Crawfish Étouffée

What is étouffée?

Étouffée is a French word meaning to smother or suffocate. In cooking, it’s translated to “stew” or “braise,” where the main ingredients are cooked “smothered” in the sauce.

You can make a classic étouffée from many ingredients, including crawfish, shrimp, crab or other crustaceans, not to mention chicken and sausage. Less common varieties include pork and beef.

Is étouffée Cajun or Creole?

According to Chef John Folse, CEC, AAC, etouffee is more Creole in origin but is found throughout Louisiana. This recipe is based on his from his tome, The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine.

Making étouffée

There are many “chefy” methods for making crawfish étouffée.

Some call for starting with a crawfish boil using 20 pounds or more of the little mudbugs. Others begin by making their stock with crawfish heads and shells.

Some swap the traditional blond roux for a more prolonged cooking, darker one.

This version won’t have you harvesting crawfish from the bayou or building a campfire in your backyard. Promise.

It’s based on Chef John Folse’s crawfish étouffée recipe, and you can use pre-cooked frozen crawfish tails (preferably from Louisiana). Best of all, you can have this Louisiana classic on the table in about one hour.

Ingredients you’ll need for this crawfish étouffée recipe

• Cooked Crawfish
• Butter
• Onion
• Green Bell Pepper
• Red, Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper (pick one)
• Celery
• Garlic
• Flour
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Dried Thyme
• Cayenne Pepper
• Tomato Juice (or sauce)
• Bottled Clam Juice
• Water
• Plum Tomato (or canned diced tomato)
• Sherry (or Vermouth)
• Green Onions
• Parsley

About crawfish

Crawfish are tiny little shellfish that resemble lobsters. They can live in moving freshwater like streams and rivers or standing waters like marshes, swamps, ponds and lakes.

These little shellfish are also known as crayfish, crawdads (vernacular: crawldads), mudbugs, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters and yabbies.

Are crawfish and langoustine the same thing?

No. Though they are very similar in appearance, crawfish live in freshwater, whereas langoustines live in saltwater.

Where can I buy crawfish?

If you live in and around Louisiana, you can buy them fresh. Crawfish season runs from November to July.

You don’t need to buy the whole crayfish to make this etouffee recipe. To be candid, it would be much more work as each tail only has a tiny morsel of meat, about 1/2″ to 1″ long.

Many supermarkets and seafood shops sell one-pound packages of frozen crawfish tails.

I found mine at my local seafood market (Pop’s). They even had whole steamed crawfish in their seafood case. I bought both.

If you can’t source them in your hometown, there’s always Uncle Amazon {affiliate link}.

How to make crawfish étouffée from scratch

1. Melt the butter in a large 10-12″ skillet with 2-3″ high sides. Saute the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic until softened and translucent.
2. Add the flour and cook, stirring for about 1-2 minutes. No dry bits of flour should be left, and the roux should coat the vegetables like a paste.
3. Add the kosher salt, black pepper, thyme and cayenne (or if you have some Creole seasoning on hand, use 2 1/4 teaspoons). Cook and stir for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add in the crawfish tails and tomato juice, constantly stirring for 3-4 minutes (it’s essential to keep it moving so the tomato juice doesn’t scorch).
5. Next comes the clam juice. Stir until it’s the consistency of a smooth sauce with no lumps.
6. Stir in the water and chopped tomato. Bring the crawfish étouffée to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook without the lid for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add the chopped green onion and parsley. Serve.

Variations

• Swap other seafood for the crawfish in the étouffée. Try shrimp or crab. You could also use mussels or oysters, but you’d want to add them toward the end of cooking (last 4-5 minutes), so they don’t become tough.
• Brown chunks of andouille sausage with butter at the beginning of the recipe for another layer of spicy goodness.
• Swap boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the crawfish. Chop the meat into bite-sized chunks and proceed with the recipe as written.
• For a smoky component, crisp 2-3 strips of bacon in the skillet before adding butter. Remove all but one tablespoon of bacon fat and reduce the amount of butter by one tablespoon. Crumble the bacon and garnish the crawfish étouffée when serving.

FAQ’s

What goes with étouffée?

Steamed white rice is the classic accompaniment to any etouffee recipe, but that doesn’t mean you can’t riff on it to make it your own. Some options include:

• Steamed or Boiled Small Red Potatoes with fresh herbs.
• Cooked okra.
• Small cooked pasta (like orzo, shells, or macaroni).
• NOLA style french bread — with a lighter crust and soft, plush interior (for sopping up the etouffee sauce.
• Mashed Potatoes
• Grits – this is not traditional, but I believe it would go well with this crawfish étouffée recipe.

What the taster’s said

“This is pure Cajun comfort food.” – Scott

“It’s like taking a trip to New Orleans without the plane ticket!” – Heather

“Authentic flavors.” – Danielle

More New Orleans inspired recipes you’ll love:

• Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe
• Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe
• Easy Louisiana Cajun Red Beans Rice and Sausage
• The French 75
• Cajun Meatballs and Pasta
• Cognac French 75
• Southern Style Pecan Pralines
• Milk Punch Recipe

More Louisiana seafood recipes you’ll love:

• Cajun Sausage and Oyster Dressing
• Cajun Skillet Jambalaya
• Mardi Gras Grilled Oysters
• Louisiana Rice Dressing (a holiday favorite)
• Classic Oysters Rockefeller Recipe
• Seafood Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
• Chargrilled Oysters

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