Crawfish Etouffee

[dlatin 328]

One of the benefits of marrying a Cajun is her cooking. I love her family’s etouffee recipe, which gets cooked often during Lent. Unfortunately I can’t get etouffee anywhere else because it just doesn’t compare. It is my favorite thing she makes. Butter, crawfish fat, onions, green peppers, and crawfish.

 

[Caddox 952]

Looks damn good. Recipe?

[TBGFL 397]

Second the request for a recipe. Now I have a puddle of drool on my desk. Thanks.

[futureman 22,464]

I came

[dlatin 328]

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 lb crawfish tails w/ fat (Must be Louisiana Crawfish, not Chinese) seasoned with Tony’s

1 Cup each Onion and Green Pepper, diced

Worcestershire sauce

Tony's to taste

 Multiply the above ingredients for the amount of crawfish you have.  3 lb crawfish makes enough for 8-10 good servings.

 Thaw crawfish, cut small corner out of bag and add a little water (about 1/8 cup per bag or so) from faucet.  Hold cut corner shut and swish water throughout the bag in order to grab the crawfish fat.  Dump and reserve liquid from bag.  Repeat for each bag.  Dump and set aside crawfish in a colander.  Make sure all the fat is off the sides of bags.  Add a little more water to each bag and shake up to get all the fat.  Strain the crawfish by pushing on it and collect the liquid on the other side of colander.  Add all liquid together.  Season crawfish.

 Sautee butter and chopped vegetables.  Sautee until past translucent and almost a pasty consistency.  About 45 minutes.  Add crawfish fat liquid and simmer for another 15-20 mins.  Should reduce a little and be a nice red color.  Add crawfish and continue to simmer for another 30 mins or until sauce has reduced.  Sauce should taste rich and buttery...add a couple dashes Worcestershire sauce to taste.  Season to taste with Tony's or cayenne…should be decently spicy but not overpowering.    Serve over rice.

 

We haven't added Worcestershire recently and it still tastes great.

Edited March 2, 2020 by dlatin
tweak

[Brisketexan 105,142]

That's a lot like my mom's recipe.  She makes a light roux with the butter.  And we add celery and garlic to the veggies, and don't add worcestershire.

So, it ends up looking more golden than red.  And it's just damned glorious.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Brisketexan

[tx 3 putt 76,958]

Topless pics of your wife ?

looks good 

Edited March 2, 2020 by tx 3 putt

[futureman 22,464]

ruby's bbq on 29th had some fucking outstanding etouffee.  that place was incredible.  may it rest in peace.

[Topper13 3,270]

2 hours ago, futureman said:

ruby's bbq on 29th had some fucking outstanding etouffee.  that place was incredible.  may it rest in peace.

Oh yeah, even on a budget, the black bean tacos went hard. 

[workswithseed 2,108]

Here I thought you first was gonna make a roux.

[Frank Erwin 203]

Crawfish must be from Louisiana, not China, just like in the OP's recipe.  If you use Chinese crawfish, they need to be rinsed repeatedly, which will remove all of the crawfish fat.  The crawfish fat is an important part of a good etouffee recipe.  I love etouffee because it really is simple, quick, and so damned good.

[Spoosner 86]

Is there a trick to acquiring Louisiana crawfish tails, as in a grocery chain that typically carries them?  A quick google brings up the Louisiana Crawfish Co. that will deliver for $20/lb.  

[elfenix 34,241]

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/frozen-domestic-crawfish-tailmeat/1529501

[Frank Erwin 203]

Louisiana tailmeat is usually more expensive.  Look on the back of the label for the country of origin.  Don't be misled by the name.  Some may say Boudreaux's, or some other cajun name, but they come from China.

[BBQ2Bayou 807]

On 3/2/2020 at 1:54 PM, Brisketexan said:

That's a lot like my mom's recipe.  She makes a light roux with the butter.  And we add celery and garlic to the veggies, and don't add worcestershire.

So, it ends up looking more golden than red.  And it's just damned glorious.

Celery and green pepper and onion? I like celery in mine

[Brisketexan 105,142]

1 hour ago, BBQ2Bayou said:

Celery and green pepper and onion? I like celery in mine

Yep.  Just classic trinity.  It really is a super simple dish.  Butter roux, saute trinity and garlic, add crawfish or shrimp and juices, simmer a bit, season as needed, serve.

[Wally Fairway 5,550]

I would eat your wife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

's cooking

[HouTex 1,867]

Chef Prudhomme’s recipe calls for a roux base and then he adds the usual butter and trinity. It’s good but extremely rich. I prefer the non-roux version.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

On 3/3/2020 at 12:15 PM, elfenix said:

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/frozen-domestic-crawfish-tailmeat/1529501

That's what I use and it makes a great etouffee.  I go for a dark roux, but not quite as dark as when making gumbo.  Like brisket mentioned, you gotta have some celery in there - it's called the Trinity for a reason.  I also put a little bit of cayenne in mine but not much (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tsp).

Pro tip:  When you're about done, get you another half stick of butter and melt that down and stir it in real good.  My aunt from Baton Rouge would also add a touch of heavy cream.  Definitely not for those that are trying to watch their cholesterol, but makes for some freaking good eats.

[Brisketexan 105,142]

4 hours ago, HouTex said:

Chef Prudhomme’s recipe calls for a roux base and then he adds the usual butter and trinity. It’s good but extremely rich. I prefer the non-roux version.

My mom's recipe is definitely in between those.  Use the butter to make a thin blonde roux.  It gives the final product just a touch of thickness.  Like, Milana Vayntrub, not a Vic special.

[TonyTexas 10,514]

Shrimp works great as a crawfish substitute. It’s a lot cheaper and I think hold up a little better texturally. 

[Brisketexan 105,142]

6 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Shrimp works great as a crawfish substitute. It’s a lot cheaper and I think hold up a little better texturally. 

Correct on both points (and I'l never turn down shrimp etouffee)....but I still think crawfish tastes better.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Brisketexan

[Jim Thompson 22]

On 3/2/2020 at 9:12 PM, Topper13 said:

Oh yeah, even on a budget, the black bean tacos went hard. 

Man, did they, two flour tortillas packed with black beans, pico, sour cream and salsa. If you were feeling sporty you could get smoked chicken on top. Under $5. Those tacos saved the lives of countless UT students.

[dlatin 328]

On 3/3/2020 at 3:58 PM, Brisketexan said:

Yep.  Just classic trinity.  It really is a super simple dish.  Butter roux, saute trinity and garlic, add crawfish or shrimp and juices, simmer a bit, season as needed, serve.

Yes - celery is part of the classic trinity.  As with everything, especially cajun food, there are a ton of variations.  This recipe is a family recipe I've been eating for 20 years and is so good.  I'm just not a fan of the creole version of ettouffe, which is what you get at most places.  This is extremely rich being that butter and crawfish fat are the the only liquids.  

[Brisketexan 105,142]

2 minutes ago, dlatin said:

Yes - celery is part of the classic trinity.  As with everything, especially cajun food, there are a ton of variations.  This recipe is a family recipe I've been eating for 20 years and is so good.  I'm just not a fan of the creole version of ettouffe, which is what you get at most places.  This is extremely rich being that butter and crawfish fat are the the only liquids.  

Agreed on your preference vs. the creole.  I'll eat an ettouffee with tomatoes in it, I just prefer the other kind.