Jimmy Buffett Day and His Favorite Gumbo!

Jimmy Buffett Day and His Favorite Gumbo!

The Florida House of Representatives created an official day to honor the icon earlier this year, passing legislation to declare August 30th as “Jimmy Buffett Day.”

The resolution seeks to celebrate the life and music of Jimmy Buffett, whose “free-spirited life and significant contributions to national and state culture are commended and celebrated.”

“Jimmy Buffett honed his art as a singer-songwriter in the bars of Key West,” the resolution states. “And the laid-back island lifestyle of the Florida Keys was the foundation on which he built his signature tropical rock sound.”

🦐🦀Lucy’s Signature Summer Seafood Gumbo🦐🦀

“Honest to God, when Jimmy comes to my restaurant, he orders gumbo. He loves gumbo. He can get anything else anywhere else. But he can’t get a good gumbo just anywhere,” said his sister, Lucy Buffett.

“My grandmother’s old-fashioned gumbo is a crab and shrimp gumbo with tomatoes and okra—what some people call a summer gumbo,” Lucy Buffett said. “It’s still the one I make most often.”

Summer Seafood Gumbo Recipe

Creole Dry Spice Mix

• 1 T. paprika
• 1 T. dried thyme
• 1 t. fine sea salt
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 1 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. dried basil
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. onion powder

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover tightly and set aside.

Make spice mix ahead of preparing the gumbo, as it takes another step out of the long process. This yields a bit more than needed for this recipe.

Seafood Gumbo

Day 1

• 3/8 c. avocado oil
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 large yellow onion, coarse chop
• 4 celery ribs with leaves, coarse chop
• 1 green bell pepper, coarse chop
• 4 c. shrimp stock – heated (recipe here)
• 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 3 T. creole dry spice mix
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 – 2 T. hot sauce
• 2 T. worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz. fresh okra – 1/4″ slices

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Gradually add flour, whisking almost continuously for approx. 30 minutes until roux turns a dark mahogany color. Adjust heat as needed so as not to burn the flour.

Add onion and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Add celery and cook another 2-3 minutes. Then add bell pepper and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add heated shrimp stock and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Then add creole spices, bay, hot sauce, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Add okra and boil for an additional 5 minutes. Then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. It will start to thicken up.  Remove from heat.

Let sit for 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Cover the pot and put it in an empty sink. Fill the sink with cold tap water 3/4 up the side of the pot. Add ice to the sink. Remove lid. Cool gumbo completely, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

• 1 bunch scallions – thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. parsley – chopped
• 1 lb. gulf shrimp – peeled, deveined
• approx. 2 lbs. cooked dungeness crab clusters – shoulder and leg meat removed from the shells
• 1/4 c. lemon juice

Slowly bring gumbo to a simmer. Thirty minutes before serving add scallions and parsley. Reserve a bit of scallion and parsley for garnish. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally add crabmeat and lemon juice, stir to combine then cover and remove from heat. Let sit 15 minutes before serving. Taste for seasoning.

To Serve

• cooked rice
• french bread
• butter
• gumbo filé

Place rice off to one side in shallow bowls. Ladle gumbo around rice. Garnish with scallions and parsley. Serve with French bread & butter and gumbo filé on the side. A cold draft beer is a good idea too.

Notes

This is my interpretation of Lucy Buffett’s gumbo. The recipe is halved. And I make my own creole spice mix. We both use Gulf shrimp, but Lucy uses blue crab claw meat where I am using Pacific Coast Dungeness.

I believe my recipe will taste very close to the one inspired by their Grandma, the one that Lucy used to make for Jimmy, and that she serves in her restaurants now.

I Will Play For Gumbo by Jimmy Buffett

I don’t smoke, I don’t shoot smack
But I got a spicy monkey ridin’ on my back
Don’t eat beignets, too much sugar and dough
But I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo

It started at my Grandma’s kitchen by the sea
She warned me when she told me “son the first one’s free”
It hit me like a rock or some Taikwondo
Cause I will play for gumbo
Oh yea, I will play for gumbo

A piece of French bread
With which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body
Good for the soul
It’s a little like religion
And a lot like sex
You should never know
When you’re gonna get it next
At midnight in the quarter or noon in Thibadeaux
I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo

I’m not talkin’ quesadillas or a dozen Krispy Kremes
Or a pound of caviar that’s a rich man’s dream
No banana split or fillet of pompano
No, I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo

Maybe it’s the sausage or those pretty pink shrimp
Or that popcorn rice that makes me blow up like a blimp
Maybe it’s that voodoo from Marie Leveaux
But I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo

The sauce boss does his cookin’ on the stage
Stirrin’ and a singing for his nightly wage
Sweating and frettin’ from his head to his toe
Playin’ and swayin’ with the gumbo
Prayin’ and buffetin’ with the gumbo

🦜🦜🦜 Rest in Paradise JB – Merci pour la Magie… 🦜🦜🦜

Jimmy Buffett
December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023

🍔🍔🍔 Cheeseburger in Paradise 🍔🍔🍔
My Tribute to Jimmy Buffett and Recipe here.

UPDATE 9/10/24

A soupier version of this gumbo with smoky
Andouille Sausage instead of crab is now posted here.