Original Creole Turkey Gumbo Recipes

In anticipation of turkey leftovers after Thanksgiving, I have been searching out different turkey gumbo recipes. Below is an original recipe I found from a very old cookbook.

Gumbo, of all unique dishes of the New Orleans cuisine, represents a most distinctive type of the evolution of good cookery under the hands of the famous Creole cuisinieres of old New Orleans.

Indeed, the word "evolution" fails to apply when speaking of Gumbo, for it is an original conception, a something "sui generis" in cooking, peculiar to this ancient Creole city alone, and to the manor born.

With equal ability the older Creole cooks saw the possibilities of original and delicious combinations in making Gumbo, and hence we have many varieties, till the occult science of making a good "Gombo a la Creole" seems too fine an inheritance of gastronomic lore to remain forever hidden away in the cuisines of this old Southern metropolis.

The following recipes, gathered with care from the best housekeepers of New Orleans, have been handed down from generation to generation. They need only to be tried to prove their perfect claim to the admiration of the many distinguished visitors and epicures who have paid tribute to our Creole Gumbo.

Ingredients:

• The Remains of a Turkey
• 1/2 Pound of Lean Ham
• 2 Tablespoons of butter or 1 of Lard
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 3 Sprigs of Parsley
• 3 Dozen Oysters
• 1 Large Onion
• 1 Sprig of Thyme
• 2 Quarts of Oyster Water
• 1/2 Pod of Red Pepper, Without the Seeds Salt, Pepper and Cayenne to Taste

Nothing is forever lost in a well-regulated Creole Kitchen. Where turkey is served one day, the remains or "left-over" are saved and made into that most excellent dish - a Turkey Gumbo. It is made in the same manner as Chicken Gumbo, only instead of the chicken, the turkey meat, black and white, that is left over, is stripped from the bones and carcass. Chop fine and add to the hot lard, and then put in the ham, cut fine into dice shapes. Proceed exactly as in the recipe above, only after adding the boiling water throw in the bones and carcass of the turkey. At the proper time remove the carcass and bones, add the oysters, and then remove the pot and "File" the Gumbo. Serve with boiled rice. Turkey Gumbo, when made from the remains of wild turkey, has a delicious flavor.

Source: "The Picayune's Creole Cook Book," circa 1901