Index:
Damn Fine Shrimp or Crawfish Etouffee
Marshall’s Soon To Be World Famous Gumbo
Shrimp Tchefuncte
Shrimp & Tasso on Pasta
Tasso
Barbecue Shrimp
Sausage or Crawfish Jalapeno & Cheese Bread
Shrimp Viala in Crawfish Tasso Butter
Crawfish Carboneaux
Corn & Shrimp Bisque
Crawfish Bisque
Boiled Crawfish
Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya

Mix the spices together and set aside. Make a dark roux with the flour and oil then turn the burner off. While the roux is still very hot, stir in the celery and onions and half of the spices. Stir this for the next 5 minutes. While you are stirring, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the roux mixture to the water in small spoonfuls. Make sure you break up each spoonful completely and stir it in before adding the next spoonful. Bring this to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. (It is very important to break up each spoonful or the etoufee will taste floury). In a large pot (I use a big damn cast iron dutch oven) melt the butter or margarine, then add the shrimp or crawfish. Cook this mixture for about 3 minutes then add 1 cup of water, the green onions, the rest of the spices, and the mixture from the other pot. Bring this mixture to a boil and turn the heat off. Serve over rice.

back to top

Hey, I could make a living doing nothing but selling this stuff. It’s nectar from the gods. Costs a bunch to get the ingredients, but it keeps for a week in the fridge, and freezes well. Try it, you’ll like it.

Mix the onions and celery together and set aside. Mix the spices together and set aside. Make a dark brown roux with the flour and oil in a big pot (cast iron!) and remove it from the heat. While the roux is still very hot, stir in half of the celery and onions and half of the spices. Stir this for the next 5 minutes. Add the water to the pot. Stir the water and roux mixture until all of the roux is completely stirred in and there are no clumps of it in the pot. Add the andouille, and remaining spices and onions and celery. Bring this to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. (It is very important that the roux is well stirred in and that you simmer it for at least 45 minutes or the gumbo will taste floury) Add the shrimp and crab and simmer for 2 or three minutes more. Serve it over rice and sprinkle the green onions on top. This stuff is as good as it gets.

back to top

I got this recipe and the comments in an e-mail years ago. I don't know the source, but I know it tastes good.

The Tchefuncte River, located north of New Orleans, was named after a local Native American tribe that once inhabited the area. The word "meunière" is French for "miller's wife", and refers to a style of cooking whereby food (usually fish) is seasoned, lightly dusted with flour and sautéed simply in butter. The sauce made from these drippings is combined with lemon juice and parsley.

Heat a 3-quart saucepan, then add butter and melt. Add the onion and rice. Brown rice and onion on high heat, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes. Check for firmness, uncover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Preparing the meunière sauce: In a large sauté pan combine the lemon, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and half & half. Blend with a wire whisk over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes. As you stir, press gently on the lemon quarters to slowly release the juices. Slowly add the butter, a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. As you add the last of the butter, remove from heat and continue to stir. Taste, then season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine strainer. The sauce is now ready to serve; cover and keep warm.

Wash shrimp in cold water and season with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan; add the green onions and mushrooms. Cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the shrimp and cook until shrimp just turn pink. There should be a good bit of juice in the pan from the mushrooms and shrimp. When ready to serve, add the ½ of the meunière sauce. Taste it and add more meunière sauce if you’d like.

Serve over the rice. Feeds 4 hungry people. Six not so hungry.

back to top

1 Lb	shrimp, peeled and deveined, or crawfish tails or scallops
½ Lb	tasso, cut in ½ inch dice
1 pint	half & half
¾ tsp	salt
¼ tsp	freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp	cayenne pepper
¼ tsp	white pepper
2 tsp	fresh basil, or ½ tsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp	fresh thyme, or ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
12 oz	package pasta, (bow ties work well)
½ cup	green onions, sliced
½ cup	parsley, chopped

If you can't get tasso, join the crowd. I can get it in Mobile at the local Winn Dixie but it sucks. Even if you live in Louisiana and can get it locally, you can make MUCH better tasso than you can buy. The recipe for tasso follows this one.

