CRAWFISH ÉTOUFFÉE

Again, the subject of endless debate ... what is the best recipe for crawfish étouffée? Roux or no roux? Flour thickener instead? We could go on forever ...

In any case, here are a few recipes I've collected. Try 'em and see which one you like the best.

Note: if you are unable to find crawfish in your area, you can substitute shrimp for this dish. Remember that if you do this, though, the end result is NOT crawfish étouffée, but, of course, shrimp étouffée ...

Crawfish Étouffée #1

• 2 pounds crawfish tails
• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 2 tablespoons crawfish fat
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• Creole seasoning blend, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Pinch dried thyme
• Pinch dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Season the crawfish tails with salt, plus a little black and cayenne pepper. Heat the butter in a saute pan and saute the onion, bell pepper and celery until the translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish fat (or extra butter if you don't have any), plus 1-1/2 cups water. Add the Creole seasoning, thyme, oregano, bay leaf and crawfish tails. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Dissolve the corn starch in the remaining 1/2 cup water and add to the mixture. Add the green onions and parsley, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve over hot long grain rice.

Crawfish Étouffée #2 (from Perry Mark Glorioso, of Laplace, LA)

• 1 pound crawfish tails, with fat
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 medium - large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons bell pepper, minced
• 1/2 stalk celery, minced
• Green onion tops
• Fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• Cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 - 2 cups water

Melt butter in pot, add flour and stir like hell. Add onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook until tender, and keep stirring. Add crawfish fat, if possible, and cook down 10-15 minutes. Add tails and tomato paste, then add water. Cook down for 20 minutes or so, but be careful not to overdo it. Add salt and peppers to taste. Cook a little more, then add chopped green onion tops and parsley and cook till ready.

Note: Some directions and amounts are intentionally vague ... use the challenge.

Yield: Meal for 4 men or 6 pansies.

Crawfish Étouffée #3 (from Ed Branley, owner of the N.O. Mailing List)

• 1 lb crawfish tails
• Crawfish fat
• 1 to 1-1/2 sticks butter
• 1/2 tablespoon flour
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon bell pepper, chopped fine
• Green onion tops, chopped
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

Melt butter in skillet. Add flour and stir until blended. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, and garlic, and cook until tender. Add crawfish fat, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add crawfish tails, and cover. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste, green onion tops and parsley. Simmer a while, covered, until seasonings blend. Serve over rice.

After the crawfish fat is added, a little water may be added to the mixture.

---

And if you're just going to go directly for shrimp étouffée, here's a good recipe for that from Talk About Good!, the cookbook of the Lafayette Junior League:

Shrimp Étouffée

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup corn oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup bell pepper
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 3 pounds raw deveined shrimp
• 1 large can tomatoes
• 2 small cans tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops

Make roux (brown over slow fire stirring constantly) of flour and cooking oil -- add onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, mix well and cook about 5 minutes then add 6 cups of water. Let simmer about 1 hour. Add 3 pounds of raw deveined shrimp, cook for 15 minutes. Add parsley and onion tops 5 minutes before serving. Serves 10 generously over rice.

---