Chicken and sausage gumbo with a fast dark roux

Medium dice the trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery; a rough chop is fine because it all cooks down. Chop the garlic.

Have the beer, trinity and stock beside the pot. Heat the oil until smoking, add the flour and whisk; for a first roux go low and slow for 45 minutes instead.

Cook to the consistency of wet sand, stirring more often as it darkens, to the colour of a Hershey's bar, about five or six minutes in all; never walk away.

Set some roux aside for the dirty rice. Add the bay leaves, then the trinity, which caramelises fast in the hot roux.

Once it calms, add the garlic for about 30 seconds, then the beer, whisking the liquid in to avoid clumps.

Whisk in the stock, then add the browned chicken, the andouille, salt, plenty of black pepper, smoked paprika and cayenne.

Bring up to temperature, then turn down to the lowest simmer; do not scrape off the foam.

Skim only an excess of fat, saving it for the vegetables; leave some oil on the gumbo.

Lid and simmer bare for about an hour or a little more, until the roux cooks out and the chicken falls apart.