Crawfish Bisque (Stew)
Ingredients
- Stuffing:
- 21 g butter (unsalted) (1.5T)
- 2 T finely chopped onion
- 2 T finely chopped bell pepper
- 2 T finely chopped celery
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 t granulated garlic
- 50 g chopped crawfish tails (coarsely chopped; 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 c concentrated basic crawfish stock (see link in notes)
- 1 c bread crumbs (unseasoned day-old bread crumbs)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- Bisque (Stew):
- 57 g butter (unsalted) (1/4 cup)
- 1 c diced onion (original calls for Vidalia)
- 1/2 c finely chopped celery
- 1/2 c diced bell pepper
- 1 T Cajun seasoning (15mL; see link in notes)
- 1/2 T granulated garlic
- 2 T paprika
- 290 g crawfish tails
- 1.4 L basic crawfish stock (1.5 US quarts; see link in notes)
- 1 c dark brown roux (237mL; see link in notes)
- 1/2 t salt (2.5mL)
- 1/4 c minced green onions (green parts only)
- cooked rice (for serving)
- Fry the stuffing balls:
- 1 L vegetable oil (1 quart)
- 1 egg
- 2 T cream (or milk)
- 1/4 c Masa harina (corn flour - NOT corn starch/corn flour the thickener.)
- 2 t Cajun seasoning (see link in notes)
- 1 c bread crumbs (unseasoned day-old bread crumbs)
- 2 t Cajun seasoning (see link in notes)
- 5 stuffing balls (from first chunk of this recipe)
Method
Make the Stuffing:
1. In a large skillet over high heat, melt butter. Add in onion, bell pepper, and celery; saute 10-12 minutes or until very tender.
2. Add salt, cayenne, garlic, and 50g crawfish tail meat. Stir well and simmer 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. Fold in bread crumbs and eggs until blended. Refrigerate until cooled. (To safely cool the stuffing mixture, we suggest you spread the mixture on a baking pan as thin as possible and allow to cool to room temperature prior to placing in the refrigerator. Be attentive and cover lightly with clear wrap or foil to be safe).
For the Bisque:
4. In a 6-quart cast iron pot over high heat, melt butter. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery; saute until browning occurs. Stir in Cajun seasoning, garlic, and paprika; continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add crawfish tail meat with fat, and saute 2 minutes.
5. Add stock, stirring well to deglaze pot. Simmer 15 minutes.
6. Strain solids from stock, and set solids aside to add at the end. Return liquid to high heat and bring to a rolling boil.
7. Add roux to boiling stock, a little at a time, whisking until blended. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture begins to rise out of the pot. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35-40 minutes.
8. While that simmers, form the stuffing into ten balls. Set stuffing balls on a tray for battering and frying.
9. Return solids back into the boiling stock. Mix in salt and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes; stir attentively. Turn heat to low and stir in green onion tops. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to stand 10 minutes prior to serving.
10. While it stands, fry the stuffing balls (below) and keep warm in a low oven until serving time.
Fry the Stuffing Balls:
11. In a 2-quart pot, heat oil to 360F.
12. Place egg and cream in a shallow bowl and beat together well. In a second bowl, mix together masa and 2t Cajun seasoning. Mix bread crumbs and 2t Cajun seasoning in a shallow dish.
13. Roll the stuffing balls in masa mixture, then in egg mixture. Dredge in bread crumbs and carefully drop balls into hot oil. Fry until golden brown.
To serve:
14. Serve bisque over rice, topped with fried stuffing balls.
Notes
For Prejean's Cajun Seasoning, see here: http://myst.starforge.co.uk/index.cgi?block=3&op=view&id=660
For basic seafood stock, see here: http://myst.starforge.co.uk/index.cgi?block=3&op=view&id=659
For dark brown roux, see here: http://myst.starforge.co.uk/index.cgi?block=3&op=view&id=661
Note from source: Chef says you can use cleaned large shrimp heads if crawfish heads are not available, but if you follow the recipe as is, you'll most certainly have the crawfish heads to clean.
SJ Note: We can't get whole crawfish here, so I've rewritten the recipe to just use the tail meat we can get. The original calls for cooking 5 pounds of whole crawfish at the beginning, peeling them for the meat, reserving 5 heads to put the stuffing in them, and dividing the tail meat as outlined above. Instead of stuffed heads, I've just called for forming the stuffing into balls, as is done here sometimes with stuffing; couldn't think of a suitable vegetable or other food to stuff in lieu of the crawfish head.
SJ Note 2 Apr 2012: We were really disappointed with this recipe given all the work that went into it. At least it made enough for 3 dinners for us two, but there are still far simpler ways to enjoy crawfish. We were, however, really impressed with the stuffing balls, so I shall split that out and make that a separate recipe. It could be served as a side or an appetizer; it'd make a good alternative to hush puppies. I only fixed half the stuffing balls out of this recipe, freezing the other half (I thought originally this would make 2 dinners for us two), so for half the stuffing, I used: 2T masa + 1t Prejean's Cajun seasoning; 1 egg + 1 T milk; 1/2c breadcrumbs + 1t Cajun seasoning. There wasn't much wasted masa (important since that's imported here) I've altered the ingredients in the recipe above to reflect double that (for doing all the stuffing balls at once); this is a change from the original - I didn't have any cream on hand, and I accidentally added the Cajun seasoning to the wrong bowl at first, so just left it and added it where it was supposed to go as well, and it was fine. Anyways, the finished dish was only okay. Really runny, much runnier than I expected. I'd suggest more roux. One recipe (linked above) for the roux - 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup oil - made 1 cup roux exactly. I baked it on 350F to get the dark color without the burning, I think it took about 2 hours; check it every 30 minutes (and whisk when you do). If I were to make it again (which I don't think I will), I'd use two cups of roux for the same rest of ingredients. More than the consistency, though, it just seemed quite bland for all that went into it. Not a keeper.