angrybeescooks

[angrybeescooks]

Alright. I am extremely proud of this particular dish.

Yesterday I woke up with the sudden urge to make Étouffée. I say sudden. it was not sudden. I have been neck fuckin' deep in the Hazbin fandom and everyone has decided this is The Dish that Alastor would have enjoyed as a child. That and Gumbo. Soooo here we are.

I have never made Étouffée but that wasn't about to stop me. So about a dozen recipes and at least as many 'family recipe' videos later, I went to the store.

I'm not out here saying this is the most authentic thing in the world. but it really was delicious. And... easy? Also I cook random things quite often and this is just the first of me putting down what i made into a post. Half the share, and half so i can find notes on what I did last time lol.

Ingredients (I'm bad at measurements. the only thing i measured was the butter and flour here) 2lbs shrimp 1/2 cup butter (salted) 1/2 cup flour White wine Seafood Stock (1 pint) 1 green bell pepper 2 med yellow onions 2 celery ribs 1 bunch of green onions enough tomatoes for about 1 cup of chopped tomatoes 1 - 8oz can of tomato paste Creole Seasoning Garlic Powder Cayenne Pepper Worcestershire sauce Cooked Rice (Fluffy/long grain rice) 1 lemon

Pre cut and clean everything. for the love of god, once the roux starts you are on a timer. You'll want to finely dice (and im talking like a quarter of an inch cubes) 1 green bell pepper, two ribs of celery, and 2 med yellow onions (or one large). For the green onion, separate it by whites and greens, because we will use them separately.

Clean/prep your protein. For me this meant de-veining/de-shelling my shrimp. If you wanna be fancy and make your own stock, save the shells for that. Season your meats a bit with some Creole seasoning/salt/pepper/cayenne pepper (is there cayenne pepper in the creole seasoning? Yes. but we want more). Squeeze the juice of one lemon onto the seasoned shrimp, and put that shit in the fridge.

Crush/chop/whatever your garlic. as much as feels right for your soul.

Put all your prepped food in bowls, so you're ready to go. You can mix most the veggies together, but keep the garlic and green onion separate for now. Make sure everything is in reach of the stove outside of the meat, bc its gonna be real difficult to step away from the roux at all.

Make a roux. If you want a more cajun flavor you'll want to make an oil based roux, but for that creole flavor you can go more french with a butter roux. Do not rush this part. It will take at least 40m, but the longer the better. You can google how to make a roux, but I did half a cup of butter, half a cup of flour... and then just whisk that shit until you can't whisk no more... and then go another like 5-10m lol. It should be on a low-med heat. You want to brown the flour/butter but Not Burn it. it should be smooth and smell nice and nutty :D. Do Not Stop Stirring. Ever. (more cajun roux will use oil/lard. if we're leaning creole we can steal from the french and use butter, butter has a lower smokepoint tho, so be careful not to burn the milk fats)

Once the roux is a nice Peanut butter/ carmel color and smells deliciously nutty, it's time to add in the veggies. Slowly pour the chopped veggies into your pot with the roux and mix. You want to coat the veggies in the roux, and then let them cook down a bit before moving on. about 5-10m. (you're gonna keep it on that med-med/low heat until its time to bring it to a boil. Low. Slow. and Developing those Flavors)

Here I would do the first layer of seasoning. We're gonna layer in seasoning as we go, so don't over do it. But once you've cooked down the veg a bit, start layering in creole seasoning, cayenne, white pepper, and your crushed/minced garlic. Stir in.

Add in one 8oz can of Tomato paste and about 1 cup of either fresh chopped or canned tomato chunks. Stir Stir again and let that cook down a bit. (5m)

Time for the liquids. I started with some white wine (whatever floats your boat) about half a cup at a time, to deglaze anything on the bottom of the pan. Once I'd added about 1.5 cups of wine I switched to seafood stock. If you don't have access to seafood stock you can always use a chicken/veggie stock.

Add in the stock slowly, stirring as you go. The sauce will be quite loose, but that is okay. The roux will do it's thing after it reaches a boil.

Season again, add in your bay leaves (2-3 of those babies, you aren't driving) and TASTE IT. Start tasting that broth and season until it feels right.

Now it's time for the Étouffée - we're gonna smother this shit. Bring the pot to a Rolling boil. Like, bubblin' across the whole surface of the pot, not just the edges. Stir consistently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

Once you get it to a boil, turn it back onto simmer, and let it sit! At least 30m, but you can let it cook longer. You want all the flavors to marry and the veggies to break down and the roux to do it's thing. I was in the middle of a gaming event and i let mine simmer for like just over an hour. While it's simmering, check on it often, stir it, taste it. Add seasoning if ya need it!

It's finally time. If you went the shrimp route (or crawfish) now is the time to add that in. Bring the pot back up to a boil, add your seafood, and stir for 4-5 minutes or until the protein is cooked through. (this is also where I added a splash of Worcestershire, the juice of the other half of the lemon, and the whites of the green onions.)

Serve over jasmine rice (or any long grain rice of your choice) and top with some fresh green onions/scallions

That's it. I know its a lot of steps. but like. It's mostly just chopping veggies. stirring. and letting it do it's thing. It's so so good and imma have it for dinner for a 3rd night in a row today! Enjoy :D