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Saturday, March 12, 2016

Blackened and Fried Catfish Smothered in Crawfish Etouffee





After making crawfish po boys recently, someone mentioned how tasty crawfish etouffee is. I hadn't made etouffee in ages and couldn't get it off my mind. I had to make a batch!

I couldn't decide whether to make fried catfish or blackened...so I went with both!

First I made some blackening seasoning. This is basically Paul Prudhomme's recipe but I altered the amounts to suite my taste. Less salt and less cayenne.

His recipe..
1 TBS sweet paprika (I used smoked)
2 1/2 tsp salt ( I used about half)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 3/4 tsp)
3/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
and 1/2 tsp oregano


Chopped celery, onions, scallions, green peppers and garlic for the etouffee..




made a blonde roux for this. Stirred the flour in oil until light brown in color...then set the pot aside for later.





sauteed my veggies in butter, til they were tender...



added the tender veggies and butter to the roux pot...also added a couple pinches of the blackened seasoning just for the heck of it.


Made a shrimp stock...



added the hot stock one cup at a time to the roux- veggie pot, stirring constantly until the etouffee reached the thickness I was looking for..




next came the shrimp..



crawfish tails...



some minced scallions and parsley...
I tasted for salt, pepper and cayenne. The etouffee was rich and buttery good!



For the catfish, I seasoned half with my usual fish fry, cornmeal, a bit of flour, cayenne, salt and lemon pepper...

The other half were brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with the blackened seasoning..

These were some catfish from one of  last summer's camping trips...









Since there were so few fish, I decided to skillet fry them. I used my fancy home made cooker.






I had help...



After frying the filets, I cleaned the pan and added butter and a bit of oil for the blackened catfish..



I was happy I chose to cook these outside. The strong blackened seasoning almost takes my breath away!





I didn't plan on eating two filets but couldn't decide which kind I wanted. I went with one of each. :)



The blackened and fried catfish smothered with crawfish etouffee...







I couldn't wait to dig in!!

First bite was the blackened catfish...





Then the fried catfish...




I loved both. I had forgotten how tasty etouffee is and how quick it is to make. I'm definitely making this more often,
The blackening seasoning was tasty too, Not to hot but it had a bite to it. I plan on using the seasoning on blackened shrimp and chicken too.

When dishing up the plate, there were two large shrimp on top of the heap. I couldn't resist and popped them into my mouth before taking the pics. I was starving and they looked toooooo good.

I didn't make it through both fish but tried my best. :)

The weather has been beautiful here. It actually rained a little bit this morning, The air smells so fresh now.
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!


6 comments:

Oneeye said...

The etouffee looks great! Being a northerner, I have never had it. I should just make some!
We had blackened lake trout last night. They were fresh (within hours) out of an ice covered lake in Ontario! I brought a couple home that I will cook on the grill tomorrow evening. They are just so hard to beat!

cowgirl said...

Man your lake trout sound fantastic Oneeye! Nothing better than fresh caught fish!
I really like etouffee and this recipe is really quick and easy. Hope you get to try some sometime. Thanks so much... Hope you have a great week! :)

Joe said...

"Oh, Magoo, you've done it again!"
Though you're far too young to remember that reference, the sentiment stands.

Can you point me at a recipe for that etouffee, at least for a starting point? More looking a the quantities of flour, butter for the veggies/roux. I can fake it, but I'd rather have someone to blame..., I mean, something to reference.

Have a couple of cast iron skillets that I'm in the final stages of reseasoning (2 more coats of the flaxseed oil), then I can try this recipe. Oh, might help if I could find some crayfish tails, too. Probably have to be online.

Anyway, thanks as always of sharing.

Joe

cjbstar said...

I have never made etouffee, but I am now. That looked delicious. Thanks for the recipe. Hope you have a great week.

cowgirl said...

Dang it Joe! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to my blog.
I use about equal parts butter and flour for the roux. The veggies, I eyeball. I like more onion than pepper. I make the stock then add it one cup at a time to the roux and veggies. Most of the time I have stock left over.
So sorry for the delay in getting back here.
Hope all is going well with you.
It's been raining here, the garden is doing great and I have baby chicks, calves and ducks. Life is good. :)

cowgirl said...

Thanks so much cjbstar!! Hope you give it a try. :)