re: The Origin of Crawfish Etouffee

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also before the depression.. crawfish were not widely eaten in LA....

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Crawfish were not widely eaten in Baton Rouge until the mid 70's and really later than that at BR restaurants. About early mid 70's is when the backyard boiling started and you pretty much had to go to Camp Bayou Corne or Belle River to buy them.

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That's Crazy! I was born late 70's, so I have never known a world without crawfish boils. I'm not sure if I ever would have wanted to live in said world. My parents are both from down the bayou, but I only moved here when I was in high school. I would say that crawfish was EASILY my favorite food in the world. In The World.

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It's true. I remember seeing Bob Scearce on his TV show at Camp Bayou Corn boiling and eating them early 70's and that was about the only place to get them unless you crawfished yourself. I'm sure some people did them but not many and no restaurants except maybe the etouffee at Picadilly and maybe Don's Seafood may have had an item or two. Not sure when they started.

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I was a teenager in Metairie in the 70's and most of my friends had never had crawfish. My dad rigged up the burner from an old hot water heater and tapped it into our natural gas line at home. Back then, you couldn't buy an outdoor LP cooker like you can today. We would catch crawfish in the spillway or along Airline Highway because you really couldn't buy them locally. You could buy the nets at Schwegmann's, though.

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Pretty much most metropolitan areas the same even Lafayette. I have some close friends who lived in town and they say the same.

I remember buying them for .10 a pound.

The seasoning bags were available back then, but they were referred to as "crab boil". I think it was Zatarain's.

im from Natchez and grew up in the 70-80's and we ate them but we went to the bar pits when they flooded or to Anna's bottom and got them our selfs. My Dad passed away last year, one of my fondest memories of him is sitting in the truck drinking beer with his friends while us kids checked traps and cages. Man i wanted to be drinking the beer!!!!!! Thats whats sux now a days you cant do anything like that because of all of the leases on the land!

I agree with you. In Chef Folse's Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine, which most Louisiana cooks and culinary schools use as a first resourse, he states that crawfish was made popular when the WPA projects of the Great Depression encouraged cajuns to fish and process crasfish for retail. Up to that point anyone wanting crawfish had to go out and fish the shellfish and the swamp, take it home and then work to boil, peel and then cook the dish. Ettouffee comes from the French phrase "to smother or braise" which is what was done with many meat and fish dishes prior the the retail sales of peeled crawfish. One would ettouffee chicken and corn, duck and turnips, and later crawfish when it became more available. It is for this reason, Folse states, that crawfish etouffee made it's way to menus throughout New Orleans and South Lousisiana after the 1930-40 era. Hope this helps.

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Folse states

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or his uncredited students stated. A large portion of the research and history part of the book was conducted by students as class assignments, not knowing it was for the book. Folse's editor then took the info, cleaned it up, and published it with zero thanks or credit to the students.

I was hesitant to bring this up, but Folse apparently thinks it's more Creole than Cajun. Go figure.

This is from Folse's website:

Louisiana Style Crawfish Etouffee
PREP TIME: 1 Hour
SERVES: 6

COMMENT:
The French word "etouffee" means to stew, smother or braise. This technique is found in dishes using shrimp, crab, crawfish and, in some cases, meat or game. Though more Creole in origin, etouffees are found throughout Cajun country.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pounds cleaned crawfish tails
* 1/4 pound butter
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup celery, chopped
* ½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup tomatoes, diced
* 2 tbsps garlic, diced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* 1 cup flour
* 2 quarts crawfish stock or water
* 1 ounce sherry
* 1 cup green onions, chopped
* ½ cup parsley, chopped
* salt and cayenne pepper to taste
* Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce
* 2 cups white rice, steamed

METHOD:
In a 2-gallon stock pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Sauté until vegetables are wilted, approximately 3-5 minutes. Add crawfish tails and tomato sauce and blend well into mixture. Using a wire whip, blend flour into the vegetable mixture to form a white roux. Slowly add crawfish stock or water, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. Continue adding more stock as necessary to retain consistency. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, green onions and parsley and cook an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste using salt and cayenne pepper. Serve over steamed white rice using a few dashes of Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce.

LINK

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* 2 pounds cleaned crawfish tails
* 1/4 pound butter
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup celery, chopped
* ½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup tomatoes, diced
* 2 tbsps garlic, diced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* 1 cup flour
* 2 quarts crawfish stock or water
* 1 ounce sherry
* 1 cup green onions, chopped
* ½ cup parsley, chopped
* salt and cayenne pepper to taste
* Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce
* 2 cups white rice, steamed

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He doesn't even have crawfish fat in his recipe.