Best Crawfish Recipes

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• Combine the rice and 6 cups water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until rice is tender and water has been absorbed.
• While the rice is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and saute until transparent. Stir in the garlic, and cook for a minute. Stir in the flour until well blended. Gradually stir in the tomato sauce and remaining 1 cup water, then add the crawfish tails and bring to a simmer. Add the green onions and season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes over low heat, until the crawfish is cooked but not tough. Serve over hot cooked rice.

CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet, melt butter; stir in flour. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is a caramel-colored paste, about 20 minutes. Add the celery, pepper and onions; stir until coated. Add the broth, water, parsley, tomato paste, bay leaf, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil., Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Add crawfish and heat through. Serve with rice.

CAJUN CRAWFISH AND SHRIMP ÉTOUFFéE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and stir constantly until the mixture turns 'peanut butter' brown or darker, at least 15 or 20 minutes. I use a large fork with the flat side to the bottom of the pan in a side to side motion. This is your base sauce or 'roux'. It is very important to stir this constantly. If by chance the roux burns, discard and start over.
• Once the roux is browned, add the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the skillet, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, and season with the seafood seasoning. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Season the sauce with hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper (if using), and add the crawfish and shrimp. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.

EASY CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• In dutch oven melt butter over medium heat.
• Add onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic.
• Saute vegetables until soft, about 30 to 45 minutes.
• Add Crawfish tails and seasonings.
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the mushroom sauce, let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add to crawfish mixture, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Serve on hot rice.

ORIGINAL CRAWFISH OR SHRIMP MONICA

Steps:

• 1. Cook pasta in salt water according to the directions on the package. Drain, then rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Drain again, thoroughly.
• 2. Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
• 3. *If using raw shrimp, add them with the onions and garlic at the beginning.
• 4. Add the crawfish and half-and-half, sauté until bubbly.
• 5. Add Creole seasoning - 1 big pinch then taste. Add more as needed but tasting before adding the next pinch until you think it's right. Add salt if needed. If you've boiled your own crawfish add the crawfish fat to the mixture as well.
• 6. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
• 7. Add the pasta to the pot and toss well. You may not need to use all of the pasta. (I double the recipe when using the whole pound of pasta.) Let it sit for about 10 minutes over very low heat, stirring often.
• 8. Serve immediately, with lots of French bread and a nice white wine. Buon Appetito!
• 9. *COOKS NOTE: Most of the time I use half Heavy Cream and half - Half and Half, or in other words 1 1/3 cups heavy cream and 2/3 cups milk. I generally buy Heavy Cream because it can be cut with milk to make Half and Half. The sauce seems to thicken better than straight Half and Half but using all Heavy Cream is too thick.
• 10. *Tip: The sauce is excellent over Redfish on da Half Shell or grilled filets - I call it Redfish Monica.
• 11. *Options: If you don't have crawfish, use bay scallops, shrimp, lump crabmeat (add last and fold in gently).

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir chopped onion and green onion in melted butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add crawfish tails, potato soup, mushroom soup, yellow corn, white corn, and cream cheese; cook and stir until cheese melts completely into mixture. Pour half-and-half into the pot; stir. Season with Creole seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Cook until hot, about 15 minutes.

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH YA-YA PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a rolling boil; stir in the egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chopped onion, green pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning; simmer 5 minutes longer.
• Pour in the heavy cream, mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese; stir until the cheese has melted. Toss the pasta with the crawfish sauce and green onions; sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar cheese.

PRUDHOMME'S SHRIMP OR CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• 1. Peel the shrimp or crawfish and use the shells to make the stock.Combine the onions, celery and bell peppers in a bowl and set aside. Throughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in the flour, stirring until smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the roux is dark red-brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, being careful not to let it scorch or splash on your skin. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 tablespoon of the seafood seasoning.with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until cool, about 5 minutes. Bring 2 cups of the stock to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat. Add the roux by spoonfuls to the boiling stock, stirring until dissolved between each addition. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes. If any of the mixture scorches, don't continue to scrape that part of the pan bottom. Remove from the heat and set aside.Melt 1 stick of the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the shrimp or crawfish and the green onions, and sauté, stirring almost constantly, for 1 minute. Add the remaining butter, the stock mixture and the remaining 1 cup stock. Cook, constantly shaking (versus stirring) the pan in a back-and-forth motion, until the butter melts and is mixed into the sauce, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add the remaining seafood seasoning , stir well, and remove from the heat. If the sauce starts to separate, add 2 tablespoons more stock or water and shake the pan until it combines. Serve immediately over the rice.

