Crawfish Étouffée

I cannot remember where I found this recipe but today I tried it. It is the best crawfish étouffée that I have ever eaten.

Crawfish Etouffee by Chef Paul Prudhomme

Ingredients
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sweet basil leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¼ cup chopped onions
¼ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped green bell peppers
7 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups, in all, Basic Seafood Stock
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 pounds peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimp
1 cup very finely chopped green onions
4 cups hot Basic Cooked Rice

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the onions, celery and bell peppers.

In a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes. With a long-handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until roux is dark red-brown, about 3 to 5 minutes (be careful not to let it scorch in the pan or splash on your skin). Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled, about 5 minutes.

In a 2-quart saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to a boil over high heat. Gradually add the roux and whisk until thoroughly dissolved. Reduce heat to low and cook until flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes, whisking almost constantly (if any of the mixture scorches, don't continue to scrape that part of the pan bottom). Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the serving plates in a 250° oven.

In a 4-quart saucepan melt 1 stick of the butter over medium heat. Stir in the crawfish (or shrimp) and the green onions; saute about 1 minute, stirring almost constantly. Add the remaining stick of butter, the stock mixture and the remaining 1 cup stock; cook until butter melts and is mixed into the sauce, about 4 to 6 minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a back-and-forth motion (versus stirring). Add the remaining seasoning mix; stir well and remove from heat (if sauce starts separating, add about 2 tablespoons more of stock or water and shake pan until it combines). Serve immediately.

To serve, mound ½ cup rice on each heated serving plate. Surround the rice with ¾ cup of the etouffee.

LAGNIAPPE
A certain percentage of oil is released when butter is melted; shaking the pan in a back-and-forth motion and the addition of stock keeps the sauce from separating and having an oily texture – stirring doesn't produce the same effect.