As much as I love eating crawfish, it came as a surprise when I realized that I had never actually cooked with them. They were on sale at my local grocery recently, and so I picked up a pound and a half. Even with the hot weather we have been having, I knew that either a gumbo or bisque was in the making. I don’t know about you, but for me… a good, rich, bisque can be a truly wonderful thing.

They were actually really easy to work with, but (most likely due to my improper technique) were very time consuming to shell. I just boiled them for a few minutes, cooled in an ice bath, and started digging in. I tried using several different techniques, but for me, the easiest method was to slide the tip of a knife down the lower portion of the body, cutting between the pairs of legs. That would loosen the tail enough that the meat would slide out.

In the end, this is what you are looking to get. Just a lot of little shrimp-like tails. They don’t provide much meat, but they sure are tasty. I read in several locations that you should reserve the yellow “stuff” found in the head area. This is apparently a mixture of fat and the pancreas. This fat adds a lot of flavor, and should be mixed into the water; however, if you just can’t deal with that, a little bacon grease could be a good substitute.

Crawfish Bisque

 Print This Post

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs. crawfish (more could easily be used, this was light on crawfish)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 5 cups water mixed with crawfish fat (or bacon grease)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1 bay leaf
• hot sauce (to taste)
• 1/2 Tbsp. cajun/creole seasoning
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, including juice

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a large pot, mix in flour, stirring constantly to make a roux. Cook over medium heat until dark golden brown, stirring constantly. Add the onions, celery, and garlic, and cook until tender.

2. Add in the water, tomatoes (with juice), bay leaf, brown sugar, hot sauce, cajun/creole seasoning, salt, and red pepper. Stir, and heat to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer for at least 45 minutes.

As with most any soup-based dish, this bisque is better if made ahead of time, refrigerated, and re-warmed. Some would recommend the parsley and crawfish not be added until it is ready to be served, but I went ahead and put them in toward the end of the simmering, and they turned out great.