Crawfish Etouffee

By msippigrl

Bring home the great flavors of the Bayou with this family favorite Cajun classic, Crawfish Etouffee! Serve with hot, cooked long grain white rice and crusty French bread.

Ingredients

• 2 (12 ounce) packages frozen crawfish tails, thawed*
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (I used salted)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth (with enough water to measure 2 cups)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons Hunt's tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Original Creole seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper, ground
• Dash cayenne pepper, optional
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives (or 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion tops)

Preparation

Step 1

Crawfish:

*Thaw the crawfish in a large pot or other container of cold tap water, rinsing and changing it about 3 times as the crawfish thaw out. When you can separate the crawfish, rinse them again and fill the container again with cold water. Add about 1/2 teaspoon liquid crab boil to the water and give it a little stir. Set aside.

Meanwhile, get all your ingredients out and prep the veggies. Set aside.

Melt butter in a heavy, medium-large pot or skillet over medium heat; add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and saute until onion is translucent, 4 - 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (While the veggies are sauteing, pour crawfish into a colander to drain.) Add the garlic to the sauteing mixture and cook about 1 minute more.

Add the crawfish tails to the mixture and sprinkle with the creole seasoning and garlic salt; cook and stir until the mixture is hot again, then sprinkle the flour over the top, stirring and cooking for 3-4 minutes more to incorporate the flour. (At this point, the flour should be sticky and clinging to the crawfish and veggies.) Add the chicken broth-water mixture, tomato sauce, and remaining seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low/medium-low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, adding more water, if needed, for desired gravy consistency.

Serve with hot, cooked long grain white rice and crusty French bread.