How to Make Louisiana-Style Crawfish Stew

One of the best things about Louisiana is the amazing food that you simply can’t get anywhere else in the world. Now that crawfish season has officially begun in Louisiana, crawfish boils are held almost every weekend. Usually a couple of pounds will be left over to be consumed the next day, and we have the perfect recipe to put those crawdaddys to good use.

Crawfish étouffée, made from scratch, is simple and a favorite in Louisiana homes and restaurants. If you can’t get your hands on fresh crawfish, frozen crawfish tails work just as fine. If you do end up buying frozen tails, make sure to buy the ones packaged in Louisiana and not China.

The word étouffée (pronounced eh-too-fay) comes from the French word “to smother.” The best way to describe the dish is a thick stew, seasoned to perfection and full of plump crawfish (or shrimp, depending on the season). It contains the Holy Trinity as other Louisiana foods like gumbo and is served over rice.

Louisiana-Style Crawfish Étouffée

• Prep Time:15 minutes
• Cook Time:45 minutes
• Total Time:1 hour
• Servings:6
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion
• 2 green bell peppers
• 5 stalks of celery
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 stick of butter
• 8 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 36 oz crawfish tails
• 3 tablespoon crawfish boil seasoning
• pinch Salt

• Step 1

  Dice the onion, green bell peppers, celery, and garlic then set aside.

  

• Step 2

  Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat and then whisk in the flour to make a roux. Continue whisking for 3 minutes. The roux should be a light tan color with a thin gravy-like consistency.

  

• Step 3

  Add the chopped vegetables to the roux and cook them for about 5 minutes or until translucent.

  

• Step 4

  Slowly pour in the chicken stock and add the crawfish boil seasoning and salt. Stir and let simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes to thicken.

  

• Step 5

  Stir in the crawfish tails and continue to simmer on medium-low heat for another 20 minutes.

  

• Step 6

  Serve over steamed rice and enjoy.