Crayfish Etouffee

Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 3/4 lb butter
• 6 cups onions, chopped
• 2 cups green peppers, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups white
• 4 lbs crawfish tail meat
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet

Recipe

• 1 in large heavy pot, melt butter and saute onions, celery, green pepper and garlic until soft.
• 2 stir in salt, black and cayenne pepper, sugar and tomato paste.
• 3 simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
• 4 dissolve cornstarch in water; add to mixture.
• 5 cook for 20 minutes or until sauce thickens.
• 6 add crayfish, green onion and kitchen bouquet.
• 7 refrigerate overnight.
• 8 reheat and serve over rice.
• 9 don't overcook.
• 10 boiling crayfish: discard any dead crayfish in the sack.
• 11 wash crayfish in clean, cool water just before cooking.
• 12 they do not need to be purged with salt during washing.
• 13 place the live crayfish in boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. (season the water with one pound of salt per five gallons of water.
• 14 add other seasoning to taste, including cayenne, garlic, onions, lemons, lemon juice and crab boil.) don't begin timing cooking until watter returns to a buil after adding crayfish.
• 15 it's usual to add potatoes and corn on the cob to the boil.
• 16 crayfish are easiest to peel when still warm.