Pour the half & half into a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir the cream sauce when it comes to a boil, add the tasso, salt, peppers and herbs and let simmer for 8-10 minutes. The cream sauce should be fairly thick.

While you are doing this, start cooking the pasta. When the sauce has thickened, stir in the shrimp (or crawfish or scallops), green onions and parsley and cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the pasta and divide among bowls. Ladle the sauce over the pasta and toss; serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 4-6.

back to top

This stuff looks like hell but tastes great. Every culture has its version of some kind of seasoned smoked pork. This is ours. Tasso has a very strong flavor but once you try it you’ll be hooked. Susan says it looks like turds in our freezer. I can’ argue with that. It should be dark brown almost black when you are done smoking. It adds a great flavor to a variety of dishes, from soups to jambalaya to pastas and seafood dishes. Here is my recipe (modified from one I received in an email a few years ago)

8-10 Lbs	pork butt
5 Tbls	salt
1 Tbl	cayenne pepper
2 Tbls	freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbls	white pepper
2 Tbls	paprika
2 Tbls	cinnamon
2 Tbls	garlic powder or granulated garlic

Trim the bone off the pork and all excess fat and cut it into strips about 1 inch thick and at least 4 inches long. Mix together the seasonings and place in a shallow pan. Drop the pork in the seasoning and coat it well on all sides. Place it in a reseal able plastic container. Put the lid on and refrigerate at least overnight (preferably a couple of days).

Get your smoker started. Use pecan or oak, not hickory. Place the pork strips in the smoker and crank up the smoke. Leave it in the smoker for 3-4 hours. Make sure there is lots of smoke but don't let the smoker get above 200^o-220^o. Remove the meat and let it cool completely. Put it in reseal able bags. It keeps forever in the freezer.

back to top

I have no idea why this is called "barbecued" shrimp? You won’t go near the barbecue when you make it. But it is absolutely one of the most delicious meals you will ever make. I’ve been told it was created at Pascal Manale’s Restaurant on Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans. I don’t know I’ve never eaten there. If you don’t know your way around New Orleans you’ll never find Napoleon Ave. Make it yourself; it’s a lot less trouble.

There are a couple of things you will need to know. Traditionally, the shrimp are not de-headed. If you can't stand their beady little eyes staring at you, pull the heads off before you cook em. We like to peel the shrimp and leave only the last section of the shell on like cocktail shrimp. Its a lot less messy that way. One of the key ingredients is the rosemary. If you can’t get fresh rosemary, DON'T MAKE THIS DISH! It’s that important. Lastly, if you’re a heart surgeon, stop reading right now. If you’re a health nut stop here. (This feeds 3 - 4 people,... double it if you need to.)

1 Lb	butter (That’s right! A whole friggin pound! Four sticks. Quit whining. Real Salted Butter only!)
2 Tbls	Creole seasoning
3 Tbls	chopped rosemary leaves (fresh, not dried)
1 Tbl	fresh ground pepper
¼ cup	Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup	good beer (good dark beer, not that mainstream swill)
2 Tbls	minced garlic, finely minced (or as much as you like)
½	medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs	celery, finely chopped
½ cup	chopped parsley
1	lemon, just the juice
2 ½ Lb	shrimp

Melt 2 sticks of the butter in a skillet. Sauté the garlic, onions, celery, parsley, rosemary and seasonings for about 2 - 3 minutes. (If you are like me you’re thinking…why put in the parsley, it doesn’t have any flavor. Normally I consider parsley to be an unnecessary ingredient, but in this case it really is needed. It gives the sauce more bulk).

Add the rest of the butter. Add the beer (drink the rest of the bottle). Add the Worcestershire and lemon juice. Stir until the butter melts.

Place the shrimp in a large baking dish. Drown the shrimp in the seasoned butter. Make sure the shrimp are covered. If they're not ... melt more butter and add to the sauce. (That’s right, more friggin butter). Bake in a 350^o oven about 15 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. No More! The shrimp will be hard to peel if you overcook them.

Serve the shrimp in bowls with lots of the spicy butter sauce over it. Roll up your sleeves and dig in. Serve with plenty of French bread to sop up da sauce!

