The foundation of this étouffée-like dish is a brown roux that lends a deep, nutty flavor. The gravy pairs well with theGrits Dressing, biscuits, and turkey.
Ingredients
Makes about 6 cups
Step 1
Cook bacon in a cast-iron or other large heavy skillet over medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour drippings into a small bowl; return 6 tablespoons to the same skillet set over medium heat. Whisk flour into drippings, reduce heat to low, and cook, whisking constantly, until roux is one shade darker than peanut butter, about 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add onion, pepper, celery, jalapeños, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; stir in reserved bacon, spice mix, then broth. Simmer, stirring often, until thickened and flavors meld, 20-25 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in crawfish. Simmer until the tails curl, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. Garnish with scallions.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to TopWould not use the crawfish again. Will use shrimp next time. The crawfish I found came from China and it was too fishy! Will try it again with some changes.
cbulloch
1/12/2012
Delicious. Subbed shrimp for crawfish & added some pan drippings from Cajun Turkey. Subbed red pepper for green.
Anonymous
Smoky Mountains
12/7/2011
This recipe is fantastic! I served it over ham and my guests LOVED it. I should note that I made the following changes: I used 1 3/4 cups minced onion, omitted the celery, used 2 minced jalapenos, and replaced the green onion with one minced anaheim chile. Also, I omitted the onion powder from the cajun mix and used only half of the cooked bacon. (I put the other half in the grits dressing that went with this recipe in that issue of Bon Appetit.) I have no idea of why other reviews had such issues with this.
es2
Seattle
12/4/2011
This recipe is outstanding -- but understand it's a gravy, not an etouffee, so sauteing the vegetables in the roux does cook out a lot of their flavor. I agree it wouldn't be bad to saute the vegetables separately from making the roux, but I was fine doing it per the recipe. You don't need any salt at the end. The scallions are a nice touch. I recommend adding another tsp of the Cajun spice seasoning at the end if you like it spicy. It had good cajun seasoning flavor but if you want to have a burn, add some seasoning or cayenne. I used thick slab bacon and it really added texture and flavor. We wanted to use it over grits dressing but opted for rice instead. In a multi-generational Thanksgiving dinner, it was the top dish by all, including picky 8 and 14 year olds.
Anonymous
Atlanta
11/28/2011
this is disgusting
me09798
11/16/2011
This was good, and if I make it a few times, I'll get used to the technique, new to me, of sauteing the onion & veg in the tiny amount of roux--it made it difficult to gauge softness. I went by the clock and taste (but I would prefer to saute the veg separately, then combine with the roux). Otherwise nice flavors (might kick up the cajun spice a bit) and the leftovers are great.
Anonymous
Washington, DC
11/7/2011
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