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 dark roux, add 2 ½ quarts water, pour into soup pot. Fry sliced sausage slowly to render fat. Add sausage to gumbo. Let cook with lid cracked on 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 curl. Add file after oyster’s curl and turn off heat or pass file to be used individually. Serve in rimmed soup bowl over hot cooked rice.
