shrimp and crawfish étouffée
“all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go,
I’m standing here outside your door,”
Well. All of our bags, boxes, totes, and suitcases are packed. The movers came last week and we all of our stuff is headed to The Burgh. The Man Friend was able to come down for several days to help me get everything ready and fix stuff around the house. It was pretty bittersweet. Though there will be other (and most likely bigger and better) houses in our lifetime, there will never be another first house. We loved our little home and did what we could to make it our own. I'm really going to miss the place and am happy to have such fond memories there.
Though the Man Friend is already back in Pittsburgh, I'm still staying back for a few weeks to help my family out. Yep, I'm living at home with my mama again. I do love cooking with and for her, so when my freezer clean out yielded a package of frozen crawfish tails, I knew we were going to make something Cajun for the Man Friend's last night in town. She happened to have some Gulf shrimp in her freezer, so we settled on spicy étouffée!
shrimp and crawfish étouffée
prep time: 30 minutes | cook time: 60 minutes
experience level: medium-ish | specialty: cajun
- 1 1/2 tbsp Cajun or Creole seasoning
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped (one small onion or half of a medium one)
- 1/3 cup celery, finely chopped (about three medium stalks)
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 of a medium one)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups shrimp (see below) or chicken stock
- 1 cup petite diced tomatoes (only petite because I hate tomato chunks)
- 1 tsp Tabasco or other Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 pound crawfish tails (frozen are fine)
- 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (save the shells for stock - see below!)
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions (white and light green parts only)
- 3 tbsp fresh curly-leaf parsley, minced
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups cooked white rice
Sprinkle the shrimp with half of the Cajun/Creole seasoning. Place in the refrigerator while you're making the roux...I mean, rest.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. I used a Le Creuset deep sauté skillet, but it got a little too hot and the étouffée stuck to the bottom. Good ol' nonstick will do! Stir in the onion, celery, and peppers, cooking until just translucent and softened. Make a blonde roux by whisking in the flour a little at a time, making sure to constantly stir it. This takes about 5-7 minutes. If you're unsure about how to make a roux, follow the Queen of Butter's (the one and only Paula Deen) instructions here.
Once your roux is nice and golden, stir in the remaining Cajun/Creole seasoning. Whisk in a little of the stock (shrimp or chicken). Stir to make a thick paste, gradually whisking in the remainder. It is important to stir this constantly or it's going to stick. Bring the roux mixture to a soft boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. You're looking to have a thick brown gravy-like texture (but not as thick as traditional Southern white gravy). If you need to stir in a little more of the stock to thin it out, that's fine.
Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, thyme, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Add the crawfish, shrimp, green onions, and parsley. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and curl into the fetal position. Stir in 3 tbsp butter and serve with rice.
bonus recipe: shrimp stock
prep time: 20 minutes | cook time: 60-90 minutes
experience level: easy peasy | specialty: the basics
This is seriously simple and deceptively delicious. While you can use canned chicken stock, this homemade version makes all the difference in the world. It literally smells like New Orleans to me.
- the shells and tails from 2 pounds fresh shrimp (no heads!)
- 1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, halved
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp peppercorns (I used the multicolor ones)
- 3 stems of fresh parsley
- 12 cups water
Dump all of the ingredients into a massive stockpot and fill with enough water to cover everything. Bring that stuff to a boil, then simmer it down until it gets all concentrated. Pour the liquid through a sieve so none of the solids come through.
You'll only need about 2 cups. Cool the remainder to room temp, then freeze the rest.
