Crawfish Etouffee

Ingredients

1 large White Onion (diced)
1 large Green Bell Pepper (diced)
3 stalks of celery (diced)
1 jalapeno (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tbsp of butter (or 3 tbsp of bacon grease)
2 tbsp of all purpose flour
2 cups of stock (preferably seafood, but vegetable or chicken will work too)
Cajun/Creole seasoning to taste (Tony Chachere’s and Slap Ya Mama are easy to find and good)
1/2 tbsp of pepper
1/2 tbsp of onion powder
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of salt (add more to taste)
2 bay leaves

Instructions

You’re going to start with dicing up what the Creoles and Cajuns call the “Holy Trinity”. For the lay person this just means celery, Green Bell Pepper, and white onion. The jalapeño is for spice and is unrelated, but dice that too. In combination with your minced garlic you have a strong, flavorful base to build on.

Once your vegetables are diced, melt your butter in a cast iron pan or dutch oven. These are just the best for heat control. The heavy bottoms make it harder for whatever you’re cooking to burn. Theoretically you can use anything just be careful and patient.

Soften your vegetables over medium heat, adding the garlic after they have time to sweat to avoid burning your garlic. Once your veg is sufficiently soft, sprinkle in your flour. You now have a roux. Roux can range from blond to dark. The color of your roux depends on what you’re cooking. Keep it moving with a wooden spoon and add more flour or butter if needed. Stop when its a dirty blonde.

Ok so its you and a roux, right? Turn your heat up to medium-high and add in your stock a cup at a time. If you add it all in at once you can get a lumpy end product. Stir until fully mixed and throw in your spices and bay leaves. Salt can be tricky here. My suggestion is to taste your Cajun/Creole seasoning first. Sometimes they can have plenty of sodium and adding any more will make your food way too salty. Let everything meld and thicken, adding your crawfish at the end so you don’t overcook it.

You’re done. You did it. We did it. Serve with rice or grits or drink it out of a mug. Doesn’t bother me. I’m not your real dad.

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