Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  3             pounds  stewing chicken
  1              large  onion
  4                     shallots -- or green onins
  20                    stems parsley
  2             cloves  garlic -- more w/out sausage
     1/2        medium  green pepper
  4                     bay leaves
  1              large  spoon flour
     1/2         large  spoon oil or chicken fat -- for roux
  1              pound  andouille sausage -- or ham
  1               pint  oysters -- with liquid
                        salt and pepper
                        file powder

Preparation:

Cut up chicken and season with salt and pepper. Fry chicken until brown, in its own fat, in a black iron pot. Place in soup pot. Cut up seasonings . Pour off fat from pot. Smother seasonings and take out by rinsing with small amount of water, putting in soup pot with browned chicken. Make a d ark roux, add 2 1/2 quarts water, pour into soup pot. Fry sliced sausage slowly to render fat. Add sausage to gumbo. Let cook, with lid cracked, o n Low heat until tender, 2-3 hours for a good old bird. Remove bay leaves . Add oysters, about 10 minutes before serving, cooking just until they cur l. Add file after oysters curl and turn off heat, or pass file to be used individually. Serve in rimmed soup bowl over hot cooked rice.

Nutritional Information:

345 Calories (kcal); 24g Total Fat; (64% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 133mg Cholesterol; 214mg Sodium