Louisiana Mud Bugs

About author / Josh Gunn

Bachelor chef; southern cooking; mixologist; university professor. Josh's recipes will delight (and sometimes terrify) you.

When I started writing this column I originally planned on slowly leaking out my Cajun Country standards over the course of many, many months. Although my favorite cuisine is of the Cajun, Creole, and Low Country variety, my charge was to write for the average bachelor. I mean, this ain't "Cajun Cookin'," it's "Bachelor Chow."

Yet every time this bachelor shows up at a pot-luck or party with food, friends keep asking me to post the recipe of whatever is brought. Today's recipe is no exception: I recently made it for a friend and her son. He, a budding cook of his own, asked for the recipe. So I had to oblige: this Crawfish Étouffée is for you, kid!

Next to fresh, boiled crawfish at a crawfish boil (something I've missed very much), Crawfish Étouffée is definitely the Louisiana dish. I would argue that the reason it is the Louisiana dish is because 98% of the crawfish produced in the United States comes from that grand state, much of which is grown on farms.

Driving through the Louisiana country-side you'll often seen field after field of what appears to be rice paddies. One fine spring morning as I was being driven to Fred's Lounge in Mamou for drinking and dancing (yes, you read me right: drinking and dancing in the morning!), we passed field after field of rice paddies. I remember saying to my mates, "I didn't know they grew rice down here." I was quickly corrected that those plots of water and weeds were full of crawfish, ready for harvest! A friend in the car then told me that the Louisiana farming community has been hit particularly hard by Chinese crawfish, which are much cheaper and began making in-roads into the U.S. market in the early '90s. Although I'm not from Louisiana, I think that my time there qualifies me as a Louisianian and I heartily support my crawfish farmers there, so: if you make my recipe today be sure the crawfish you buy is from Louisiana! Yeah, it's more pricey but I promise the taste is better and the extra few bucks a pound goes toward a good cause.

Anyway, I grew up with folks calling crawfish "mud bugs," but technically these little freshwater lobsters are indeed crustaceans, and thus "seafood." They do have some similarity to the taste of lobster, but are more closely aligned with shrimp. Crawfish have a unique flavor, however, owing to the unique fat they harbor, which is what gives étouffée the reddish color (if the color is too yellow, you can add a little paprika).

Now, Crawfish Étouffée is pretty-much a gumbo recipe with a different style roux and a sweeter flavor. The roux is a "blonde roux," which means unlike gumbo, you make it with butter and don't let it get as dark. My recipe adds cream, which some Louisiana food purists bemoan as an "outsider" innovation, but I say to them: phah! The first time I had Crawfish Étouffée in Louisiana it had cream in it, and it was delicious, and it was from a Baton Rouge restaurant. So I think it's an authentic recipe, especially because I insist them daddies come from Louisiana!

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 4 celery ribs, sliced thinly (more if desired)
• 2 (medium to large size) onions, chopped
• 1 huge green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (more if desired)
• 3 bay leaves (more if desired)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, (more if desired)
• OR
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper (less if you're sensitive)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound (or more) crawfish tails, thawed and drained with juice reserved
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 dash Cajun/Creole seasoning (e.g., Slap Ya Mamma)
• 4 cups steamed white rice
• green onions, chopped (for garnish)