Video: Louisiana Chef Makes Crawfish Etouffee

From Denny: This video is great for demonstrating how to make a roux fast and furious on the stove. If you are unfamiliar with how to make a roux then this video will prove useful. Making a roux to the desired color of choice is all about preference. New Orleans uses a very dark roux the color of milk chocolate, sometimes darker. In Baton Rouge we go for a lighter roux about the color of caramel candy.

The traditional roux most people know is what you use for a cream sauce - but you don't take it to the darker stages before adding water, milk or cream. A traditional roux is where you heat a pan, add butter or oil, then add flour until well dissolved, then adding the liquid quickly. The key to a good roux in Louisiana cooking, besides the color which adds a richer roasted flavor since you are basically pan roasting the flour, is to cook the roux and liquid for at least 30 minutes to cook out the flour flavor and glue like texture. That's when the dish gets to shine as awesome flavor, playing up the spices.

Since this is a local food video, and the local media doesn't usually keep embedded videos available past one year, I've included some recipes for crawfish etouffee and smothered crawfish (about the same thing).

Smothering your food sounds a bit psychopath to people outside the American South but it's a favorite of the slow food mindset in country Cajun cooking. What are some of the essentials for this smothering technique? You have to bring on board The Holy Trinity of diced onions, bell pepper and celery - along with some salt, pepper and garlic powder.

The smothering technique is also used for meat dishes like pan fried pork chops that are then covered and cooked with a small amount of liquid and veggies, creating a gravy. Basically, it's a kind of braising. First you sear the meat, then add the onions, bell pepper and celery, then the flour. When you add the flour this way you get a lighter brown roux. Add your liquid of choice and you don't have to worry about getting lumps in your gravy. Just cover and slow cook for a while until desired tenderness. Easy as can be!

It's one of those low maintenance dishes you can ignore for 30 minutes to an hour or keep on low heat until ready to serve. These kinds of slow food smothered dishes work well for busy households where everyone is on the go with different schedules but want a home cooked meal ready and waiting with ease. In the South we even smother potatoes and other vegetables besides meat dishes.

Chef Joe Caton, of Louisiana Lagniappe restaurant in Baton Rouge, serves up a classic Louisiana crawfish etouffee. He only offers this dish when the crawfish are in season and fresh. Be sure to visit Louisiana during crawfish season which lasts through May! The rest of the year you will only find the crawfish tails frozen.

If you don't have access to crawfish in your area then consider using shrimp, oysters or a meaty fish as any of those choices are equally wonderful!











Smothered Crawfish

From: The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Crawfish cookbook by Jerald and Glenda Horst

Serves: 4-6


Smothered Crawfish

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 small bell peppers, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbls. flour
2 lbs. crawfish tails
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Cooked rice

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a cast-iron Dutch oven over low heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté over heat until the onions are transparent.

2. Add the flour and stir until blended.

3. Add the crawfish, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve over cooked rice.

Tip: Smothering works best in a cast-iron pot over low heat. Take your time and do not rush this dish.





More recipes for Crawfish Etouffee from this blog:

Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee From Lafittes Landing - Famous Louisiana Chef John Folse

New Orleans Recipes: Crawfish Etouffee, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Jambalaya, Sazerac Cocktail


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Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee From Lafittes Landing

Boiled crawfish photo by adie reed @ flickr


From Denny: Crawfish are coming into season and besides the first crawfish boil of the season my tummy goes to thinking about crawfish etoufee, a savory stew served over rice. Traditionally, this is a Creole dish but is now found all throughout Cajun country. It's served in the most upscale restaurants which makes a lot of old timers chuckle. To them it's just a good ol' country dish that tastes good and not expensive to make when you live off the land.

"Etoufee" is a word that means to stew, smother (a favorite technique throughout the entire American South for everything from pork chops to crawfish) or braise. My Cajun father-in-law always talked about smothering his Mississippi Pork Chops. And, oh, were they good too! Anyway, call it smothering, stewing or braising, this method of easy slow cooking is used for shrimp, crab, crawfish, meats and game.

This is an easy version of etoufee for the beginner cook as it is made with the simple light colored roux, sometimes called white roux. You don't have to master the darker roux.

Lafitte's Landing is about 40 minutes outside of Baton Rouge, the capital city. Baton Rouge is an hour plus 15 minutes west of New Orleans. If you come to visit, come long enough to traipse across southern Louisiana, going from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and farther west to Lafayette in a horizontal bee line. Lafayette usually has an International Music Festival around Easter or early April which is great fun.

If you have never visited Lafitte's Landing at Bittersweet Plantation - the brain child and huge success and a bed and breakfast too - of Louisiana native Chef John Folse, then hike on over and pay them a visit! The food is top notch; bring your wallet too. It's worth the time and money every time. Take a look at their B & B Suites as they are in the process of adding new ones, go here. Call them for availability and pricing as they may not have updated their website.

This chef is quite enterprising. He has developed his products as frozen entrees and more, ready to ship from his website in case you get a craving for good Louisiana food. For the crawfish etoufee, check it out here.




Cajun sampler platter with crawfish etoufee (front right), photo by Wyscan @ flickr


Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee

From: Chef John Folse, Lafitte's Landing Restaurant in Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Yield: enough for your hungry friends and relatives

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds cleaned crawfish tails (you can purchase these frozen)
1/4 pound butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup flour
2 quarts crawfish stock (by boiling the shells in water to extract the seasonings and seafood flavor)
1 ounce sherry
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Louisiana Gold Pepper sauce


DIRECTIONS:

In a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.

Add onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Saute 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.

Add half of the crawfish tails and tomato sauce and blend well into mixture.

Using a cooking spoon, blend flour into the vegetable mixture to form a white roux.

Slowly add crawfish stock or water, a little at a time, until all is incorporated. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining crawfish tails, sherry, green onions, parsley, basil and thyme. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

Season to taste using salt and pepper. Serve over steamed white rice or pasta, adding a few dashes of Louisiana Gold pepper sauce.


*** To purchase any of Chef John Folse's products, check out his extensive offerings at his online store, go here.


*** For more recipes like this, please visit Comfort Food From Louisiana!



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