Crawfish Étouffée

Posted byNoriePosted inRecipe, SeafoodTags:, ,

Shrimp Étouffée

(Pronounced Eh-too-fey)
Blonde Étouffée
Dark Roux Étouffée
Dark Étouffée with darkened roux served with rice

This is a Cajun dish, a traditional New Orleans food.  Cajuns are Acadian French ethnic group living in the lower state of Louisiana. This is one of the popular dishes and favorites of the Louisianan of French descents and has spread to the eastern Texas border. Etouffee means smothered in French.

Crawfish boil is a favorite weekend get-together during the cooler months that starts at the end of winter through spring until the onset of hot summer in Louisiana and also in lower and eastern Texas.  Most crawfish are grown and farmed in lower Louisiana. Crawfish supplies diminish in the hot season. They are usually sold in 20 lbs. to 40 lbs. sacks and are boiled by the sacksful and usually enjoyed by groups of friends and/or families.  If there are leftovers, the crawfish are then shelled and frozen then cooked in another dish like etouffee, jambalaya or gumbo. 

Shelled crawfish tails are also available in packages in the frozen section at the grocery store. 

Ingredients:

  • About 2 cups of shelled crawfish tails or shelled shrimp
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed and minced
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • ½ cup chopped bell peppers
  • 1 bay leaves
  • 2 TBSP butter
  • 1 TBSP flour
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • ½ shrimp bouillon cube or chicken bouillon cube
  • 1/4 tsp. salt or 1 tsp. Louisiana (Cajun) seasoning (Tony Chacheres or Slap Ya Mama, etc.)
  • ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper or Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 TBS chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-heat.  Add the flour and slowly mix it in the butter while stirring to avoid lumps and to avoid getting burned.  Cook stirring until the flour changes color a bit. Don’t let it get too dark.  Add the onions, garlic, celery, and bell peppers, and sauté until onions are transparent.  Add 1 ½ cups chicken broth or water.  Add the bay leaf, parsley, shrimp or chicken bouillon and Cajun seasoning. Simmer covered for about 2 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the crawfish tails and the chopped green onions, cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce.  Cook for a minute, taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste.  If it is too thick, add a spoon of water at a time until it suits you.

The above recipe does not have tomatoes but some like to add tomato sauce or canned diced tomatoes.  I read that Creole’s etouffee uses tomatoes but Cajun’s does not and this recipe is Cajun.

This dish is similar to gumbo except it does not have okra and is not soupy. It is usually blonde (not darkened roux like the photo on the right and the one below with rice).  To make it dark like the right photo, make the roux as described above but cook the flour until it gets very dark brown. 

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Shrimp Étouffée

Follow the same recipe as Crawfish Étouffée.