This dish has enough cholesterol to kill a horse, but what a way to go.

back to top

This is messy, good, and almost a meal in itself. The filling is best if made a day ahead of time and has a tendency to spill out the sides of the loaves as they bake.

Filling:

In a large skillet, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sausage or crawfish and reduce the heat to moderate. Sauté about 5 minutes. Drain off the oil and set the sausage or crawfish aside to cool, then chop in small pieces.

In a bowl, combine the mozzarella, parmesan, scallions, parsley and jalapenos. Add the sausage or crawfish and toss well to mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate the filling for at least 3 hours but preferably 24 hours.

Dough:

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water. Set aside in a warm place for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, salt and the yeast mixture. Mix until a dough forms, then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead well until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes. If the dough seems dry, add up to ¼ cup more warm water. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350^o. Punch down the dough and knead briefly. Cut the dough in 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll it out into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Brush the edges with the beaten egg. Spread one-fourth of the filling to within ½” of the edges. Beginning with a longer side, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Seal the seam and the ends with beaten egg and pinch to close. Transfer the loaf to a greased baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough and filling. Bake the loaves for about 25 minutes, until very lightly browned all over. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving warm.

back to top

This recipe is from Chef John Folse. You may have seen him on PBS.

3 dozen	ten to twelve count head-on shrimp
1 tsp	dried basil
1 Tbl	Creole mustard
1 Lb	jumbo lump crab meat
1 Tbl	cream sherry
½ cup	melted butter
½ cup	béchamel sauce (recipe follows)
½ cup	finely diced onions
¾ cup	seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
¼ cup	finely diced celery
½ cup	melted butter
2 Tbls	finely diced garlic
½ cup	cream sherry
1 tsp	dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350^o. Peel the shrimp leaving the last section of the tail. Using a sharp knife butterfly the shrimp, spread the tail flat, and remove the vein. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the above ingredients except crab meat, salt and pepper and the last three ingredients. Blend until all ingredients are well incorporated. Gently fold in crab meat being careful not to break lumps. Season to taste using salt and pepper. Stuff the tails with generous portion of crab meat stuffing. Once stuffed, the tail should lay flat on a baking pan. Place stuffed shrimp on a large greased baking sheet and drizzle with butter and sherry. Bake until stuffing is golden brown, approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. Place two oz. of crawfish butter in center of plate and top with six shrimp.

In a heavy bottom sauté pan, heat butter over medium high heat. Add all ingredients up to and including the thyme. Sauté until crawfish and tasso are cooked thoroughly and vegetables are wilted. Deglaze with white wine, reduce slightly and add half & half. Continue to cook until volume of cream sauce is reduced to one half and thickened. Slowly stir in the butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring constantly until all is incorporated. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Hold warm until serving.

Melt butter in a 2-qt saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add milk and bouillon and stir vigorously with a wire whisk until mixture barely comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking frequently.

back to top

3 cups	cooked angel hair pasta
1	medium onion diced
1 Lb	crawfish tails or shrimp
1 stick	butter
1 oz	dry white wine
1 Tbl	chopped garlic
¼ cup	finely sliced green onions
2 cup	half & half
¼ cup	sliced mushrooms
1 Tbl	chopped parsley
½ cup	diced andouille or bacon
1 tsp	salt
2 tsp	black pepper

In a cast iron frying pan, melt butter over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, green onions, mushrooms, and andouille. Sauté seven or eight minutes or until all vegetables are wilted. Deglaze pan with white wine, and continue cooking until volume of liquid is reduced to one half. Add half & half, salt, and pepper and stirring constantly, reduce until thick and of a sauce like consistency. Add crawfish or shrimp and cook for an additional two or three minutes. Remove from heat; add parsley and season to taste using salt and pepper. Gently fold in cooked angel hair pasta and serve. May be chilled and served as a cold pasta salad.

back to top

This recipe is best if you use fresh corn but frozen corn works fine. There are two ways of using fresh corn. Boil or grill.

Boil: If you have fresh corn use a knife to remove the kernels from the cobs and boil the corncobs with the shells of the shrimp in a large pot, seasoned with yellow onions, celery, garlic and ½ of a habanero pepper. Then strain the stock through a colander.

