GREEN CRAB GUMBO

 
 

By John Painter of Maine Green Crabs | 3 hours

This recipe was created by John Painter of Maine Green Crabs from Owls Head Maine. John commercially lobstered until going to college in the mid 1980’s. Though his regular job is working with senior citizens in HUD subsidized housing, John began commercially fishing for green crabs in 2020 in his hometown of Owls Head after recognizing their destruction of the native marine environment.  In 2023 John established Maine Green Crabs, selling green crabs to local markets, restaurants and processors and educating and informing the public about the threat green crabs pose to Maine fisheries and marine environment. 

Roux for Gumbo Green Crab Recipe



Ingredients 

  • 1 cup & 1 Tbsp neutral oil or lard

  • 1 & ½ cup flour 

  • 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced 

  • 2 green bell peppers, diced

  • 3 celery stalks, diced

  • 1 onion, diced 

  • 10 cloves garlic, smashed 

  • 6 cups green crab stock

  • 1 can crushed tomatoes

  • 1 Tbsp dried filé (sassafras)

  • 1 Tbsp smoked paprika

  • 1 Tbsp dried garlic

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme 

  • 1 bay leaf 

  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce or fish sauce 

  • 2 cups okra 

  • green onion for garnish 


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add 1 cup of oil to a pot or high-edged pan on medium-low and stir in flour until there are no more lumps. 

  2. Continue to babysit and stir your roux for at least 45 minutes until deep brown. You want your roux to be a chestnut color, not golden brown or caramel.  If you don’t have any green crab stock on hand, this is the perfect amount of time to whip up a quick stock. You can even shuck crab legs or meat of some green crabs and then use the remaining bodies for stock. Just make sure you keep your eye on the roux! 

  3. Set aside your roux then in a pot or Dutch oven add 1 tsp of oil and sliced andouille, searing each side. Add in peppers, onion, and celery and sauteé for 10 minutes. 

  4. Pour the stock, tomatoes, roux, and spices into the Dutch oven, scraping all of the fond off of the bottom of the pot. 

  5. Simmer on low heat then add your okra, crab legs, and meat in the last 10 minutes of cooking. 

  6. Serve with long-grain white rice in a bowl and sprinkle with filé powder and green onions or chives.

 
Green Crab Gumbo Recipe

The crabs pictured above were donated by Jeff Ladd of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Check out our Where to Buy page to learn more about Jeff’s operation and snag some crabs yourself. 

where to buy