Firehouse Chili Gumbo Recipe (2024)

Green onions are often called shallots in South Louisiana.From the Nola food blog: The nomenclature of green onions and shallots has always been confusing to outsiders reading New Orleans recipes. Although the practice seems to be waning in recent years, thousands of recipes still call for "shallots," which to the rest of the world means the mild French bulb that grows like oversized garlic. But in New Orleans, it means green onions, or scallions.

Sounds good. A small quibble. . shallots are expensive and mixing in a couple of shallots will, I think, just get lost with the onions and peppers. You would never know they are there.All shallots? Not necessary and too precious for such a robust recipe. All onions will be fine.

Very fitting this should appear today. This morning Spencer Chauvin was honored at the National Fallen Firefighters memorial service at Emmitsburg, Maryland.

"Chile powder" with an e usually refers to a single chile [pepper], dried and ground. Any suggestions as to which might be best here? New Mexico? Guajillo? Ancho? Or just what you like best? In my case, that might be chipotle, for a smoky kick.

Too many complaints! This recipe WON a National contest for a reason... it’s delicious! I made it as directed and transferred everything to a crock for 4 hours stirring every 30 min. Added the vinegar and hot sauce at the end then cooled it in the fridge for the night.. key! Warmed it up and served with cheese, green onions and Fritos and it was outstanding. I tasted before crock pot, before fridge and final.. interesting evolution.

Just finished up with this recipe today. I read the comments beforehand and decided to use 2.25 lbs of beef, added red kidney beans and cut out the ketchup, 2nd can of tomato sauce as well as the 2nd can of tomato past. I also increased the cumin, turmeric and added a teaspoon of smoked paprika. It came out perfect!

In the Cajun spirit, I added Andouille sausage to the gumbo. To make sure that I'm going straight to hell, I also added beans to the chili! I can feel the burn now (perhaps resulting from the addition of some hot chili peppers).

@ Matthew you'd be surprised at the sophistication of cooks and kitchen facilities in many firehouses. Often serious gourmet along with primo mancave stuff.

Thank you Sam for this recipe. I made it last night. It is unlike any chilli I have ever eaten. There are layers of flavours that just keep revealing themselves as you eat. I used coriander seeds instead of ground because I just love how they pop with flavour when I am eating. I also use fresh hot chilies instead of hot sauce because I had some on hand. I think I will use this recipe a lot. It is a great paleo or keto recipe as well. Loving it in Victoria British Columbia Canada.

Generally, I try recipes as written the first time I follow NYT ones. But, I made this last night but had to make do with ingredients on-hand due to my currently being in a wheelchair and unable to shop often. I used 2.66 pounds of organic 15% fat hamburger. I had to substitute a mild salsa for most of the tomatoes, a bloody mary mix for the tomato juice and did not have ketchup but instead put in a dark beer. We agreed it is the BEST chili in our extensive​ chili recipe collection.

Made this for a chili cook-off at work and won!

This recipe opens with a terrible tale of family pain then reveals a wonderful chili-gumbo recipe. I'll shop on Friday and cook it on Saturday. The first reading says, "KEEPER," and I cannot wait. Thank you, Sam!

I'm not a fan of gumbo but this is a recipe that I will definitely try. At our fire/rescue station, one of the firefighters was a graduate of the Johnson & Wales culinary school. I still remember his restaurant-quality meals.

Sam remarks in his article in the Times Magazine today that the original recipe uses V8 juice. I use it in my clam chowder recipe instead of tomato juice and it adds a nice additional layer of flavor. However, it is high salt and I take this into account when seasoning any dish I use it in. Try it.

If its too sweet I would eliminate the ketchup.

I consider this a fancy Sloppy Joe recipe. It is. however, the best hot dog chili on earth. Please note, canned diced tomatoes have 1 cup of tomato juice included; there is no reason to buy more.

Pretty good chili, but it tasted very sweet to me. I think it was the ketchup, even tho I used less than indicated.I otherwise increased the spices and could have increased them more.The chili is nice and saucy in texture.

It's a neat concept, but the recipe calls for FAR too much tomato. Like more than DOUBLE what you should use. I just couldn't serve it as chili because it didn't make sense with the flavor profile. Wound up using it for spaghetti with meat sauce, instead. Worked pretty well that way.

V. tasty. I removed the excess fat in the fat step -- I never do this but I am glad I did bc boy was there a lot of fat. I skipped the ketchup, tomato juice, & steak sauce. I did not measure the black pepper. I increased the celery to four stalks. I did not brown the roux for 15-20 min bc i figured that it would burn in my crappy little pot. I added the garlic later in the vegetable cooking process -- maybe 5 min before that step elapsed -- bc i was worried about burning finely chopped garlic.

A great recipe. VERY TOMATO FORWARD. The gumbo vegetables really shine (okra next time), the 4tablespoons of roux not so much. I also plan to add beans, maybe some frozen lima beans for their color and texture. Most of the large batch is in the freezer. Some rewarding freeze drives this winter.

Sneak upon the Worcestershire and Steak Sauce... this an easily become too sweet and too salty!

IDK where Jeremy / Sam gets off calling this a gumbo - it's just a chili. I think unwarranted use of the term gumbo is confusing, and in this case inaccurate. I suppose Sam justifies it simply that it includes the Creole Holy Trinity of celery, bell pepper and onions. If that's the litmus, then I suppose any dish with Mirepoix, the French Holy Trinity of Onions, Carrots & Celery, is French Cuisine.

Best chili ever, complex with multiple layers of flavor.

LOVE the recipe - have now made it 5-6 times. I eliminate the ketchup (which makes the chili too sweet for my taste), and substitute (and up) V8 for the tomato juice. Family raves!

Swapped out the Worcestershire and steak sauce for molè paste, and used beef broth in lieu of tomato juice. Omitted ketchup. This was suuuuupppper tasty! I loved the tomatoey-ness, the texture of the veg/peppers, and the heat. She’s a keeper! 🫤

What is the purpose of Apple cider vinegar? Just curious,

I made it with ground turkey and it was delish (and green onions, which I *think* my New Orleanean mama always called shallots ... thanks commenter, Que, who mentioned that! She isn't around to ask anymore).

Based on other's notes, I omitted the ketchup and doubled the seasonings as we like our chili spicy and not too sweet. I used a yellow bell pepper in place of the green (because that's what I had on hand) and a can of V8 subbed for the tomato juice. Will be making this one again and again.

I loved this. I read lot of comments beforehand and agree about cutting way back on tomato products skipping the ketchup entirely. I used only one can tomato paste, one can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of ketchup. In their stead, I added a 12 oz beer. Brooklyn Lager to be exact. I also did only 2 pounds of beef 1 can of kidney beans. I think I could have added a second can of beans. Delicious, and perfect with cold beer corn chips and cheese as stated.

Followed recipe as is and it felt very one note. Tasted like neither chili or gumbo. Comes out similar to sloppy joes like others have stated