Grill: This is faster and you don't need to boil the corn with the onions, celery, garlic and a hot pepper. Place the corn on a hot grill in the husks. Cook for about 8 to ten minutes. The husks will burn around the edges. Remove from the grill and cut the kernels from the cob.

3 cups	whole corn kernels
2 to 3 Lbs	shrimp (peeled & headed)
1 stick	butter
1 cup	chopped onions
½ cup	chopped celery
½ cup	flour
1 quart	shellfish & corn cob stock or water
1 cup	half & half
½ cup	sliced green onions
½ cup	chopped parsley
2 tsp	salt (I know it’s a lot but this is a big pot of soup)
1½ tsp	pepper or to taste
2 tsp	garlic powder

In a two-gallon stockpot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and celery. Sauté until the onions are clear. Using a wire whisk, add the flour and whip constantly until you make a blond roux. Do not brown. Add the stock, one ladle at a time, and stir well between ladles. The one ladle at a time part is very important. Don't dump all of the stock in at one time or you will have stock and a big glop of roux that will not mix together well. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring to a low boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes stirring constantly.

If you are using frozen corn add it now. If you are using fresh or grilled corn wait. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Add the shrimp, half & half, green onions, parsley (and, if you are using it, fresh corn) and simmer approximately five minutes. Serve in soup bowls.

back to top

Some of the fondest childhood memories are of Grandma Eschete making this dish on Easter Sunday for us to eat after Easter egg hunts. This was a sinful dish served on a holy day of obligation. I can’t think of any meal I have ever had that was better than Grandma’s Bisque. When someone goes to the trouble to make this for you; you know they really love you. Sadly Grandma is gone now and I never got her recipe. This was emailed to me a few years back. I have no idea where it came from but it will have to do. Somehow it doesn’t taste as good as Grandma’s bisque. I don’t think it’s the recipe’s fault.

Bisque is sometimes served as thin as a soup, sometimes even thicker than an etoufee -- adjust the consistency to suit your taste. What makes this unique among all bisques in the world is the addition of stuffed crawfish heads (shells, actually) with crawfish dressing.

20 Lbs	boiled crawfish (recipe follows)
6 Tbls	butter
½ cup	oil
1 cup	flour
2	large onions, finely minced
3 ribs	celery, finely minced
4 cloves	garlic, finely minced
5 cups	shellfish stock or water
1 Tbl	salt
1 Tbl	Creole seasoning
2 tsps	cayenne pepper
2 tsps	thyme
½ cup	sliced green onions
½ cup	chopped parsley
5 dozen	stuffed crawfish heads (recipe follows)
About 7-½ cups	cooked rice
	fresh ground pepper to taste

Peel the crawfish, removing the vein but reserving the little flap of crawfish meat that's over the vein. Remove the crawfish fat from the heads (the little yellow glob that's worth its weight in gold) and reserve in a separate container.

Clean 5 dozen crawfish heads for stuffing. The "head" is actually the large red thorax shell. Remove all inside parts, including the eyes and antennae. What should remain is a little tube with two open ends and one open side. Be careful; the shell must be scraped clean on the inside and it can be a bit rough on the fingers. (I'm told that a beer can opener makes this job easier.) Divide the crawfish fat and tails evenly, reserving half for the bisque and half for the stuffing.

Prepare the stuffed crawfish heads according to the recipe below. This is very labor-intensive, and takes a long time; most folks take two days to make crawfish bisque, cooking the crawfish, cleaning the heads and stuffing them the day before, and cooking the bisque on the second day. Recruit some help if you can. Place the stuffed heads in a pan and refrigerate.

To prepare the bisque, make a roux with the butter, oil and flour. Cook over low-medium heat, being careful not to scorch the butter, until the roux turns light brown. Stir CONSTANTLY. This means constantly, without stopping for anything. Add the onions, celery and garlic, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are soft and the roux is peanut butter-colored. Remove from heat and cool, continuing to stir.

Gradually and carefully add the stock or water (preferably stock) and combine thoroughly, making a nice gravy. Add half of the crawfish tails and crawfish fat, Creole seasoning, salt and peppers, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. If you've got a little leftover crawfish stuffing, add it to the pot as well, as it adds more body and flavor.

