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Shrimp Etouffee

Beautiful butteriness

I've been craving seafood etouffee since leaving Bloomington, and my access to Yats, in 2005. A few weeks ago, I made this seafood creole in an attempt to fulfill my craving with less butter and time, but it didn't do the trick. So on a long weekend with husband around to watch baby, I finally made some etouffee.

Emeril's recipe was the obvious choice, and I pretty much followed it exactly. My only changes were SLIGHTLY less butter (like a tablespoon less, because just that little bit made me feel better), a fresh tomato instead of canned, and veggie stock instead of shrimp stock, just because I already had some ready to go. Oh, and I used Chachere's seasoning instead of making Emeril's essence, because again, it was already ready.

So delicious. I love the amount of spice, and the amount of richness in the sauce was just right. If every day could be a Yats meal, I would have served it with garlic bread on the side, but I decided we had filled our butter quota for the evening.

I'd still like to make crawfish etouffee sometime, but that will have to wait until I can find some good crawfish and I have another 7 uninterrupted minutes to stir a roux. It might be a while.


The Recipe (Emeril's recipe with only minor adjustments):
5 tb butter
1/2 c flour
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tb Cajun seasoning
1 quart stock (shrimp or veggie)
3 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 c parsley, chopped
1/2 c green onion, sliced
white rice, for serving

  • Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir for 5-7 minutes until the roux is the color of peanut butter.
  • Add onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cayenne, and 1 tb of Cajun seasoning. Cook 3 minutes, stirring.
  • Mix in stock.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Season shrimp with remaining 1 tb of Cajun seasoning, add it to the pot, and stir to distribute.
  • Cook 5-10 minutes until shrimp are cooked through.
  • Mix in parsley.
  • Serve over white rice and top with green onion.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A-
Overall reason: Delicious, but maybe not enough to justify the calories
Time to prepare: 90 minutes
Husband quote: "It's really good. How is this different from jambalaya?"
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