Rich and buttery with a kick of spice, this Creole classic is a year-round favorite. Read about Devin Smith’s love of Crawfish Étouffée here and find out more about him at creoleforthesoul.com
Crawfish Étouffée
Author: Devin Smith, Creole for the Soul
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, divided
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup chopped yellow onion
- ⅓ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 dried bay leaf
- Cajun seasoning,* to taste
- Dried Italian seasoning, to taste
- 3 cups hot chicken stock or seafood stock
- 2 pounds fresh or thawed frozen crawfish tail meat
- 1 cup finely chopped green onion, plus more to serve
- 1 capful liquid crab boil
- Hot cooked rice, to serve
Instructions
- In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, melt ½ cup butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is the color of peanut butter, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in yellow onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and bay leaf; cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with Cajun and Italian seasonings.
- Gradually whisk 3 cups hot stock into vegetable mixture until smooth; bring mixture to a low boil.
- Meanwhile, in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, melt remaining ½ cup butter over medium heat. Stir in crawfish, green onion, and crab boil; cook for 1 minute. Stir crawfish mixture into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Serve with rice and additional green onion.
Notes
*Devin uses Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning.
Tips: Heat stock in a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup. If you have access to fresh whole crawfish, peel enough tails to measure 2 pounds of just the meat, which is about 15 pounds of whole crawfish. Save the shells to make the stock for the recipe.
Tips: Heat stock in a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup. If you have access to fresh whole crawfish, peel enough tails to measure 2 pounds of just the meat, which is about 15 pounds of whole crawfish. Save the shells to make the stock for the recipe.
