Crawfish recipes Archives - Arlen "Benny" Cenac Jr

A Classic Louisiana Recipe – Crawfish Creole

If you’re a fan of Southern cuisine, then chances are you’ve heard about the mouth-watering dish known as crawfish creole. This classic Louisiana recipe is loaded with flavor and spices that will tantalize your taste buds. But don’t be intimidated by its reputation – making this delicious dish at home is actually easier than you might think! Thanks to these few simple steps from a delicious recipe blog from Louisiana Cookin, you’ll know how to create a traditional crawfish creole that’s sure to impress your family and friends. So grab your apron and let’s get cooking.

Crawfish Creole is a delicious and traditional Louisiana dish that can be made in just a few easy steps. The dish is typically made with Crawfish, tomatoes, onions, celery, and green peppers, and is seasoned with various herbs and spices. The dish can be served over rice, by itself, or as a side dish. The exact origins of Crawfish Creole are a bit murky, but the dish is believed to have originated in the city of New Orleans. The city has a long history of culinary innovation, and it is likely that the dish was created by someone who was inspired by the city’s French and Spanish influences. Whatever its origins, Crawfish Creole has become a staple of Louisiana cuisine, and it is enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.

Ingredients

1 pound of (preferably fresh) crawfish tails
1 (28-ounce) can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
Hot cooked rice, to serve
½ cup of chopped yellow onion
½ cup of chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup of chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 dried bay leaves
¼ cup of unsalted butter
¼ cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of Louisiana hot sauce
2 teaspoons of Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 cup of water
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Directions

You’ll want to begin this delicious, classic Creole recipe by taking a medium bowl and generously combining your crawfish tails with your Creole seasoning. Mix it well to ensure that the tails are properly seasoned.
Take a large Dutch oven next and melt your butter over medium heat. Once the butter is heated, you’ll want to gradually add your flour and whisk it in until it’s combined. Cook the ingredients while stirring quite frequently until your roux resembles the color of creamy peanut butter. This should take approximately 8 to 10 minutes.
Next, add your onion, bell pepper, celery, and minced garlic to your roux. Cook these new ingredients while stirring occasionally until it’s all tender, which should take about 10 minutes. Add your tomatoes, 1 cup of water, salt, hot sauce, oregano, black pepper, thyme, and bay leaves into the pot. Bring everything to a gentle boil over medium heat. Simmer the ingredients while stirring occasionally, until it’s thickened, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add your crawfish tails to your vegetable mixture, and stir the ingredients with the crawfish tails until they’re well combined. Cook the ingredients while stirring occasionally until it’s heated through, which should take about 5 to 10 minutes. At this point, discard the bay leaves and stir in your parsley. Serve this dish along with your white rice, and garnish with additional parsley, if desired.

Making crawfish creole can be an easy and enjoyable process. With just a few simple steps, you can create a delicious and traditional Creole dish that the whole family will love. By following these instructions, you’ll have your own homemade Crawfish Creole in no time at all! Don’t forget to experiment with different seasonings, herbs, and vegetables to add extra flavor – there’s something special about making this classic Louisiana meal yourself. So what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

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Authentic Crawfish Étouffée

When it’s cold, especially in the south, and crawfish is in season, there’s no better dish than authentic Crawfish Étouffée to liven your spirits and warm you up, so get that pot out and prepare to be invigorated by Cajun and Creole cuisine with this recipe from Acadiana Table’s George Graham.

As it’s commonly accepted down south, there are few other absolutely pure expressions of Louisiana cooking than the light roux of a crawfish étouffée with its thickened butter sauce housing swimming crawfish tails over a heavenly pillow of white rice. Known as a “centerpiece dish,” a bowl or heavy plate of crawfish étouffée can truly make-or-break a southern dinner table due to its unique flavor and texture profile that it offers in every freshly-caught, seafood-laden bite.

Various restaurants have crawfish étouffée”remixes” which include the addition of tomato paste, dark roux, or cream of mushroom soup, but in this recipe you’ll find freshly-caught, cajun authenticity in every step, each bite, and from all angels present.

While it’s often accepted to use frozen cooked crawfish tails when the real deal is not in season, perhaps to appease an out-of-season craving for cajun cuisine, it’s always preferred to go with the freshly-picked tail meat, as there simply is no substitute. Some chefs like to save the shells from a crawfish boil and order extra pounds of boiled crawfish to create their own stock. This is due to the fact that besides fresh seafood, there’s also no better substitute than an intense and depth-filled crawfish stock to truly elevate your dish to a higher palette.

