Crawfish Etouffee

On episode 122 of the Catholic Foodie, I shared a recipe for Crawfish Etouffee. Our recipe is a variation of the one found in our favorite cookbook: Emeril Lagasse’s Louisiana Real & Rustic. I talked about this dish on the show, but I think it also deserves a post all its own.

Please note: There are variations for Chicken Etouffee and Shrimp Etouffee. You’ll find those variations toward the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1pound peeled crawfish tails (with the fat)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (plus additional for serving)
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions (plus additional for serving)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers and saute until soft and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook until the crawfish begin throwing off a little liquid, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Dissolve the flour in the water. Add to the crawfish mixture and season with salt and cayenne. Stir until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Add the parsley and the green onions and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Remove the bay leaves and serve over hot rice.

Our Variations

We add a bit more salt and cayenne (to taste, of course). The original recipe calls for chopped celery in addition to the onions and bell pepper. We drop the celery. We add chopped parsley and chopped green onions to the plates or bowls when serving.

Chicken or Shrimp Etouffee

In addition to crawfish, you can also make etouffee with shrimp or chicken. When using shrimp, be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Shrimp do not take long to cook. You would probably want to add them about 5 or 6 minutes before serving. Chicken Etouffee is economical and delicious. That’s what we made last Saturday night. And since we had two pounds of boneless chicken thighs, we doubled the recipe. To prep the chicken, Char added just a bit of salt, cayenne and EVOO to the thighs in a bowl, then mixed it up really well. I then cut the thighs up into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. We LOVED the Chicken Etouffee.

If you decide to try this recipe, please do let me know how it turns out. You can give me a call at 985-635-4974. Or send me an email at jeff@catholicfoodie.com.