Recipes, Cooking, and Tasers

I’m from South Louisiana, and when people think of Louisiana, they think of cajun and creole food. Well, here’s a quick, easy crawfish etouffee recipe. Before we begin, let me give you a few pointers on making authentic crawfish etouffee. First, they are called CRAWFISH! Not crayfish, or mudbugs, or any of that other crap. We invented the crawfish by crossing a lobster with a chihuahua, so damn it, we know how to say it! Second, it’s considered sacrilege by a lot of folks to use roux from a jar.

With that said, I’m a heretic, I use roux from a jar. I work full time and have three kids, I don’t have time for roux making. Besides, there are those that argue that an etouffee should not have a roux, and some say you have to put tomatoes, I don’t care. This is how I do it. It’s simple, quick, and damn tasty.

So, on to the recipe:

1 lb peeled crawfish tails (I use the frozen packages, sue me)
1 stick of butter
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 large jalepeno, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cup water
2 heaping TBS roux from a jar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne

Over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add onions, celery, and peppers. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the stuff has started wilt. Add crawfish, garlic, and bay leaves, and reduce heat to medium. Cook another 10 minutes. Add water and roux. Bring liquid to a boil, stirring until the roux is dissolved, and the liquid thickens. Serve over rice with a little crusty garlic bread on the side. How simple is that?

No pics for this one. Etouffee isn’t nearly as impressive to look at as large chunks of animal flesh cooking over an open flame.

As for my beer recommendation, I stick with one of the big name domestics like Miller, Bud, or Coors. If you can find it, Abita Andygator is perfect.

On a side note, I have been boycotting Abita beer since they came out with that stupid hippie commercial about going green. Screw the environment.