Crawfish Etouffee

Who loves crawfish... this girl! Every start of crawfish season, we boil up a big pot to satisfy our cravings. We had extra, so I peeled the crawfish tails, vacuum sealed those suckers and threw them in the freezer.

It just occurred to me the other day that I had these delectable crawfish tails in the freezer. So crawfish etouffee it is. If you are a crawfish lover like me, keep reading to see how I made this delicious dish. If you are not a crawfish fan, you can use shrimp instead.

Ingredients:

1 lb of frozen crawfish tails (or fresh if you have access to it)

1 bell pepper, diced (I used half of a green and half of a red)

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups of shrimp stock (all I had on hand was chicken broth and it worked perfectly)

1 cup of water (reserve to thin out if too thick)

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3 Tablespoons of flour

Old bay seasoning or any other Cajun seasoning (start with 1-2 teaspoons, add more to taste)

Black pepper

*Optional to add a kick: 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce (I used cayenne and Tabasco) 

*parsley for garnish

*you may want to prepare white rice in advance

Tip: I like to use a small container to collect all of my scraps and trash during prep. Just dump out the container afterwards and rinse. 

Step 1:

Add butter to pot and wait for it to melt. Then add flour. Using a whisk, blend the flour and butter (see picture below). You will need to whisk or stir the roux so it doesn't burn. I didn't spend too much time on my roux since this is not gumbo and you don't need it to be dark. About 7-8 minutes should be good. Mine was a little bit lighter than the color of peanut butter.

Step 2:

Add garlic, bell pepper, celery, onion and bay leaves to roux and sautee for another 7-8 minutes until tender. Add crawfish, stock/broth. Once you add the stock, it will thicken. If it is too thick for your liking, add water until the broth is to your liking. Bring to a boil.

Step 3:

Add old bay or cajun seasoning and pepper to taste . Remember to add as you go. You can always add more seasoning, but you can't take it away! Simmer uncovered on medium low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne pepper and Tabasco. Make any last minute seasoning adjustments as this is the final stretch. Discard bay leaves. You want a good flavor, but don't want to overpower it since the crawfish is the star of the dish. Plate up, garnish with parsley flakes and you're ready to devour. 

Good luck and enjoy!