Add the baked or sautéed crawfish heads, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Add the onion tops and parsley just before serving.

To serve, mound about 3/4 cup rice in large bowl, and divide the bisque evenly between them. Serve 6 stuffed crawfish heads with each serving. Don't worry about table manners; you almost have to use your fingers to get the stuffing out of the heads. Some folks (like me) insert their tongue into the crawfish head to lick all the stuffing out. If you’re hung up on manners, the tail end of your fork or spoon, or the end of a butter knife, helps get the stuffing out more easily. Make sure everyone gets the same number of heads, or fights will break out; they're that good. Tradition requires the empty heads to be placed around the rim of the bowl, so that some don't get more than others. It's easier to count them quickly that way.

For the stuffed crawfish heads:

¼ cup	oil
¼ cup	flour
2	medium onions, finely minced
3/4 cup	stock or water
2 tsps	salt
1 ½ tsps	cayenne pepper
2	large eggs, beaten
2 cups	plain bread crumbs
¼ cup	chopped parsley
¼ cup	minced green onions
4 Tbls	butter, melted
5 dozen	cleaned crawfish heads
	freshly ground black pepper
	flour for dusting

Make a roux with the oil and flour. Add onions and cook until tender, stirring constantly. Mince or grind the remaining half of the crawfish tails and add to the roux -onion mixture. Add the remaining crawfish fat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add stock, salt, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, green onions and butter. Combine thoroughly, adjusting the consistency with more stock or more breadcrumbs as needed.

Fill each head with stuffing. Roll in flour and bake at 350^o for 15 minutes, or fry in hot oil until the stuffing is golden brown.

back to top

Ooo Wee. It don’t get no betta dan dis Cher. This isn’t a meal it’s a celebration! It is best when shared with good friends, good conversation, and good beer. It’s really much easier than most people think. The mark of a good crawfish boil is getting the first batch right. Anybody (even Yankees) can get it right when tasting and adjusting after a batch or two. What a waste! Follow these directions and you’ll get the first batch right every time. The only thing that might screw you up is getting a bunch of “ol black Joes” at the end of crawfish season. Ol black Joes shells are damn near black, hard, and very hard to peel.

Spices & Water
Huge (100) Qt Pot		Large (80Qt) Pot		Small (38Qt) Pot
10 gal	water	8 gal	water	3 gal	water
2 ½ qts	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil	½ gal	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil	2 ½ cups	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil
3 boxes	salt	2 ½ boxes	salt	1 box	salt
2/3 cups	cayenne pepper	½ cup	cayenne pepper	3 Tbls	cayenne pepper
4 bags	Zatarain's® bag crab boil	3 bags	Zatarain's® bag crab boil	1 bag	Zatarain's® bag crab boil
4 heads	garlic (cut in half)	3 heads	garlic (cut in half)	1 head	garlic (cut in half)
8	lemons (cut in half)	6	lemons (cut in half)	2	lemons (cut in half)
8	onions (cut in half)	6	onions (cut in half)	2	onions (cut in half)

Eats
Huge (100) Qt Pot		Large (80Qt) Pot		Small (38Qt) Pot
40 to 45 Lbs	live crawfish	30 to 35 Lbs	live crawfish	12 to 15 Lbs	live crawfish
2-3 Lbs	small red potatoes	1½-2 Lbs	small red potatoes	½ Lb	small red potatoes
2 Lbs	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)	1½ Lbs	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)	½ Lb	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)
10-20	½ ears corn	8-12	½ ears corn	4-5	½ ears corn
2 Lbs	fresh mushrooms	1½ Lbs	fresh mushrooms	½ Lb	fresh mushrooms

First…Start with a good crawfish pot and a burner designed to cook crawfish.  The pot should have an extra heavy duty strainer basket that you place everything into.  The burner should be sturdy, low to the ground, and put out a tremendous amount of Btu's.  If your not sure if your pot is big enough or the burner is hot enough…. It isn’t. Go get one.