The crawfish etouffee recipe’s chef’s note indicates that it’s often considered a best practice to peel your own crawfish, but when found lacking, packaged tail meat is fine as it’s a time-saver. If using pre-packaged, be sure to add a little water to the fat inside in order to get all of the flavor out. Make your crawfish stock at home with leftover heads and shells from past meals. Simply rinse off any seasoning and boil them for 30 minutes and strain. Alternatively, a good shrimp stock can be made using dried shrimp that’s boiled in water and strained.

Ingredients:

1 pound of butter (unsalted)

2 cups of diced, yellow onions

1 cup of diced, green bell pepper

1 cup of diced celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 pounds of Louisiana crawfish tail meat

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups crawfish (or seafood) stock

Kosher salt

Freshly-ground pepper

Hot Sauce

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley (chopped)

1 cup diced green onion tops

6 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice

Recipe:

Place a large skillet over medium heat and melt your unsalted butter; then add the onions, bell pepper and celery (the trinity). Sauté until it’s tender and then add in your garlic. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir your ingredients to combine. Season the mixture with cayenne pepper and add your crawfish tail meat by stirring it into the total combination.
Sprinkle your flour over the mixture and stir it in to incorporate it and thicken it by cooking the four. Add some of your stock and continue stirring until it all begins to thicken. Add more stock until you get a stew-like thickness.
Season it all to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Let it simmer on the stove for at least 45 minutes, but the longer and lower the heat, the better. Serve over a mound of white rice and garnish with parsley and green onion tops.

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Louisiana Favorite’s: Extra Crawfish Tail Recipes

It is officially spring, feeling like summer. We all know that means one thing; it’s Crawfish time. All of the big pots have started boiling those mud-bugs. Crawfish boils usually end with no leftovers, but sometimes you will get lucky and have some extra. This means endless possibilities for Crawfish recipes. Louisiana Cookin’ recently published a blog with 9 recipes that you can use for those left of tails, here are three of them!

Tomato Crawfish Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 (16-ounce) package of cooked crawfish tails, make sure to rise them and drain them

⅓ cup powdered Tomato Mix

½ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon hot sauce

½ cup thinly sliced celery

1-pint grape tomatoes, they need to be halved

12 pickled okra pods, these need to be halved also

¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon of horseradish, make sure it is already prepared

2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the fresher the better

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons dry mustard

Grab a medium mixing bowl and mix together the juice, powdered Tomato mix, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and horseradish. You then want to slowly add the oil, while constantly whisking the mixture to make sure it combines nicely. This is what will be used for the dressing.

In a different mixing bowl, combine the onion, okra, tomato, celery, and of course the crawfish. Take ¼ of your dressing and mix it into this bowl. Serve the extra dressing on the side so guest can add more if needed.

Crawfish Dip

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water

1-pound cooked crawfish tail meat

2 cups sour cream

1 (1-ounce) package dried porcini mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Take a microwave safe bowl and heat up 1 cup of water on high. You want the water to be really hot, add the mushrooms until they soften. Strain the mushrooms but make sure to keep the liquid. Cut the mushrooms into fine pieces.

Take a medium saucepan, melt the butter, add the green onion, and then mix in the floor, letting it cook for 5 minutes

Take the mushroom liquid, the mushrooms, and the garlic, and add it to the saucepan. This needs to be brought to a boil.

Add the salt, pepper, and Crawfish; once adding the Crawfish continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Then reduce to low heat; add the parsley and sour cream.

Cajun Crawfish Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread and halved it lengthwise

1 pound cooked crawfish tails

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons butter

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, it needs to be softened

¾ cup sweet onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, make sure they are minced

¾ cup green onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, fresh

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning*

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (with peppers)

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Take the bread halves and spread the mayonnaise on both halves.

Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the sweet onion and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. The parsley, green onion, and crawfish should be add next, cook for about 5 minutes. The cream cheese and Cajun seasoning will come next. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir to make sure the

cheese is fully mixed.

Take the mixture and spread it on both halves of the bread, garnish with the cheeses and paprika. Bake the bread until the cheese looks melted then turn on the broil, you want the cheese to be slightly browned.
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