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New Orleans Crawfish Etouffee 

Etouffee is French for smother. Crawfish etouffee is made richer with the addition of crawfish fat.  Crawfish tails can be found frozen in some markets. You can also order whole, live crawfish and fresh or frozen crawfish tails plus fat, through online purveyors. 


Make Ahead
Prepare roux; cool. Transfer to jar; cover and chill up to 3 days. Transfer to saucepan; heat until melted. Continue recipe as directed. 

This dish freezes well, making it a perfect make ahead dinner party meal

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe 
Serves 4 
1 pound fresh or frozen, cooked crawfish tails plus fat, if available.  Thaw frozen crawfish overnight in the refrigerator. 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped 
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 scant tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon butter, if not using crawfish fat
1 cup warm water or warm low-sodium chicken broth, plus additional as needed. 
1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne), or to taste

Hot cooked rice
Fresh parsley (optional)

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat, about 1 minute. Stir in flour until smooth. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly, about 5 to 8 minutes or until a reddish brown roux is formed. Be careful not to scorch or burn.

Add onions, celery, green peppers, garlic and tomato paste to saucepan. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are very soft. 

Add butter or crawfish fat. Stir until melted. Stir in warm water or broth, lemon juice, green onions, parsley, ground cloves, chili powder, red pepper and ground black pepper, to taste. Test for salt and add to taste (the crawfish tails are salted when cooked). 

Bring to boiling.  Add crawfish, stir and return to boiling. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through. Add additional water or broth, a little at a time, if mixture is too thick.

Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes to allow the seasonings to blend. 

Serve with hot cooked rice. Garnish with parsley, if desired. 

For free tips and other information on making a roux and etouffee, contact us. 
 Included is a quick method for making a roux, plus the microwave method.  
Not sure what color a roux should be, we'll also include a color chart as a guideline.   
BONUS: Shrimp and chicken etouffee recipes