Follow these steps at home to make your very own cajun crawfish étouffée. This special dish with cooked crawfish tails takes planning, but it’s 100% worth the extra effort. A dark brown roux, used to prepare the sauce, gives this well-tested stew-like recipe its rich flavor and dark color. Photo guidance provided below! For best results, give yourself 1.5 hours to prepare my crawfish étouffée.
This Easy Crawfish Etouffee Recipe is a Southern special!
A Crawfish étouffée recipe is not something you’ll see everyday unless you live in Louisiana, but you can easily master this recipe with crawfish tails and it will be the star of your next dinner party or special occasion, perfect to make ahead so you can enjoy time with your guests!
While I’m sure fresh crawfish would be amazing in this dish, there are no fresh crawfish where I live, so I’ve only used frozen crawfish tails and they work perfectly. If you can’t find them, you can easily substitute shrimp.
Several years ago, Mike and I went to the Fearrington House for a cooking class. This was one of the best cooking classes because I learned all the tips and tricks to making a fabulous dark brown roux which you need to make this recipe along with a chicken and sausage gumbo.
One of the dishes we learned to cook was crawfish étoufée or more importantly, the étoufée sauce. I’ve made it many times over the years and it’s one of Mike’s favorites. It takes some planning so I don’t make it as often as I should. I thought it was time to share the recipe along with some tips that I learned.
I don’t think I’ve had anything quite like this Cajun dish. The rich brown roux adds a unique flavor that is achieved by a longer cooking time than a white or brown roux that you would use for gravy.
The hardest parts about making étouffée is gathering the ingredients and then being patient. Most are pantry staples, but it can be hard to find crawfish and you may not have file powder in your pantry. It just means you’ll have to plan in advance to make sure you have these two ingredients.
If you love seafood, but don’t have all the ingredients for étouffée, then try some Southern shrimp and grits or this easy shrimp salad or skip the crawfish and add shrimp, chicken and sausage for a Cajun Gumbo.
Why you’ll love this recipe for étouffée
- Makes a big batch. Perfect if you have a crowd coming or to make meals to use later on!
- Great flavor and a tasty combination of ingredients.
- Crawfish add a unique flavor.
Lots of Ingredients
The ingredient list for this recipe is quite long and there are a few that may be slightly difficult to source locally depending on where you live. But there are some resources for where to find them or substitutions which you will find below.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is toasted and then used to make the classic dark roux found in many Creole and Cajun dishes.
- Butter: The butter gives rich flavor and fat to crawfish étouffée. It’s used to cook the roux (the flour paste mixture that thickens the sauce) and also to saute the vegetables.
- Tomato paste: Adds a depth of flavor to the étouffée.
- Vegetables: Sauteed onion, green bell pepper, and garlic add the first layer of flavor to the étouffée.
- Chicken stock: Use a quality chicken stock with good flavor, make sure to warm it up before adding it to the roux.
- Crawfish tails: Crawfish is a freshwater crustacean that looks a lot like a mini lobster. Unless you live somewhere close to where crawfish are found, you will need to use frozen crawfish which you can find at some grocery stores with the other frozen seafood. If crawfish isn’t available, make a shrimp étouffée with instead.
- Bay leaf: Added to the sauce to add flavor while it cooks. Just be sure to remove it before serving.
- File powder: This seasoning comes from grinding the leaves of the sassafras tree with a flavor that’s a little like root beer. It is a signature ingredient in Creole cooking where it thickens sauces and adds flavor. If you can’t find it on your spice aisle in the grocery store, you can order it from Amazon.
- Dried spices: Basil, thyme, and onion powder are simple pantry staple spices you will need for étouffée.
- Cayenne: This adds the signature spiciness in etouffee. You can adjust the amount you use to your own spice level or even serve some up on the table to let everyone add more if they want it spicier.
- Garnishes: I like to use chopped green onion, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
How to make Etouffee
Follow along to see step-by-step images on how to make the best crawfish étouffée. Check the recipe card for more detailed instructions.
Step 1: Get ready
Step 2: Make the roux
Melt some butter in a skillet, slowly add the browned flour and half of the spice mixture, and cook over medium low heat until it’s dark brown, (this will take 30-45 minutes if you haven’t first browned the flour in the oven) then add the tomato paste.
Slowly add the warm broth, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
Step 3: Cook the veggies
Step 4: Finish up the étouffée
Garnish with green onion, parsley, and lemon juice. Serve right away over rice. You can make the roux in advance and then warm it while you are sautéing the vegetables.
- Bread: Add on bread to soak up any extra sauce. You might consider homemade dinner rolls, or buttermilk cornbread biscuits.
- For dessert: Serve up a chocolate bread pudding.
How to store Etouffée
Make ahead: Crawfish étouffée is perfect to make in advance. I recommend making the roux, and then store it in the fridge for up to three days in advance. When ready to prepare, return it to the skillet and heat it up with a little extra chicken broth. Then continue with the recipe. You can also chop all the vegetables up to three days in advance and mix up the spice mix.
A Few Recipe Notes
Mise en place is a key step to making this recipe and ensuring its success. Prep all your ingredients, measure out the spices, and have everything arranged close to your cooking space.
Be patient. The longer you cook the flour the darker the sauce will be which means it will have more flavor. You don’t want to burn the flour but the browner you can get it the less time you will spend at the stove stirring.
Use heated chicken broth and add it slowly to the skillet. It’s important to let it thicken after each addition before adding more. Heating it versus adding cold broth speeds up the process.
Rinse the thawed-out crawfish tails and pat them dry so they don’t add extra liquid before adding them to the étouffée.
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Best Recipe for Etouffee
Ingredients
- ¾ cup flour
- ¾ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ cups onion diced
- 1 cup green pepper dice
- 3 tablespoons garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken stock hot
- 2 lb. cooked crawfish tails rinse and pat dry
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon file powder
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon basil dried
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup parsley
- 1 cup green onions chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Place flour on a rimmed baking sheet and Heat flour and bake at 350º for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. It should be light brown. This can be done days in advance.
- Combine the salt, file powder, white pepper, black pepper, basil, thyme, onion powder and cayenne and separate into two small bowls. Set out all the remaining ingredients so they are ready to add. Rinse cooked crawfish tails well and pat dry.
- Warm the chicken stock in the microwave.
- In a large skillet melt ½ cup of butter, slowly add flour and ½ of the spice mixture and cook until dark brown, add tomato paste and stir until incorporated. Heat up the stock in the microwave. Slowly add warm stock to the mixture, stirring constantly until it has thickened. Salt to taste.
- Add the the remaining ¼ cup butter to a separate skillet and cook the green peppers and onions until softened, about 5 minutes then add the garlic and the remaining spice mixture and cook an additional minute.
- Add all of the sautéed vegetables and crawfish tails to the finished roux and cook for 1 minute. Garnish with green onion, parsley and lemon juice.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- If you do not brown the flour, you will need to cook the roux much longer to get to the deep brown color.
- Warming the chicken broth speeds up the cooking time.
- You can substitute shrimp for crawfish tails.
- This is best served over rice.
Nutrition
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Rosalia Q. Figueroa says
I tried this recipe, and it was really good, but I have questions I want to ask; how can I reach you?
Barbara Curry says
You can email me at butterandbaggage@gmail.com, I’ld love to hear from you.