Monday, April 11, 2011

Crawfish Pie - Gonna Have Big Fun on the Bayou!

Down in Cajun country, folks are serious about where they get their crawfish.  My husband for instance, thinks the best crawfish come from Belle River.  Belle River runs through Assumption Parish in south central Louisiana. 

When we order crawfish for a boil, he will only buy Belle River crawfish; A.J. says the water is cleaner and therefore the crawfish are cleaner.  A.J. can look at the crawfish and pretty much tell where they are from.  To me, a crawfish is a crawfish is a crawfish.  A.J. definitely boils crawfish like a hoss and likes nothing better than to boil seafood in the backyard, drink a few beers and hang out with friends.

You know I couldn't let Lent go by without a crawfish recipe! This definitely rocks!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
4 tablespoons flour
1 onion, diced
¼ cup brandy
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ green bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 bay leaf
½ cup seafood stock or bottled clam juice
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 lb. peeled crawfish tails in fat
2 dashes of hot sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce, Crystal Hot Sauce or Franks)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 9-inch pie dough or prepared pie shell




Make a roux by heating the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour until it is thoroughly combined, Cook the roux by stirring constantly until the roux is lightly brown, about 10 minutes.



Add the onions and cook until the onions begin to soften and the roux turns a golden brown. Add the brandy and cook until evaporated, about one minute.



Add the bell pepper, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper tomatoes and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and allow to simmer another 3 to minutes.




Stirring constantly, slowly add the seafood stock/clam juice and cream. Allow to simmer and reduce the the sauce by half.



Remove the skillet from the heat and add the crawfish, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, thoroughly blend. Allow filling to cool momentarily. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.



Liberally butter a 9-inch pie baking dish. Gently fit pie dough into prepared pie dish. Place pie dish on a baking sheet. Fill the



Pssssstt, here's a napkin, wipe your chin and the keyboard!


10 comments:

Lynn said...

I've never made a crawfish pie but I've got some crawfish tails that my husband brought back from Louisiana last month in the freezer. Shell-fish allergic child will be on his 8th grade trip next week. This is going on the meal plan! Non-shell-fish allergic child will be thrilled.

Big Dude said...

Wow Katherine - this looks great and I still have a pound of tails from our trip to NOLA, that have been waiting for you to post this recipe.

Penny said...

I will eat anything in a pie crust. Wish I had some crawfish. Looks great.

The JR said...

Looks good.

Now I'm gonna have that song stuck in my head all day.

teresa said...

YUMMY! i'm pretty unfamiliar with crawfish, but this looks dang good!

John Roberts said...

I'll have to get Theresa to try this one soon!

Sweet Tea said...

I may live in Louisiana BUT I.don't.eat.crawfish. LOL
However, I have lots of friends who live for "crawfish season".

Sophia Lee said...

Oh Katherine, what a neat idea! I dislike fruity or dessert pies, but I've always had a soft spot for creamy savory pies. This is almost like an upscale Cajun version of chicken pot pie.

Marguerite said...

Me oh my-o! Looks fabulous! Pass the napkins, please! :)

Lynn said...

Hey Katherine -- did you notice that the end of the recipe was cut off?