Forums

[taxwonk]

always set me to thinking about Southern cooking:

Here's my crawfish etoufee recipe.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flour

Mix flour and oil in large skillet over med heat to make a roux. Once the roux is formed, turn heat to low and cook about 40 minutes, until the roux is a peanut butter color.

Then add:
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped med. fine
1 large greem bell pepper, chopped med. fine
3 stalks celery, sliced fine
1 good handful parsley, chopped fine
2 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
one bay leaf

Sweat about 20 minutes over med-low heat, until onions are translucent and the flavors blend well. This also allows any remaining floury taste to cook out of the roux.

Add the following:
1 bottle clam juice and 20 oz. shrimp, fish, or crawfish stock**
1 cup white wine
Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste*

Simmer about 30 minutes, until the etoufee has the right consistency. You may want to let it go longer if it's too thin or add some more wine if it needs thinning.

Add:
2lbs crawfish tails

Turn heat to med-high, stirring fairly regularly, about 15 minutes until crawfish is heated through.

Serve over long-grain white rice and garnish with chopped parsley and more Frank's Red Hot Sauce.*


* You may substitute your favorite hot sauce. I like Frank's because it has as much of a vinegar note as it has heat. My personal feeling is that if your hot sauce is too firey, it drowns out the other more subtle flavors.

** If you buy whole crawfish, then the stock is easy. Just take the heads and the shells from the tails and cover with water. Add a handful of pepper corns, a tablespoon of kosher salt and a lemon, cut in half. Bring to a rapid boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain the whole mess and you've got a perfect stock.