- 2 tablespoons bacon grease
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 pound)
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (usually just the
sides of a larger sized pepper)
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced (about 5 cloves)
- 3 bay leaves
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- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds crawfish tails, fresh or thawed if
purchased frozen
- 3/4 cup green onions, chopped (about 3 bunches)
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (click
here for mine)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 cup water (approximate)
- cooked long-grain white rice
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Start by making a blond roux. Heat bacon grease over
medium-low heat in a large heavy bottomed pot like a Dutch
oven. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the flour. Stir
constantly over medium-low heat until you reach a blond
roux, which is a golden color, but not brown. Use extreme
caution to not burn the roux. When blond roux is achieved,
add both sticks of butter and stir to melt into the roux.
Add the onions, celery and green pepper, stirring well after
each addition. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often,
adjusting heat as necessary to prevent burning. While the
vegetables cook in the roux, scorch the tomato sauce. As
with the roux, use extreme caution to not burn the tomato
sauce. In a separate small non-stick skillet over medium-low
heat, constantly stir the tomato sauce using another wooden
spoon to allow the moisture to start evaporating. The goal
is cook until the sauce until the texture resembles tomato
paste but more importantly it changes color from bright red
to a dark brick read. This should take about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. After the 30
minutes is up, to the roux add the garlic and bay leaves and
stir well. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Now add
the cooled scorched tomato sauce and crawfish and stir.
After it comes back up to temperature, add the green onions,
parsley, Creole seasoning, sugar, and salt and pepper,
stirring after each addition. Cook 10 more minutes, stirring
occasionally and adjust for seasoning. Now add enough water
to achieve desired thickness. Usually I add up to 1 cup to
get the right texture of a gravy, but this is to taste.
Serve over cooked long-grain white rice. |
