Crawfish, simmered in a very simple butter roux, seasoned with a basic trinity, garlic, stock and Cajun seasoning, and finished with a little fresh parsley and green onion. Serve over hot rice with fresh French bread for dipping.
Crawfish Etouffée
There are so many schools of thought on how to prepare a proper crawfish etouffée. Some say with a roux, others think not. Some add tomatoes, others say there is no place for tomatoes in it. Some use the Trinity, others only part of it. One thing I think that we all can agree on is that it should be uncomplicated.
For a seafood etouffée, crawfish is traditional, although shrimp or crab can be substituted. It is a totally different taste experience from the crawfish, however, since the fat from the crawfish do contribute both a distinct flavor and a bit of color. I would suggest giving it a taste and maybe bump up the seasonings a bit. Maybe even add a dab of tomato paste also.
Etouffée is also always best made with freshly boiled crawfish of course, but peak crawfish season is rather short-lived, and generally they are consumed at big boils, so rarely are there any leftover.
Even for our access to them, crawfish etouffée is often made with frozen crawfish tails, rather than fresh. That's perfectly acceptable, however, avoid the imports. They are frankly pretty bad and don't do justice to a good etouffée.
You just can't beat the taste of Louisiana tails, so you should always look for this seal on a package of frozen crawfish when possible.
I start my etouffée with a very simple light colored roux, using a 1:1 ratio of flour to oil, or in my case, butter.
Add in the basic trinity and a little garlic.
Cook and stir that until the veggies are tender and then add a good stock, seafood stock if I have it in the freezer, chicken broth or even just plain water, if I don't.
Work the stock in a little at a time until it's nicely incorporated, then add Cajun seasoning, a little salt and pepper, and give it a quick 15 minute simmer.
Add in the crawfish tails and the fat from the package, taste, adjust seasonings, and finish with a little parsley and green onion.
Cook and stir that until the crawfish are heated through. Fill a bowl, add a scoop of rice, some fresh French bread and a side salad.
For more of my favorite crawfish recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
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