Here is another yummy recipe in our ongoing series, In Search of the Perfect Bite. This week, the crawfish pinches the limelight with a Southern favorite – Crawfish Etouffee!
Crawfish are America’s #1 aquaculture crustaceans. Crabs, lobsters, and shrimp are popular in our seafood diet, but those are either imported or harvested from the wild. When it comes to aquaculture, crawfish are the biggest success story. Going back to the 1800s, farmers in the Southern United States have been flooding fields to grow this tasty crop. Because they dwell in freshwater, crawfish farming is not limited to the coastal states. Crawfish are often in flooded ponds that double as rice fields. Both have a 2-year life cycle, so staggering planting allows farmers to harvest something yearly.
This dish is neat because it seems like you worked hard all day, but once you make a roux, the rest is just simmering. While whole-boiled crawfish are probably the most common method of consumption, crawfish Etouffee is a wonderful stew that uses the tail meat in a rich, slightly sweet dish hailing from Louisiana, the crawfish capital of America.
Crawfish Etouffee Recipe
Ingredients for the Roux
- Butter – 1 cup
- All-purpose flour – 1 cup
Ingredients for the Crawfish Etoufee
- Onion – 1 cup chopped
- Celery – 1 cup chopped
- Bell pepper – 1 cup chopped
- Fresh garlic – 2-3 cloves chopped
- Seasonings – to taste Cajun, Cayenne, favorite hot sauce, salt and pepper.
- Stock – 3-4 cups. Use either chicken stock, seafood stock, or vegetable stock. However, homemade crawfish stock is awesome!
- Crawfish tails – You’ll need about a pound of crawfish tails for 4 servings.
- Optional toppings – Freshly chopped parsley, green onions, or for a Cajun style, add chopped tomatoes and a shot or two of heavy cream.
- Rice – adjust for the number of servings you want.
Directions
- Pre-cook the rice and set aside.
- Next, you need to decide how you want your roux. If you want a hearty dark roux, swap butter for peanut oil. If you are going for a more delicate version, stick with butter. This is considered a blonde roux since it doesn’t require a long time like the roux in gumbo.
- To make a roux, take equal portions of fat and flour, put over high heat, and mix. The longer you mix, the darker it gets, and the more complex a flavor you will pull out of the dish. Just whatever you do, don’t stop mixing. Roux burns fast; if you burn it, you might as well start over.
- Once the roux is done, add the chopped vegetables directly into the hot roux.
- Stir with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon until the vegetables have begun to take on a little color.
- Slowly add your stock. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes on low heat. The longer it stews, the thicker the sauce will be.
- Add your favorite hot sauce, Cajun seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
- Add crawfish directly into the Etouffee sauce. Since the seafood is already cooked, put it in the sauce over low heat until heated. Remove the pan from heat and taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve over rice.
- Optional toppings are added last. For a Canjun style, add chopped tomatoes and a shot or two of heavy cream. Green onions and parsley are some other variations, depending on your preference.
- As they say in Cajun Country, Ca c’est bon!
Photo and food credit: Mark Tagal, Senior Aquaculturalist
