This classic Crawfish Etouffee is a quintessential Louisiana comfort food, featuring tender crawfish tails swimming in a rich, aromatic gravy. The sauce is built on a foundation of sautéed onions, celery, and bell peppers, enriched with crawfish fat and stock for deep, authentic seafood flavor. Spiced with paprika, cayenne, and white pepper, it offers a perfect balance of heat and savory depth. Traditionally served over steamed white rice, this dish is perfect for a hearty dinner or a festive gathering.
Crawfish Etouffee Frank’s Perfect
Description
This classic Crawfish Etouffee is a quintessential Louisiana comfort food, featuring tender crawfish tails swimming in a rich, aromatic gravy. The sauce is built on a foundation of sautéed onions, celery, and bell peppers, enriched with crawfish fat and stock for deep, authentic seafood flavor. Spiced with paprika, cayenne, and white pepper, it offers a perfect balance of heat and savory depth. Traditionally served over steamed white rice, this dish is perfect for a hearty dinner or a festive gathering.Ingredients
Directions
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Boil live crawfish in lightly salted water until cooked, about 4 minutes after water returns to boil.
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Remove crawfish and strain the cooking liquid through cheesecloth to create stock; reserve 4 cups for the sauce.
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Peel crawfish tails, devein them, and scoop fat from the heads.
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Divide the peeled tails into two equal portions; keep one portion whole and grind the other finely.
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In a heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
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Sauté onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and green onions until wilted and tender, about 7 minutes.
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Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to deepen the flavor.
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Pour in the reserved crawfish stock and stir in the crawfish fat.
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Cover and simmer the mixture over low heat for 10 minutes.
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Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of water to create a slurry.
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Uncover the skillet and gradually stir in the cornstarch slurry.
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Cover again and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens to a creamy consistency.
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Add the ground crawfish meat to the gravy.
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Season with paprika, salt, cayenne, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil, and Worcestershire sauce.
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Blend everything together well and taste to adjust seasoning if necessary.
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Cover the pot, bring to a near boil, then immediately remove from heat.
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Let the etouffee cool to room temperature with the lid on to allow flavors to meld.
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When ready to serve, reheat the mixture gently.
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Stir in the whole crawfish tails and chopped parsley.
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Cover and simmer for 3 minutes just to heat the tails through.
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Serve hot over steamed white rice.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 6
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 854.7kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 24.4g38%
- Saturated Fat 6.1g31%
- Cholesterol 305.2mg102%
- Sodium 335.8mg14%
- Total Carbohydrate 0.0g0%
- Dietary Fiber 0.0g0%
- Sugars 0.0g
- Protein 140.4g281%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.