Seafood Étouffée: a classic Southern dish that can be either Cajun or Creole. It typically uses shellfish smothered in aromatics and thickened with a roux. Here’s the backyard version!!!!
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 lb. crawfish with fat
- 1 lb. lump crabmeat with fat
- 6-8 crab clusters
- 2 sticks butter
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 small onions
- 2 bell pepper
- 4 sticks celery
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 can cream of mushroom
- 1/2 can tomato sauce
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 1 qt seafood stock
- 3 qt water plus more as needed
- 1 tbsp shrimp dust
- Creole seasoning
- Low and slow seasoning
My Boudreaux's “Lil Bit Better Creole Seasoning” and “Low and Slow Simmer” are still being developed. You can substitute your favorite Cajun or Creole seasoning. For the low and slow simmer, you can add Italian herb seasoning, dried garlic, onion, cayenne and dried parsley.
Directions
- Prep all ingredients. Small-dice trinity, mince garlic and parsley, thin slices green onions, and peel and devein shrimp.
- Make roux by melting butter in a large pot. One butter is nice and hot whisk in flour. Cook roux until light brown in color.
- Add in trinity directly into roux and cook until onions are translucent. Add in garlic.
- Add tomato paste and sauce and cook another few minutes to brown tomato.
- Add in stock and water. Mix well to combine roux and liquid. Add in cream of mushroom.
- Start adding seasonings now to begin layering flavors. Also add in shrimp dust, if using.
- After an hour of simmering, add in crab clusters. Skim any grease and add water as needed. Simmer for another hour.
- Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Once rich flavor is developed add in shrimp, green onions and parsley and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and fold in crawfish meat and crab meat carefully not to break up crab too much. Let sit for 20 minutes for the flavors to marry together before serving.
- Serve over rice.
