I had the opportunity to help make a duck gumbo this weekend. I’m posting this from my phone so I apologize in advance for misspellings.

Here’s an over the shoulder action shot of the roux in progress.
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Making the roux, as it was explained to me, is serious business. But be assured, it is not. If you stay with it, making roux is a chip shot. Start by melting lard in a skillet and working flour into it until it thickens up. You keep adding flour until you get the right consistency, which has an element of subjectivity. Pretty much everything to do with this is personal preference and feel. And you can trust that alcohol consumption shaped the entire process. While it’s on the heat, you continually work the bottom of the pan with a flat tip spoon to keep it from burning. This is important and it takes some time. You don’t stop adding and stirring until it looks and acts like warm peanut butter.

Here’s another look at the roux.
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The ducks were cooked in a big Dutch oven, also known as a Cajun microwave I’m told, with chicken stock, seasoning, celery, onions, and red bell pepper until the ducks are falling apart.
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Once that’s all worked out, the okra was added and the stock was thickened with the roux. The final ingredient was 6 quarts of oysters and they went in at the last minute. The oyster juice with the duck has a great flavor. Absolutely nothing was measured and animals were injured in the making of this gumbo.
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Anyway, that’s the part I remember.