If you've ever been to a crawfish boil you know this must be done outside. Its messy and the spices will overwhelm you if you try to do this inside. I know at one time or another, you've stood in your yard and smelled the delicious aroma of someone grilling next door. The aroma (fumes?) from cooking crawfish carry a good distance also. Once you have tasted crawfish, this aroma will make your mouth water just the same.

Some people go through all kinds of commotion trying to "purge" the crawfish. It’s not worth it. Rinse the crawfish off until the water runs clear and be done with it.

Fill the pot with the proper amount of water. A good rule of thumb is to divide the number of quarts the pot will hold by 10 and fill it with that many gallons of water. For example an 80 quart pot will use 8 gallons of water. I have three crawfish pots.  A small one for a couple of people, a large size for a small group, and a huge one for parties.  My huge pot is 100 quarts, the large one is 80 quarts and the small one is 38 quarts. It is possible to fit a whole sack (40-45 Lbs) of crawfish into an 80 quart pot at one time.  However, the pot gets too crowded when you add the sausage, mushrooms, corn, etc.  If you want to cook a whole sack at one time and have the corn, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, etc., it's best to use a bigger pot.

Dump the all of the spices in to the water and bring it to a boil. While the water heats up, rinse the crawfish and throw out the dead ones. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the crawfish, and potatoes. When the crawfish come back to a good rolling boil start timing. After the crawfish have boiled for 7 minutes, turn off the heat. Now throw in the sausage, mushrooms, and corn. Push the corn and mushrooms under (they try to float). Put the lid on and let everything sit for 15 minutes (stir it every once and a while). Lift the basket full of everything and let it drain for a minute or so. Dump everything on a large table covered in newspaper. Serve with lots of beer, paper towels fo da juices, squirt margarine fo da potatoes, and garbage cans fo da mess. Suck da heads, pinch da tails.

If your having a party.....for each additional batch add (in the same order as before):

Huge (100) Qt Pot		Large (80Qt) Pot		Small (38Qt) Pot
2 cups	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil	1½ cups	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil	½ cup	Zatarain's® liquid crab boil
2 bags	Zatarain's®  bag crab boil	1 bag	Zatarain's®  bag crab boil	1 bag	Zatarain's®  bag crab boil
¼ box	salt	¼ box	salt	½ cup	salt
¼ cup	cayenne pepper	¼ cup	cayenne pepper	1 Tbl	cayenne pepper
3 heads	garlic (cut in half)	1-2 heads	garlic (cut in half)	1 head	garlic (cut in half)
3	lemons (cut in half)	2	lemons (cut in half)	1	lemons (cut in half)
3	onions (cut in half)	2	onions (cut in half)	1	onions (cut in half)
40-45 Lbs	live crawfish	30-35 Lbs	live crawfish	12-15 Lbs	live crawfish
2-3 Lbs	small red potatoes	1½-2 Lbs	small red potatoes	½ Lb	small red potatoes
1½ Lbs	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)	1½ Lbs	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)	½ Lb	polish sausage (2”-3” pieces)
10-20	½ ears corn	8-12	½ ears corn	4 or 5	½ ears corn

back to top

Spices & Veggies:

1 & ½ tsp each	salt, black pepper, dry mustard, chili powder, cumin and thyme
2 Tbls	minced garlic
2 cups	chopped onion
1 cup	celery

Other Stuff:

1 Lb	ground pork
1 Lb	smoked andouille sausage, sliced (polish sausage if you can’t get andouille)
1 Lb	tasso (diced)
2 ½ cups	raw long-grain white rice
1 (16-oz) can	crushed tomatoes
1 (16-oz) can	tomato sauce
5 cups	chicken stock or water
2 to3 Lbs	peeled shrimp (or crawfish)

Mix the seasonings and salt.

This recipe feeds an army. I'm not kidding. It will feed at least 12 people. It saves well in the fridge or freezer but you may want to cut the proportions in half.

Get a big pot. I use a 12 quart cast iron dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, garlic, tasso, andouille, and pork and brown over medium heat, stirring constantly, 15 minutes. Add the rice, seasonings, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a slow boil. Cover the pot, reduce to a simmer and cook 25 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 more minutes. Uncover pot and allow rice to dry out, about 10 minutes without stirring. Stir gently, so as not to break up the shrimp and serve immediately.

back to top