Crawfish Etouffee

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Classic Louisiana dish featuring tender crawfish tails smothered in a buttery, seasoned roux with The Holy Trinity - onion, green bell pepper and celery- served over a bed of white rice.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Louisiana

Servings: cups

Calories: 684kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Equipment

large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven

Ingredients

2 pounds crawfish tail meat (See Recipe Notes below)
1 stick unsalted butter (¼ pound)
½ cup all-purpose flour or Wondra flour
2 cups diced yellow onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
⅛ teaspoon ground thyme (or substitute with a bay leaf)
2½ cups seafood stock or chicken broth (See Recipe Notes below)
¼ cup flat leaf parsley
Cajun or Creole Seasoning (See Recipe Notes below)
cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
6-8 cups prepared long grain white rice

Instructions

Place the crawfish meat in a fine meshed sieve; place a paper towel on top and press out the liquid; repeat if necessary until all the liquid is removed. Gently break the meat up into pieces and lightly season with 2 tablespoons of creole seasoning. Set aside.
Dice vegetables and set aside
2 pounds crawfish tail meat, 2 cups diced yellow onion, 1 cup diced celery, 1 cup diced green bell pepper, 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter on low heat; gradually add flour, stirring constantly until the roux mixture reaches the color of peanut butter (about 8-10 minutes)
1 stick unsalted butter (¼ pound), ½ cup all-purpose flour or Wondra flour
Add diced onion, celery and bell peppers and stir until well coated; the mixture will be clumpy, and that's ok. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until veggies are semi-tender (about 5 minutes); after 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to cook another minute
Gradually add in seafood broth, stirring constantly. Add 1 teaspoon of Creole seasoning, stir and taste for salt and spice preference; if you want more spice or heat, add in 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and/or a little more Creole seasoning; add thyme
⅛ teaspoon ground thyme (or substitute with a bay leaf), 2½ cups seafood stock or chicken broth, Cajun or Creole Seasoning, cayenne pepper, optional and to taste, salt and pepper, to taste
Add seasoned crawfish to skillet and combine well; if the mixture is too thick, add a little more seafood stock or water and cook on low heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until the crawfish meat is warm; add parsley. Serve over prepared white rice and garnish with a little more parsley
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, 6-8 cups prepared long grain white rice

Notes

Yield: The recipe as written make about 8 cups of etouffee.

Crawfish tail meat: Fresh is best, but if you're land-locked like I am, frozen crawfish tail meat works great for this recipe. I like J. Bernard's brand, which is pre-cooked and unseasoned and a certified Cajun product.

Cajun or Creole Seasoning: I use Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, but you can use his brand of Cajun seasoning or another brand like "Slap Y' Mama." Creole seasoning is a tad more spicy than Cajun seasoning. Use either, according to your tolerance for spice.

Seafood stock: If you cannot find Seafood stock, you can subtitute with chicken broth or chicken stock. If you want to convert the chicken stock to be more like seafood stock, add in a few teaspoons of dried shrimp. You'll find dried shrimp usually on the spice aisle or in the international area of your grocer - usuallly in the section with Chinese food.

After you add the crawfish to the skillet, the mixture may be too thick for your liking; add more stock or water to thin to your desired consistency.

Storage and reheating: If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, store the etouffee and rice separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop. Etouffee will thicken upon refrigeration so you may need to add a little water when reheating. Crawfish etouffee can be frozen for up to 5 months.

Nutrition