Crawfish Etouffee

Crawfish! Crawfish!

Yes, it is crawfish time in New Orleans! The spring ushers in the beloved “mud bug”.

This is crawfish season and if you happen to have any crawfish left over from a crawfish boil, then you can use them to create an etouffee (pronounced eh-too-fay). Etouffee is French for “smothered”, which means the dish has gravy or thick sauce. Crawfish tails can be purchased in one-pound packages in stores in the south and online in the north. Please make sure the tails are from Louisiana for the best flavor! “Creole Seasoning” will be seen in most of the recipes and I tend to use a variety of them, often a couple in one dish.

I am proud to share that this Crawfish Etouffee dish won a place in the 2016 Hour Detroit’s Shared Plates contest!

If you happen to have any crawfish left over from a crawfish boil-that would be rare if there are any left- but if so, use the tails for the etouffee. Thankfully, crawfish tails packaged in one-pound packets from a Louisiana source is recommended. **Crawfish tails from outside of the USA are not recommended**.  The crawfish need to come from the great Louisiana waters to provide that special flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup finely chopped green onions
• ½ cup finely chopped onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell peppers
• 12 ounces Crawfish tails**
• 1-2 Tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning® and Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic Seasoning Blend: ®
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup seafood stock
• Flour Slurry (equal parts plain flour dissolved in 1 cup of cold water or broth)
• 1 can of Cream of Celery Soup
• Pepper to taste
• Parsley

PREPARATION

Melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped celery and bell peppers. Sauté these first as they take a little longer to cook. As they become soft and tender, add the onions, and sauté until the onions are translucent. Stir and scrap the bottom of the pan well.

Add the crawfish tails to the vegetables. Put a little water in the crawfish bag and pour the remaining crawfish and juices into the pot of vegetables.

Add creole seasonings, garlic and parsley. Cook the crawfish for a few minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the seafood stock, then simmer over low to medium heat.

Dissolve the all-purpose flour in cold water or broth and pour 2 tablespoons into the simmering crawfish. Stir the slurry into the crawfish allowing it to gradually thicken. (As an alternative: 1 can of Cream of Celery Soup may be added to make the dish creamy)

Serve over hot cooked white rice with crusty French bread on the side.

Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

LAGNIAPPE

Shrimp Etouffee can be made by substituting the crawfish with shrimp. Medium 41-50 to large 31-35 sized shrimp are the best size for this dish.

Print Pin

Crawfish Etouffee

Course Main Course

Author Monique Olivier Getzinger

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped green onion
• ½ cup finely chopped onions
• 1 pound crawfish tails
• 1 cup seafood stock
• 1 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning®
• 1 tsp Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic Seasoning®
• 2 tsp minced fresh garlic
• 2 tbsp slurry (all-purpose flour + cold water or broth) Slurry is a thickener made of equal parts of all-purpose flour and cold water or broth
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

• Melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped celery and bell peppers. Sauté these first as they take a little longer to cook. As they become soft and tender, add the onions, and sauté until the onions are translucent. Stir and scrap the bottom of the pan well.
• Add the crawfish tails to the vegetables. Put a little water in the crawfish bag and pour the remaining crawfish and juices into the pot of vegetables.
• Add creole seasonings, garlic and parsley. Cook the crawfish for a few minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add the seafood stock, then simmer over low to medium heat.
• Dissolve the all-purpose flour in cold water or broth and pour it into the simmering crawfish. Stir the slurry into the crawfish, allowing it to gradually thicken.
• Serve over hot cooked white rice with crusty French bread on the side.

Enjoy Keeping It Creole⚜️

Keeping It Creole, LLC

Enjoy Keeping It Creole!