CRAWFISH BOULETTES PO’BOY WITH ÉTOUFFÉE SAUCE

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Yields: 8–10 Servings

Comment:
In Louisiana one of the most economical and tastiest dishes you can serve to your family is a platter of fish boulettes. Actually, folk elsewhere call them fish cakes or fish patties. In Bayou Country we roll them into balls, which is what boulette means in French. We substituted crawfish in the place of fish for an interesting twist.

Ingredients for Boulettes:
2 pounds chopped crawfish tails
½ cup minced onions
¼ cup minced celery
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
2 tbsps diced garlic
¼ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
vegetable oil for deep-frying

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except bread crumbs and oil. Using your hands, blend ingredients well. You may wish to blend all ingredient in blender for 10 seconds. Since crawfish are already cooked, you should taste mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary. In a cast iron pot, heat oil to 350°F. Sprinkle half of bread crumbs into crawfish mixture, adding more as needed to hold mixture together. Form into golf ball-sized boulettes. Working in batches, place in oil and deep-fry until golden brown. Remove, drain on paper towels and set aside.

Ingredients for Étouffée Sauce:
2 pounds crawfish tails, cleaned
¼ pound butter
1 cup diced onions
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced green bell peppers
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsps minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cup flour
½ cup tomato sauce
1½ quarts crawfish stock
1 ounce sherry
1 cup sliced green onions
½ cup chopped parsley
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Method:
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Sauté 3–5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until a white roux is achieved. Blend crawfish tails and tomato sauce into mixture then cook 5 minutes, stirring to prevent tomato sauce from scorching. Slowly add crawfish stock until a sauce-like consistency is achieved. Add more stock as necessary to retain consistency. Bring to a rolling boil then reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, green onions and parsley. Cook 5 minutes then season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Ingredients for Po’boy:
6 loaves Po’boy Bread

Method:
To assemble the po’boy, place half loaf of bread on a platter and top with 6 cooked boulettes. Place a generous portion of sauce over boulettes and top with remaining half loaf of bread.