Spicy, Savory Chicken $ Sausage Gumbo

If you like heat then you have come to the right place. This gumbo is full of it, but not so much that you cant stand to take another bite. Oh no! It just tickles your taste buds and lets you know that its there :) Start by drizzling a tbsp of veg oil to a stock pot. Let it come up to temp and add some sliced sausage (your preference on this, I used 2 sweet italian sausage links). Let that brown on medium high heat for about 8-10 mins and then set the meat aside, keeping as much oil in the pan as possible. Next, season 4 pieces of chicken (I use dark meat, 2 thighs and 2 legs) and place them skin side down in the oil. Brown both sides of the chicken, 4 mins on each side. Remove the chicken and place in the refrigerator til later. Add 3/4 of a cup of oil to the pot and a cup of flour and stir together. Keep stirring frequently until your roux is nice and dark brown (milk chocolate color). Its going to smoke a little, dont worry its part of the process. Once the color is right, add about a cup of red pepper and 2 cups diced onion. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Season with sea salt, cayanne pepper and crushed bay leaf all to taste.
Add the cooked sausage to the mixture and stir. Slowly begin to stir in 9 cups of chicken stock. It will look like the roux didnt cook all the way and stuff is "floating" in the stock. Dont worry, as the gumbo continues to cook, it goes away. Bring the gumbo to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken parts and let cook for 1.5 hours, skimming the fat off of the top and continuing to stir. Once done, take the gumbo off heat and remove chicken. Pull meat off bone and remove skin. Shred chicken and put back into gumbo. I made some minute rice about 10 minutes before the chicken was to be taken out. Then I took some french rolls, split them in half and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled some garlic bread seasoning on them. Put 'em in a 400 degree oven for 6 minutes and you are all set. Here is the finished product. If you are a heat fanatic, try the gumbo first before you reach for the hot sauce.