Creole Gumbo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 chicken wings
8 chicken backs
1 1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 1/2 lb. smoked sausage
1 lb. diced veal
1 lb. diced beef
1 lb. diced ham
1 lb. beef franks
8 to 10 crabs
1 can tomato paste (optional)
2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
1 qt. oysters
1 pkg. dried shrimp
salt, pepper and file

Preparation

Fill a 5 gallon gumbo pot half full with water.
Heat water, but don't boil.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Salt and pepper chicken and fry in a small amount of oil.
With fresh oil, fry half of the hot Italian sausage.
Do the same for half of smoked sausage.
(Save the other half of the sausage to be added to the gumbo later.)
Save the oil in separate containers.
It may be used later to add flavor to the gumbo.
Pour a little of the chicken oil in your pot (not too much or it will be greasy).
Add the veal, beef, ham, beef franks and sausage.
Clean the crabs.
Break them in half.
Pull off the claws.
Put the claws in the pot.
Then lightly fry, almost saute, half of the crabs.
Put the other half in the pot.
(Tomato paste is optional.
Traditionally it is not used.
Add after crabs.)
Let simmer for an hour to let flavors blend.
Add more water if needed.
Meat should float in water as in a soup.
Add shrimp.
Let cook for another half hour.
Add oysters 10 minutes before serving.
Add file immediately before serving, unless you plan to save some of the gumbo for later.
If so, let everyone sprinkle the file in his or her bowl.
Serve over rice with a mustard style mashed potato salad as a side dish.