Gameday Grub Of The Week: Rib & Lung Gumbo
In this week’s edition of Gameday Grub, we’re bringing you a hearty—and lungy—bowl of southern comfort with the New Orleans classic: gumbo.
The New Orleans Saints just lost their future Hall of Fame signal caller Drew Brees to broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He’ll surely be out for the foreseeable future, with Taysom Hill filling in and trying to do enough to keep them in the playoff picture. Hill’s career 0:1 TD to interception ratio shouldn’t offer much hope, but he’ll probably be better than the team’s other option, Jameis Winston. He’s also a Mormon, though, so maybe he has some Steve Young magic in the Latter-day tank.
Rib & Lung Gumbo
Traditionally, gumbo is made with chicken, sausage, shrimp, crab, and/or other meats, but we’re going with meats that better represent Brees’ injuries—rib and lung meat it is. You’re probably not thrilled about the idea of lung meat instead of sausage, but the veggies and Creole seasoning provide so much flavor, you won’t even notice the difference!
Specific equipment/materials:
- Dutch oven or another large stew pot
- Drew Brees (if you don’t have a Drew Brees, any human with a face birthmark works fine)
- Bonesaw
- Soul, cuz you cookin’ Leesiana-style
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds human rib meat
- 1 pound human lung meat (1 lung)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 green onions, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cups cut okra
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 3 tbsp. Creole seasoning
- 1 tbsp. dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp. file powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 cups long-grain rice
Directions:
- Turn on some good jazz to get the soul flowin’, then surgically remove Drew Brees’ (or any human with face birthmark) ribs and collapsed lung. (Don’t worry about safety here. It’s just one lung, and the person can always just get new ribs.)
- Season your ribs and lung with salt and pepper. Brown your meat in canola oil over medium heat in your pot. Cook until nicely browned, then remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add your butter to the bottom of another pan or pot. Once it’s melted, add your flour and stir for as long as Michael Thomas has played well this year, about 20 minutes, until a roux is formed and reaches a rich brown color. Turn off the heat and let cool.
- In your original pot (still containing the fat from the meat), add your onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Cook for about 8–10 minutes.
- Once the veggies are cooked down a little, add the meat back to the pan along with your Creole seasoning, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes before adding your fire-roasted tomatoes, okra, and chicken stock. Bring it up to a boil, then let it simmer for 45–55 minutes, enough time to watch a shortened reel of the one Super Bowl Drew Brees has actually made it to.
- Stir in your file powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once it tastes to your liking, let out a big “Who dat?!”
- Serve warm over a serving of long-grain rice. Be sure not to overfill your bowl. Most bowls don’t have levees, and your house will flood with gumbo, causing irreparable damage for years to come.
Although the Saints may be in a tough position with Brees out and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Bucs breathing down their necks, hope is still alive down in Nawlens. Hill is the right person to lead the team until Brees’ return (if it were Winston, there would have been stolen crab legs in this recipe). But while you sit on the edge of your seat for plenty of Sundays to come, at least do it with a hot, spicy bowl of gumbo. If that’s not enough, hop on your airboat and hunt down some gator—that always helps.