RICHARD AND SUZANNE'S LOUISIANA CRAWFISH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
• While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the garlic in the butter 1 to 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the yellow onion and 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes; cook until the yellow onion becomes translucent. Add the crawfish tails; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continually; transfer the crawfish to a bowl, leaving as many onions as possible in the skillet.
• Pour the heavy cream into the skillet and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes into the cream, return the crawfish to the sauce and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sauce over the drained pasta; garnish with chopped green onion.

CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Place the crawfish in a large cooler, cover with cold water and add 1 cup of the salt. Allow the crawfish to purge in the salted water for 5 to 10 minutes. (This Southern tradition is said to remove mud and impurities before cooking.) Strain the crawfish and set aside.
• Fill a 42-quart stockpot fitted with a boil basket halfway with water. Add the crab and crawfish boil seasoning and remaining cup kosher salt. Then add the sausage, corn, onions, lemon juice and rinds, garlic, butter, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Carefully add the crawfish to the stockpot and cook until they're bright red, about 8 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and add the ice to the stockpot to halt the cooking. Allow the crawfish and other ingredients to sit in the iced water for 25 to 30 minutes (the longer the crawfish sit, the more flavorful they become).
• Pull the crawfish, sausage and vegetables from the water using the boil basket. Serve over newspaper spread out on a table and sprinkle with seafood boil seasoning.

GO-TO CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, and stir in the onion, green bell pepper, green onions, and celery; cook the vegetables, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in the golden mushroom soup, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt, and black pepper, and bring the sauce to a boil.
• Gently mix in the crawfish tail meat, and simmer until the crawfish tails are opaque, 10 to 15 minutes.

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except cheeses and pour into a large greased casserole.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
• Uncover and sprinkle cheeses over casserole.
• Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes more.

CRAWFISH AND CREAM OVER PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.
• In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Add the cream lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring, to warm through. Add the onions and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
• Turn out into a serving bowl and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Serve.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

CAJUN CRAWFISH AND SHRIMP ETOUFFE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and stir constantly until the mixture turns 'peanut butter' brown or darker, at least 15 or 20 minutes. I use a large fork with the flat side to the bottom of the pan in a side to side motion. This is your base sauce or 'Roux'. It is very important to stir this constantly. If by chance the roux burns, discard and start over.
• Once the roux is browned, add the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the skillet, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, and season with the seafood seasoning. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Season the sauce with hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper (if using), and add the crawfish and shrimp. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.

CRAWFISH LASAGNA BY THE CAJUN NINJA

Steps:

• In a large pan melt 1/2 stick of butter; saute onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and mushrooms until tender.
• Add to the sautéed mixture: Cajun or creole seasoning, Rotel tomatoes and crawfish. Saute 20 minutes.
• Mix chopped parsley, dried basil, cream of mushroom soup, softened cream cheese and parmesan in bowl; set aside.
• In a separate bowl mix Harvarti Jalapeno (or pepper jack) and mozzarella; set aside.
• Spray bottom of 9x13 baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray.
• Take some of the juice from the cooked crawfish mixture and cover the bottom of the baking dish, then multi-layer and divide equally over that juice in this order: noodles, mushroom soup mixture, two cheeses and crawfish mixture. Repeat this layering process, ending with a shredded cheese layer over the top. Note: with each layer slightly overlap lasagna noodles lengthwise.
• Bake in preheated 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes Let sit 5-10 minutes.

