10 minutes (or less).

At this point, the stew is pretty much finished

Taste the stew and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve over cooked rice and top with the bacon bits and chopped green onion.

Thanks MD! The recipe I saved has a ton of pictures…I’m assuming they were yours.

This is what I had for the finished product in the pot.



And plated

I use a mandolin which saves you a ton of time.

Sauté trinity
add okra and Sautee until it’s no longer slimey
Add large can of San Marzanos that you previously cut up in the can with kitchen shears
add a little stock to top it off
bay leaves are great
cool covered till tender
season and ad shrimp until they’re cooked serve over rice

quote:

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What are y'all's favorite recipes?

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nothing better than shrimp and okra gumbo

I do what Gumbo said. I smother my okra at least 4 or 5 hours if on the stove.

Def w/ sausage