Description
Crawfish Etouffee is a Louisiana classic made with tender crawfish tails simmered in a buttery sauce with the Cajun ‘holy trinity’ of vegetables, seafood stock, and spices. Served over rice, it’s rich, hearty, and full of authentic Cajun flavor.
Ingredients
2 pounds crawfish tails, cooked and peeled
1 cup unsalted butter
4 yellow onions, chopped
6 ribs celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
4 large bay leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
6 tablespoons green onions, chopped
2 cups seafood stock
Seafood Stock:
Crawfish peelings, pan full
2 onions from leftover crawfish boil
2 garlic bulbs from leftover crawfish boil
Water to cover by 3 inches
Instructions
- Prepare seafood stock: Boil crawfish peelings with onions and garlic, covering with water by 3 inches. Simmer covered 1 hour, then strain. (Store-bought stock may be used instead.)
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add onions, celery, and bell peppers; cook 3 minutes until softened.
- Stir in flour and cook 3 minutes to form a light roux.
- Add crawfish tails and cook 2 minutes.
- Add bay leaves and slowly pour in seafood stock, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.
- Season with salt and cayenne pepper; simmer 5 minutes.
- Stir in parsley and green onions; cook another 5 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves and serve hot over rice.
Notes
Substitute shrimp for crawfish if desired.
Add more cayenne or Creole seasoning for extra spice.
For Creole-style, stir in diced tomatoes.
Add a splash of cream at the end for a richer, creamier version.
Reheat gently with a splash of stock to loosen the sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 720mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 22g
- Cholesterol: 160mg