SHRIMP, CRAB, CRAWFISH, SAUSAGE, CORN AND DIRTY RICE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• First melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Drop in the smoked sausage and cook until slightly browned. Stir in the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp. Toss in the bell pepper and cook another 3 minutes until tender.
• Pour the water into the pot, stir everything and bring to a boil. Whisk in the dirty rice mix and return to a boil. When everything is fully combined, stir in the corn, shrimp soup, green onions, mushrooms and Kitchen Bouquet.
• At this stage, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot tightly, and simmer for about 25 minutes or until almost all of the liquid is evaporated.
• Fold in the crab meat and crawfish tails. Cover the pot, remove from the burner and let stand for about 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

CRAWFISH FETTUCCINE I

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in butter until onions are tender. Stir in flour, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in crawfish. Cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often.
• Stir in the processed cheese, half-and-half, Cajun seasonings, and cayenne pepper. Cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Stir noodles into crawfish mixture; pour into prepared dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

CRAWFISH CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Stir together cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, onion, green pepper, pimentos, vegetable oil, Cheddar cheese, cream-style corn, jalapeno pepper, crawfish tails, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder until the mixture is well combined. Pour the crawfish mixture into the cornmeal mixture, and stir together. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cornbread is lightly golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

LOUISIANA'S BEST CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. Melt the butter in a heavy large skillet. Don't use cast iron. Saute chopped vegetables for 30 minutes on low heat, but don't brown.
• 2. Add flour to vegetables to make a paste; saute 5 minutes, but don't brown.
• 3. If you have shrimp or chicken stock use it, or you can make your own chicken broth by dissolving bouillon cubes in water. If all else fails use water and add to vegetable mixture, whisking to prevent lumps. Simmer on medium low for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for flavor and add seasonings as needed. No matter how you like it; mild, medium or hot, just remember that you can always ADD more heat, but you can't take it out. The longer you simmer, the better it will get. If it begins to thicken add more stock/broth/water.
• 4. When ready to serve add crawfish tails to sauce and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add parsley, heat through and serve over white rice, garnish with sliced green onions if desired, and Leidenheimer's French bread. Ahhh, C'est ci bon!
• 5. *Cooks Notes ~ In New Orleans kitchens the Holy Trinity is a practically required group of seasonings; onions, celery, and bell pepper. When garlic is added it becomes the Holy Trinity wit' da Pope. Recipe can be doubled I always make my Etouffee as written, though some like it with some tomato in it (Creole style), so in that case these optional ingredients can be added. 1 can diced tomatoes 1 lg can tomato sauce 1 Tbsp sweet basil

CRAWFISH ÉTOUFFéE

Steps:

• Before preparing the vegetables, clarify the butter (not shown in video): Place 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup) in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Milk solids will foam to the surface, then sink to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the simmering settles and the milk solids have separated from the butterfat, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain to remove milk solids. Measure out ½ cup of clarified butter for use in this recipe. (Cool the remaining butter and store in a lidded container in the refrigerator.) Prepare the vegetables: While the butter is clarifying, dice the onion and celery and mince the garlic. Remove stem ends from red bell pepper and jalapeño, then slice the peppers lengthwise into thin strips. Discard the seeds and white veins, then small-dice the strips.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the clarified butter and flour over high heat; whisk to combine and get rid of the lumps. This will form a paste called a roux. As soon as the lumps are gone, reduce heat to medium, switch to a wooden spoon, and cook, scraping the bottom to keep it from burning. (If you see steam or smoke, turn the temperature down further.) Keep stirring to prevent the roux from burning, up to 30 minutes. As the roux cooks, it will darken in color.
• When the roux is reddish and on its way to brown, add onion, red pepper, celery, jalapeño, and garlic; stir to combine with the roux. Allow vegetables to sweat and soften, about 2 minutes.
• Turn heat to high and slowly add the stock into the roux mixture, whisking constantly. As the sauce comes to a boil, it will rapidly thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Once the sauce is the right consistency, add the crawfish and bay leaves; stir to combine. Season to taste with several pinches of salt. Stir in the chopped scallions and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer, 10-12 minutes.
• Assembly: Taste étouffée and adjust seasoning. Stir in chopped parsley and juice of one lemon and stir to combine. Serve over hot steamed rice.