Crawfish Etouffee

By msippigrl

Gooood Louisiana Cajun cooking! Don't let the long list of ingredients disinterest you, the majority of them are mere seasonings that you already have in your pantry.

Ingredients

• 2 (12-16 oz) packages frozen crawfish tails, thawed*
• 5 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
• Half a medium green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
• Half a rib of celery, chopped (1/4 cup)
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced (2 tsp)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth (with enough water to measure 2 cups)
• 4 tablespoons Hunt's tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Original Creole seasoning, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Dash of cayenne pepper, optional
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes (or 3 Tbl. finely chopped fresh parsley)
• 3 green onion tops, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)

Preparation

Step 1

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

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