Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe
Crawfish Etouffee is one of my favorite classic Louisiana dishes made with a robust gravy-like sauce, chopped vegetables, and plenty of crawfish tails. A rich, well-developed roux is the foundation for good etouffee, and a good amount of Cajun seasoning brings everything together in this flavorful dish.
Equipment
- 10-inch cast iron skillet , or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper rinsed, seeded and chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning store-bought or homemade, my recipe linked
- 1-2 cups unsalted chicken stock or shrimp or seafood stock
- salt
- cracked black pepper
- 1 pound crawfish tail meat
- Cooked white rice for serving
- Chopped green onions and fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy-bottom skillet or Dutch oven, melt four tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the flour to the pan and cook the flour with the butter, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone whisk, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it reaches a light peanut butter color and has a nutty aroma. Do not walk away from the stove, the roux can easily burn.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add the thyme, bay leaf, tomato, cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce and cook while stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour in one cup of chicken stock, while stirring, and bring the sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 20-25 minutes, adding more chicken stock as necessary until the sauce reaches a thick gravy-like consistency. Season with salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
- Stir in the crawfish tails and continue to simmer the etouffee for 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, allow the etouffee to cool for about 10 minutes, and serve crawfish etouffee in bowls over buttered white rice. Garnish with chopped green onions and parsley.
Notes
- You can make the sauce for crawfish etouffee a day ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container overnight. Do not add the crawfish to the sauce if making it ahead of time.
- When you are ready to serve, warm the sauce on the stovetop over medium heat and add more stock as needed to bring the sauce to the right consistency. Add the crawfish and simmer for a few more minutes and serve as directed.
- Leftover crawfish etouffee can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (without rice)Calories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 13.7gProtein: 22.1gFat: 13.5gSaturated Fat: 7.6gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 764mgPotassium: 460mgFiber: 1.8gSugar: 4gCalcium: 93mgIron: 2mg
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