Crawfish étouffée (authentic Cajun style)
Serves: 4–6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
Étouffée
½ cup of unsalted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of seafood (or chicken) stock
1.5 lbs of crawfish tails (with fat if available)
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (adjust to taste).
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Optional: ¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste.
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce (Louisiana-style)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp green onions, sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
For serving:
Steamed white rice
Optional sides: fried crawfish, hush puppies or cornbread.
Instructions:
1. Make the roux.
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux turns light to medium brown (this will take about 8–10 minutes). Do not rush this process, as it builds flavour.
2. Add the trinity:
Stir in the onion, bell pepper and celery.
Cook for 5–7 minutes until softened and fragrant.
Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
3. Build the sauce:
Slowly whisk in the seafood stock until smooth.
Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
4. Season and add the crawfish.
Add the Cajun seasoning, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.
Gently fold in the crawfish tails and any fat from the crawfish.
Simmer for a further 5–7 minutes—do NOT boil.
5. Finish
Stir in the parsley, spring onions and lemon juice.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Serve!
Spoon the étouffée generously over hot white rice.
Garnish with extra spring onions and parsley.
Tips for the best étouffée:
Use Louisiana crawfish tails if possible.
– Keep the heat low once the crawfish are added (they toughen if overcooked).
– Étouffée should be thick, silky and spoonable, not soupy.