Cajun Night!!!!!

I'm so ready for Cajun night at the shack tonight!! Cajun food has always been one of my favorites because it features some of my favorite things, onions, sausage, lots of spice, and of course crawdads!!! So since I'm so excited I'm going to go ahead and share my recipe for tonight, Crawdad Etouffe! This is one of my families favorite meals, I have made it many times and it always disappears quickly!



Crawdad Etouffe

1 1/2 to 2 sticks of butter
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of salt
1/2 Tablespoon of pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, whatever kind you prefer
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cups of water
1 or 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillion, or even better fish or seafood bouillion
1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions
2 pounds peeled and cleaned crawdad tails

1. In a large pot melt your butter, then add the onions, garlic, and celery (you can also add a 1/2 cup or so of bell peppers if you want, I don't care for them so I don't include them). Let the onions and celery cook until nicely carmelized and tender.

2. Add your flour to the pot. Start with just a half cup and add more just until you have a nice thick roux that is almost like a paste. Turn the heat down to medium and let this cook just a bit but keep watch on it or it will burn.

3. When the roux is a nice brown color add the water and stir well making sure to get all the nice browned bits off the bottom. Add all of your seasonings and the bouillion and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for awhile stirring occasionally.

4. After that simmers for about 20 minutes add the crawdads and  green onions and simmer another 10 or fifteen minutes.

5. And finally serve over hot steamed or boiled rice or you can just eat it plain.

The seasonings in this recipe can be adapted according to your own personal tastes. If you like it spicy add more cayenne, or less if you don't like as much spice. Just remember to taste the food as it cooks to get the flavors just the way you like them. And remember most of the time the crawdads you find will be precooked so they don't have to cook very long, and also if you let them cook to long they can give the dish a bit of a fishy flavor.


I hope this day goes by quickly because typing up this recipe has my mouth watering for some Crawdad Etouffe and all the other great Cajun foods that I'm sure will be at the shack tonight. Anyway happy Tuesday to everyone!! I hope your days are sunshiny and fun filled!!!

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