Crawfish Etouffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is etouffee sauce made of? ›

What's in an Étouffée Sauce? Étouffée is a type of stew if you want to get technical. It's made with a roux, onion, celery, and bell pepper (the holy trinity), tomato, garlic, hot sauce, and either shrimp, crawfish, or chicken.

Crawfish étouffée is a simple dish of sweet and meaty crawfish served up in a rich and flavorful gravy that is made from a quick roux. The dish includes the Cajun holy trinity of onions, bell peppers and celery, along with lots of garlic, spicy Cajun seasonings, and fresh chopped herbs.

One iteration is that a crawfish stew is made with a dark roux, while an etouffee is made with a roux made lighter by the addition of cream. Some people say crawfish stew is the Cajun interpretation of the dish, while etouffee is the Creole version.

Etouffee can be found in both Creole and Cajun cuisine, with slight but important differences in the seasoning and preparation of each version. Creole etouffee uses a traditional French-style roux made from butter and flour while the roux for Cajun etouffee is made with oil, lard, or other animal fats.

The etouffee has more of a gravy consistency which means that it's thicker than shrimp creole. Another difference is that shrimp etouffee is a lot spicier than shrimp creole. Lastly, shrimp creole normally has a tomato base while shrimp etouffee utilizes a roux for its base.

My trick for the crawfish tail meat is to add fresh squeezed lemon juice to them before adding into the light roux base with vegetables. That way, if you are introducing yourself to the crawfish world, you won't be put off by the fishy smell.

In the 1700's, Acadians, now Cajuns, arrived from Canada and settled along bayous. Crawfish were eaten mostly of necessity, as the poor man's food was cheap and readily accessible.

While both dishes use a broth base—like shrimp stock, crawfish tail stock, or chicken broth—étouffée has a thicker, gravy-like consistency because chefs make it with a roux (a mixture of all-purpose flour and butter). Gumbo, on the other hand, is thinner than étouffée, with a soupy stew broth.

Crawfish is a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals, including vitamin B12, selenium, and zinc. However, crawfish etouffee is typically prepared with a roux, which is a mixture of flour and fat, and can be high in calories and saturated fat.

What do you eat with etouffee? ›

The best side dishes to serve with etouffee are jasmine rice, cornbread, cauliflower rice, quinoa, polenta, wedge salad, eggplant parmesan, mashed potatoes, green bean almondine, roasted brussel sprouts, southern-style collard greens, sweet potato fries, black-eyed peas salad, grilled asparagus, garlic knots, and apple ...

The word étouffée (pronounced eh-too-fey) comes from the French word“to smother.” The best way to describe this dish is a very thick stew, seasoned to perfection and chock full of delicious, plump crawfish (or shrimp) served over rice.

Étouffée basically means "smothered," and it is a common cooking technique in the South; a fricassee is the same deal. You make a flavorful sauce and cook a meat or fish in it, not so long as a braise or stew, and not so short as a sauté.

4. Roe: Crawfish roe are the eggs, similar to caviar in appearance and taste; however, crawfish roe have a more mild flavor than most caviars.

In French, the word "étouffée" (borrowed into English as "stuffed" or "stifled") literally means "smothered" or "suffocated", from the verb "étouffer".

In some ways, its similar to gumbo – same types of Creole seasonings, served over rice, and made with a roux, but unlike gumbo, étouffée is often made with a“blonde”roux, giving it a lighter color and a very different almost sweet flavor. It's a unique taste you won't soon forget and worth trying at home.

Both etouffee and gumbo are broth-based, using shrimp stock, seafood stock, crawfish tail stock, or chicken stock. But etouffee has a thicker, gravy-like consistency whereas gumbo is a thinner stew.

Étouffée or etouffee (French: [e. tu. fe], English: /ˌeɪtuːˈfeɪ/ AY-too-FAY) is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun and Creole areas of south Louisiana.

In French, the word “étouffée” means “smothered.” So, crawfish étouffée is literally crawfish smothered in a creamy broth flavored with loads of spicy, Cajun seasoning. Below, you'll find a simple yet delicious recipe that's quite like the one served by the Hebert family more than a century ago.