Have you ever eaten a meal that brought tears to your eyes? Only one meal does that for me; smothered okra. There is no meal that makes me think of both of my grandmothers more than smothered okra. The taste and smell immediately bring me back to visiting them both here in Louisiana as we grew up in Alabama. It’s something that I can only describe as the true way that food is truly love made edible.
In 2018 my mind was opened to the significance of food in our lives more than it had been in the past. Last year marked a change in the way that I look at the plate of bowl of food in front of me. Last year laid the foundation for where my future in the food and culinary world will venture into. Last year I feel like I truly began to understand what Food is Love Made Edible really means.
How did this all come to be you may ask? Well, with a spoonful of food that I had not eaten in probably 10 years that transported me back to my youth and a time of great joy in my life. A spoonful of stewed okra that I cooked using my grandmother’s recipe that was passed down to me by my mom (along with the help of a couple of my aunts over the phone) brought me to the many times we would visit my grandparents and there would be a pot of stewed okra waiting on the stove for us.
That spoonful of food led me to posting this picture on Twitter with the question, “Why is okra such a staple of southern cuisine?” That question led to a discussion on Twitter among foodies, food historians, Southerners, and other about okra’s significance in the Southern diet. I look forward to researching this further and discussing it with y’all in 2019.
Smothered Okra with Chicken and Smoked Sausage
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 lb. fresh okra
- 2 lb. chicken thighs
- 1/2 lb. smoked sausage
- 8 oz. tomato sauce
- 1 large white onion
- 1/2 belle pepper
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 tbsp Creole seasoning
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 F.
- Slice okra into 1/2 inch pieces. (Toss away both ends of the okra.)
- Spread okra out onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven to dry the slime out of the okra. Dry out the okra in the oven for about 1 hour, flipping occasionally. You want the okra to become dry without burning it.
- While the okra is in the oven drying it's time to start getting everything else going. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium to medium high heat; preferably a cast iron dutch oven if you have one.
- Add the onion, belle pepper, and celery to the pot and cook them down until the onions have begun to brown just a bit.
- Season chicken with Creole seasoning and add it to the pot. Brown chicken on all sides; about 10 minutes.
- Slice smoked sausage into 1/2 inch pieces and add it to the pot with the chicken and vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat to low add tomato sauce, sugar, dried oregano, dried parsley, and chicken broth to the pot. (By this point in the cooking process your okra should be about dry.)
- Once your okra is dry remove it from the oven and add it to the pot with everything else. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. If you want to thicken the okra, chicken, and sausage up a bit you can remove the lid from the pot and let it cook down for another 15 minutes or so.
Courses Dinner
Cuisine Creole
As always thank you for taking a few moments from your day to read over this and I hope that you are able to try this recipe sometime and that you enjoy it. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated.
Have a blessed day,
Benjamin
Black Food Bloggers Club’s Black History Month Potluck
Apps/Small Dishes
“Mackerel Balls” With Biscuits & Cane Syrup
Mains
Caribbean- Curry Goat with Rice and Peas
Okra, Corn, & Tomato Chicken Stew
Pilipili & Rosemary Marinated Mbuzi Choma with Kachumbari
Vegetables/Sides
Desserts
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe! I made this on Sunday and it was such a delightful and interesting combination of flavors. My family really enjoyed eating the dish and the use of okra in it. I followed the baking technique you shared, so there wasn’t slime at all. I saw the earlier comments, so I took off the chicken skin and roasted it in the oven separately. That might be an idea for some of your readers if they want the skin crispy. I really wanted to try this after seeing the photos — great photography too!
I’m pretty confident that these thighs have the bone in and the skin which I am fine with, however I am afraid the skin may get flabby after the braising. Can I use skinless. I have millennial who love crispy chicken but gag on flabby skin! LOL! Love your sight. My daughter was lucky enough to be one of the judges at the Fried Chicken Festival in New Orleans and I met her there. It was a great time!
Love the site!!!
Hi, you could definitely use skinless chicken thighs if you want to. I’ve never thought of the skin being flabby cause that’s just how I am used to eating it.
Thanks Ben! I never once had a piece of skinless chicken growing up so I think I’ll try it the original way first!.
Okay Ben, I made this today and it is honest to goodness one of the top ten recipes I have EVER made in my life. My husband of almost 30 years agrees and my NYC millennial crazy food blogger child is ready to get on a plane to try it! Lord knows, she could cook it herself! She and I were texting while she was at a Yankees game while i made it. She is a chicken and dumplings, pot pie kind of girl and okra was the only vegetable she ate in her first 18 years. She may do a blog on such a fantastic recipe, but please know that you will get every bit of the credit. I thank you sir, it was delicious and filled my soul with happiness!!! Oh and we are from Georgia! Just saying, we know GREAT food!!