Recipe: Shrimp Etoufee

This past weekend, I set out to make something a bit out of my comfort zone for dinner for the little lady and myself. I settled on crawfish etoufee to be served over rice. I did my research online, as well in cookbooks at the house, to polish up on my recipe and technique. The end result, for me, was the best version of this Cajun dish that I have had. And, the wife agreed. The process does take patience and a commitment to manage the roux, but IMHO the effort is well rewarded. I also added some Dungeness crab meat to give the dish a little something extra.

1 Cup Finely Chopped Vidalia Onion
½ Cup Thinly Sliced Green Onion
½ Cup Finely Chopped Green Bell Pepper
½ Cup Finely Chopped Celery
½ Stick Unsalted Butter
¼ Cup AP Flour
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 TSP Dark Soy Sauce
1 TSP File Seasoning
Cajun/Creole Seasoning To Taste (Tony Chachere)
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Hot Sauce To Taste (Tobasco)
Telicherry Pepper To Taste
Salt To Taste
1 Quart Fish/Shellfish Stock
1 Pound Peeled/Deveined U10/15 Gulf Shrimp
1 Dungeness Crab Leg Cluster
Juice And Zest From One Lemon
Prepared White Rice

  1. Peel and devein shrimp, reserving shells.
  2. Pick crab cluster and reserve shell.
  3. In a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. When butter begins to foam, sprinkle in flour and begin to stir constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and go to the blonde stage.
  4. Once the roux has taken on a blonde color, slowly raise the heat to medium-high and stir frequently until a dark roux has been achieved. It took me about 45 minutes and two beers to get to this point.
  5. Reduce heat to low and add onions, celery and bell pepper. Stir to combine and let the veggies soften. Again, this takes some time.
  6. Add file, Worcestershire and soy sauce to veggie/roux mixture and stir to combine.
  7. In a large sauce pan, place crab & shrimp shells and heat over medium. Once aromatic, add the stock and gently simmer for thirty minutes.
  8. Strain the shells from the stock and slowly add to the roux while stirring constantly.
  9. Bring to a boil for one minute and then back the heat down to achieve a slow simmer.
  10. Add first round of pepper, cayenne, hot sauce and Cajun seasonings.
  11. Once the sauce has reduced to the desired consistency, check seasonings and add to taste.
  12. In a mixing bowl, toss the shrimp with 1TBS of the Cajun seasoning and sauté for 1 minute per side over high heat.
  13. Add shrimp and crab to sauce along with lemon juice and zest. Cook long enough to warm the crab and cook the shrimp through.
  14. Serve over prepared rice and garnish with sliced green onions if desired.

Nice Bill,

Alot of different fats to start the roux,I usually do a 50/50 butter/ oil. Did you make your own stock ?

Sounds good thou… My wife just doesn’t like cooked shrimp. [cry.gif]

I just purchased some pre-fab stock and augmented with the crab and shrimp shells.

Bill, once you have tried this method for roux, you will never go back - Deep South Dish: 10 Minute Quick Microwave General Purpose Roux

Interesting.