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Well, I've been asked to "cater" a small birthday party for some Cajuns living in Houston. They miss good Cajun food (Pappadeaux restaurant just doesn't do it for them). In addition to the shrimp bisque (recipe posted yesterday) I'm cooking up a batch of crawfish etouffee. This recipe was given to me by a friend and I have modified it to suit my tastes and to ease preparation. It is better than most restaurant etouffees that I have had (but I haven't been to New Orleans, the capital of Cajun cuisine, so take that statement with a grain of salt). This recipe uses golden mushroom soup as a base, so no need to make a roux.
I will also be serving boudain balls from a local bar and grill that makes some of the best ones that I have had. My stepmom is making dirty rice and red beans.
This etouffe recipe can be easily divided by three to make a smaller portion.
Crawfish Etouffee
3 medium white onions, chopped
3 green bell peppers, chopped
6 stalks of celery, chopped
3 sticks of butter
(The above ingredients are the Trinity of Cajun Cuisine, most all Cajun recipes start with a saute of those ingredients)
9 cans golden mushroom soup
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Cajun (Creole) seasoning - use to set the saltiness
red pepper - to taste
6 lbs frozen crawfish tails
Saute the onion, bell pepper, and celery in the butter. This is a large volume and may have to be done in batches or in more than one skillet. It is a large enough volume that I do not like to saute in the cooking pot - the mixture is too deep to cook they way i like it to. Basically, you are cooking the veggies down to almost half their original volume, not browning them. The way I tell that they are done is the butter oil will start to turn brown. Add the 9 cans of soup and bring to a low boil. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Season with the Cajun seasoning - Cajun seasoning is usually very salty, so I use it to set the saltiness, not the spiciness. Add red pepper to set to the desired spiciness (do a little at a time, red pepper is strong). Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn up the heat and ddd 6 lbs of thawed crawfish tails with the juices. Bring to a simmer and cook another 20 minutes until the crawfish is done. Check the seasoning and serve over cooked rice. Also makes an excellent topping for blackened fish.
I took one short cut: For those in Texas, HEB grocery has the Cajun trinity already chopped in 14oz. containers. This recipe would use about 2 1/2 containers. It contains chopped yellow onion, green onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and parsley. It is really good and saves a lot of prep work.
The first picture shows the veggies being sauteed. Also, a container of the pre-chopped Trinity from HEB is shown. I use a 4 gallon stock pot to cook the etouffee, it will fill the pot about 1/2 to 2/3 full when the crawfish is added.
Next, the veggies are in the stock pot. Here are all of the seasonings used in the recipe: Worcestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning, and red pepper. Also shown in a can of golden mushroom soup. Tony Chachere's is a very popular Cajun seasoning around here and I think it is one of the best. The red pepper is made by a local (Beaumont, Texas) spice and coffee company, Texas Coffee Co. ( known as TexJoy). Their steak seasoning is famous in these parts as is their Seaport brand coffee.
Finally, here is six pounds of frozen crawfish tails thawing in my sink.
[this post was last edited: 9/5/2011-14:12]
I will also be serving boudain balls from a local bar and grill that makes some of the best ones that I have had. My stepmom is making dirty rice and red beans.
This etouffe recipe can be easily divided by three to make a smaller portion.
Crawfish Etouffee
3 medium white onions, chopped
3 green bell peppers, chopped
6 stalks of celery, chopped
3 sticks of butter
(The above ingredients are the Trinity of Cajun Cuisine, most all Cajun recipes start with a saute of those ingredients)
9 cans golden mushroom soup
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Cajun (Creole) seasoning - use to set the saltiness
red pepper - to taste
6 lbs frozen crawfish tails
Saute the onion, bell pepper, and celery in the butter. This is a large volume and may have to be done in batches or in more than one skillet. It is a large enough volume that I do not like to saute in the cooking pot - the mixture is too deep to cook they way i like it to. Basically, you are cooking the veggies down to almost half their original volume, not browning them. The way I tell that they are done is the butter oil will start to turn brown. Add the 9 cans of soup and bring to a low boil. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Season with the Cajun seasoning - Cajun seasoning is usually very salty, so I use it to set the saltiness, not the spiciness. Add red pepper to set to the desired spiciness (do a little at a time, red pepper is strong). Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn up the heat and ddd 6 lbs of thawed crawfish tails with the juices. Bring to a simmer and cook another 20 minutes until the crawfish is done. Check the seasoning and serve over cooked rice. Also makes an excellent topping for blackened fish.
I took one short cut: For those in Texas, HEB grocery has the Cajun trinity already chopped in 14oz. containers. This recipe would use about 2 1/2 containers. It contains chopped yellow onion, green onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and parsley. It is really good and saves a lot of prep work.
The first picture shows the veggies being sauteed. Also, a container of the pre-chopped Trinity from HEB is shown. I use a 4 gallon stock pot to cook the etouffee, it will fill the pot about 1/2 to 2/3 full when the crawfish is added.
Next, the veggies are in the stock pot. Here are all of the seasonings used in the recipe: Worcestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning, and red pepper. Also shown in a can of golden mushroom soup. Tony Chachere's is a very popular Cajun seasoning around here and I think it is one of the best. The red pepper is made by a local (Beaumont, Texas) spice and coffee company, Texas Coffee Co. ( known as TexJoy). Their steak seasoning is famous in these parts as is their Seaport brand coffee.
Finally, here is six pounds of frozen crawfish tails thawing in my sink.
[this post was last edited: 9/5/2011-14:12]
