Everything’s better with bacon, right? We dressed up this classic crawfish étouffée with smoky, crispy bacon for extra flavor.
Smoky Crawfish Etouffee
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups seafood stock
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 pound crawfish tails, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Hot cooked rice, to serve
- Garnish: sliced green onion
Instructions
- In a medium Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon using a slotted spoon, and let drain on paper towels, reserving ¼ cup drippings in pot. Reduce heat to medium-low; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until roux is a light chocolate brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium. Add sweet onion, bell pepper, and chopped celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in stock until smooth. Stir in Cajun seasoning, paprika, hot sauce, salt, and celery seed. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in crawfish and parsley; cook for 1 minute. Serve over hot cooked rice. Top with bacon. Garnish with green onion, if desired.