Crawfish Etouffee

It’s Springtime in New Orleans and that means two things in particular, Crawfish and Festivals!!! Being this is Beardtastic Recipes and not Beardtastic Festivals, we are going to focus on those succulent crawfish for now! This recipe was the result of recently attending a crawfish boil, which had me itching to make some Crawfish Etouffeewith the leftovers.  Sadly we devoured everything in sight, but have no fear because frozen crawfish tails are a perfect substitute for this recipe.

Etouffee is french for “smothered” and that’s what we are gonna do to these crawfish.  We are gonna smother them in a bed of onions, celery, and green peppers (aka The Holy Trinity) until they cry UNCLE!!!  With not having a “tried and true” recipe for Crawfish Etouffee yet, I based this recipe off of Emeril Lagasse’s Crawfish Etouffee.

CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Crawfish Etouffee

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• Author: Inspired by Emeril Lagasse
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2½ cups of chicken stock
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 3–4 dashes of hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 24 oz of crawfish tails, with the fat
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 bunch of green onions
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Steamed white rice

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Instructions

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, gradually add flour while whisking until it combines evenly with the butter. Continue to whisk until roux turns a caramel color.
2. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme cooking until vegetables are soft, about 6-8 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, salt, red pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
4. Once it reaches a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add crawfish tails with fat, lemon juice, green onions, and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining butter and stir to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Serve over steamed rice.

Notes

If you are cooking in a heavy pot, you can let it simmer much longer which I find gives it a thicker and richer flavor.

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STEP BY STEP PHOTOS

As with most recipes, measure everything out before hand.  Put your chopped onion, celery, and bell peppers in one bowl separate from your green onion and parsley.Heat up your dutch oven over medium heat and toss in 4 tablespoons of butter (not all 6 tablespoons).Once butter is melted, gradually add flour while whisking until it combines evenly with the butter.Continue to whisk over medium heat until roux turns to a caramel color.Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme cooking until vegetables are soft, about 6-8 minutes.Add chicken stock, tomato paste, salt, red pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add crawfish tails with fat, lemon juice, green onions, and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining butter and stir to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.