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~South
Louisiana Cajun Meat Dish Recipes~
When You Cook Cajun Remember
~"First You Make a Roux"~
(pronounced roo)
When asked a recipe, the
first words out of a Cajun cooks' mouth will be... "First you make a Roux"
Roux (pronounced roo) is the basic ingredient of gumbo, etoufee, sauce
piquante and stew. It contains an equal mixture of oil and flour that is
browned and used as a thickening base for many Cajun dishes. It not only
thickens, but also accounts for the different and quite distinct flavor of
the dish. All of the recipes on this home page that require a roux are best
prepared using this formula. 1cup of flour 1 cup of oil
Heat the oil in a heavy, thick pot or skillet. Add flour and stir constantly
over a low heat until dark brown. The trick is to get it dark brown (color
of a Hershey's chocolate bar) but not burned. If it burns, (it will smell
scorched) throw it out and start over. Warning: The roux will be extremely
hot and can cause a serious burn. Please be careful when handling it and
try not to get any on you.
~South Louisiana Crawfish Etoufee~
Crawfish as many as desired
½ cups of oil
4 Tablespoons flour
Tabasco to taste
¼ cups of shallots
2 chopped onions
3-tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cups of parsley
Simmer oil and flour 5 minutes are until darkish color and add pepper and
cook 30 minutes. Add shallots and parsley. Cook 10 minutes more. Serve with
rice.
~Creole Style Alligator or Deer~
4 Bell peppers, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1-5 onions chopped
3 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
½ cup brown sugar
1-½ cups of white wine
6 bay leaves
1-cup flour
6 cans (20 oz.) tomatoes
Salt, pepper & Tabasco to taste
2 Tablespoons of jumbo file
1 Tablespoon of accent
1 teaspoon of garlic
2 teaspoons of crab boil
Cut meat into strips and brown in cooking oil. Drain and set aside. Melt butter
and add bell peppers, onions and celery. Sauté’ until tender. Remove from heat.
Add flour and blend thoroughly. Add tomatoes gradually, stirring constantly. Add
salt, pepper, sugar, accent, garlic and gumbo file, crab boil, bay leaves and
cloves. Bring to a boil and add meat. Add Worcestershire sauce. Tabasco, lemon
juice and while wine. Cook for 30 minutes boiling. Turn down heat to simmer for
3 hour. Serve with corn on the cob, small whole potatoes, are over rice.
~Pat's Shrimp Etoufee~
8 - servings
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 - green onions, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 - cup minced celery
4 tbsp. flour
2 - tablespoons of butter
2 - cups of tomato sauce
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
10 drops of hot sauce
1-1/2 tsp salt
3/4 - tsp. thyme
1/2- tsp. cayenne pepper
2- 1/2 cups of water
1 - cup of red wine
2 lbs.- cleaned shrimp
3 hard-cooked eggs quartered
Sauté the onion, green onions, garlic and celery in butter in a large skillet until tender. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add 2-1/4 cups water, 1 cup of red
wine, tomato sauce, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and seasonings. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. Add the shrimp and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Turn into a serving dish and garnish with quartered eggs. Please remember that the alcohol cooks out of the wine. You just have that wonderful sweet grape wine taste.
~JAMBALAYA~
2 lb chopped white onion
3 lb smoked hot sausage, cut up
2 bunches green onion tops
2 cans black-eyed peas
1 large bell pepper
3 lb uncooked rice
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
3 lb salt meat, boiled, cut up
12 cups water
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper
Sauté onions, pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook until limp.
Add salt meat, sausage, black-eye peas with liquid and rice. Add
seasoning. Add 12 cups water. Bring to boil; mix well and
cover tightly. Cook on lowest heat for 45 minutes. DO NOT remove
the cover during this time. Remove cover for 10 minutes before
serving. (serves 20)
~SHRIMP CREOLE~
1 cup flour
1 cup oil
3 lb. raw peeled shrimp
1 large can of tomato sauce
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 small cans of tomato paste
2 cup chopped onion
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
3 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 tsp. red pepper
2 tbsp. chopped onion tops
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup bell pepper
6 cups of water
Make a roux. Add onions, celery,
bell pepper and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste,
and remaining spices...Mix well and cook about 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, 6
cups of water and let simmer for about 90 minutes. Add 3 pounds shrimp and
cook for 15 minutes. Add parsley and onion tops and cook for 5 minutes. Serve
hot over fluffy rice. Don't eat the bay leaves!
~SEAFOOD GUMBO~
1 cup flour
1 cup oil
1 large onion
1 pint oysters (3-4 dozen)
2-3 garlic pods
1 lb. peeled shrimp
1/2 bell pepper
1 lb. crab claw meat
1/2 cup parsley
3 tsp. salt
1/2 cup green onions-chop
2 tsb. black pepper
3 quarts water
1 tsp. red pepper
3 bay leaves
1/2 doz. whole cleaned crab
Make a roux with equal parts oil
and flour. Cook slowly, stirring often, until brown. Add cut up onion, garlic,
and bell pepper to the roux. Carefully stir roux until it has cooled down.
Slowly add 3 quarts of water, stirring while you pour. Add salt, red pepper
and black pepper. Add crab claw meat, and several cleaned whole crabs and
cook an hour. Add shrimp and liquid from pint of oysters, simmer for 30
minutes. About 15-20 minutes before you serve the gumbo, add oysters, chopped
parsley, bay leaves and green onion tops. Serve on rice. Have fresh file' on
hand to allow guests to add their own. A side dish of potato salad is always
appreciated. Oh by the way....don't eat the bay leaves. This freezes well.
However, do not freeze the gumbo with oysters in it. Add fresh ones before
serving. Gumbo always seems to taste better after it has set overnight. I
usually try to prepare mine the day before I serve it.
Creamy Grits with Shrimp Recipe
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined*
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups hot stock (shrimp, chicken, or vegetable)
1/4 cup butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup stone-ground grits**
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
6 bacon slices
2 tablespoons finely-chopped onion
1 clove gralic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped green or red bell pepper
* Add add flavor, place the shells of
the shrimp in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer over low heat
approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the broth,
discarding shells. Add shrimp broth to hot stock.
** If using quick-cooking grits (not
instant, reduce cream to 1/2 cup and reduce stock to 1 cup.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream,
water, and hot stock; bring to a gentle boil. Add butter salt, and pepper.
Slowly add grits, stirring constantly (so that the grits do not settle to the
bottom and scorch), until all are added; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for
20 minutes, stirring occasionally (be careful not to scorch mixture), or until
the grits are tender.
NOTE: Grits should have absorbed all of
the liquid and become soft and should have the same consistency as oatmeal
(moist, not dry). If the grits become too thick, add warm stock or water to
thin. remove from heat.
Sprinkle shrimp with lemon juice, salt, and pepper; set aside.
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook bacon until brown but not
crisp. Remove from heat and pat dry with paper towels; set aside. Coarsely
chop bacon when cool. Reserve 4 tablespoons bacon grease in the frying pan.
Add onion, garlic, and green or red bell pepper; saute 10 minutes or until the
onion is transparent. Add shrimp mixture and bacon; saute 5 to 7 minutes or
until shrimp are opaque in center (cut to test). Remove from heat.
To serve, spoon hot grits onto individual serving plates and
top with shrimp mixture.
Makes 4 servings.
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