Uncle Charlie's Lose'Yanna Mud Soop

8 tablespoons bacon grease

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cans (46 ounces each) tomato juice

4 cups chicken broth

13-16 ounces andouille sausage, sliced

1 cup olive oil

24 ounce hard apple cider

½ pound fingerling potatoes

2-5 teaspoons Emeril Cajun Spice

1 pound okra, chopped

2 medium sweet yellow onions, chopped coarsely

1½ pounds small peeled, deveined shrimp, tails removed

½ pound mushrooms, chopped

1 pound large jalapenos, chopped

¾ pound green onions, chopped including tops

½ pound grape tomatoes, sliced diagonally

½ pound carrots, chopped

4 cans (8 ounces each) fancy whole oysters

Louisiana Hot Sauce, to taste

For the roux: Melt the bacon grease and bring it up to the point where it will sizzle a drop of water instantly. Sprinkle in the flour, reduce heat and whisk every several minutes for 1 hour. It should be a rich, brown color.

In the meantime, in a stockpot add 1 large can tomato juice and chicken broth to large stock pot; bring to boil then reduce to very low simmer.

All other items are cooked in a large skillet and added to the stock pot in the following order (do not drain or strain; add oil and cider vinegar as needed; skim oil/fat off the top of the stock pot as needed).

Brown sausage in olive oil; transfer to stockpot.

Cook the fingerling potatoes in olive oil, watering heavily with the hard cider. Coat liberally with Emeril's Cajun Spice and scorch in olive oil. Add carrots to potatoes after 2 minutes and cook until tender; add to pot.

Cook okra and onions together in the roux. Add small amounts of hard cider 2 to 3 times as necessary to soften. Add okra and onions to stockpot being sure to scrape the skillet and all the roux into the stockpot.

In the skillet, saute shrimp and mushrooms together in oil/vinegar until shrimp is no longer pink. Coat liberally with Cajun spice and scorch to finish; add to pot. Cook jalapenos and green onions in oil/vinegar; coat liberally with Cajun spice and scorch to finish. Cook grape tomatoes in oil only; after 1 minute add green onion tops then add oysters. Cook until tomato skins begins to shrivel; transfer to stockpot. Add more tomato juice to reach desired soupiness. Season with hot pepper sauce to taste.

Makes 2 gallons; serves a crowd.