Ladle this Crawfish Cream Sauce over fried or broiled seafood, stuffed peppers, or even pasta… you’ll see that this is a game-changer. It’s rich, creamy texture and the Creole and Cajun flavors from the crawfish tails and seasonings really set this sauce apart and will make any dish super special.
Crawfish Cream Sauce ladled over a Cajun Stuffed Bell Pepper
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What’s so special about this sauce?
The secret to the flavor of this crawfish sauce is the succulent Louisiana crawfish tails and the dry sherry. The Louisiana crawfish tails have some “fat” that adds a sweet depth of flavor and the sherry imparts a warm, mellow background flavor. Don’t think that this Crawfish Cream Sauce is reserved just for crawfish dishes. It’s common to find a nice fried catfish or trout covered in some sort of crawfish sauce at restaurants serving Cajun and Creole dishes. This crawfish sauce is so versatile that you’ll find all sorts of ways to use it. Try dropping in some fettuccine or your other favorite pasta and you have an entre. If you serve it this way, consider increasing the amount of crawfish tails you use.
Here Is What You Need
Louisiana Crawfish tails
Louisiana Crawfish Tails!
Veggies
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Green onions
Here are the veggies
Other Ingredients
- Butter
- AP flour
- Worcestershire sauce
- Dry sherry
- Heavy cream
Herbs and Spice Blend
- Creole seasonings
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
Here’s the rest
Equipment
Saute pan, cutting boards, prep bowls
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Here Is What You Do
First…you have a beer. You are likely preparing this along with another recipe, so don’t go crazy with the bee. Just prepare yourself to make a fabulous sauce. Sip on a beer while you read the recipe thoroughly so you’ll know what you need and what you will do with each ingredient and what equipment you should have ready. Believe me, this recipe rocks when you are prepared.
Prepare the ingredients
Place the crawfish tails in a bowl and blend in some Creole seasoning and set them aside until needed. The shallots and garlic should be chopped very fine and set in separate prep bowls. Finely chop the green onions and roughly chop the parsley and set aside in separate bowls.
All Prepped
Measure the butter, AP Flour, creole seasonings, dry sherry and heavy cream, all into separate containers. Let the heavy cream come to room temperature before adding it.
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When butter is bubbling add the AP flour and stir constantly to make a light roux which should only be about 3 minutes.
Make a light roux
You don’t want a dark color, just a smooth, light roux with the flour taste gone. Normally a roux is equal parts fat and flour, but in this situation, you’ll have way more butter than flour. Not to worry, it will still serve to help thicken the sauce but will not make it overly thick.
No need to go any darker
Add the shallots to the roux and saute for about 3 minutes until softened, stirring constantly. Again, you won’t be cooking these too long because being chopped so fine the shallots quickly burn.
Saute the shallots in the light roux
Next add the garlic, Creole seasonings and the kosher salt and pepper, stir to combine for about 2 minutes.
Creole seasoning and garlic added to the roux and shallots
Increase heat to medium-high and add the parsley and crawfish tails. Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the crawfish tails and parsley
Add the Worcestershire sauce, sherry and green onions to the pan and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
Green onions and Worcestershire and sherry added
Increase heat to high and slowly pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine.
Finish it with heavy cream
When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and maintain a slow simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan often until thickened slightly.
Let it simmer
Serve immediately by labeling over fried fish or stuffed peppers or anything else that will benefit from a creamy Cajun sauce.
Crawfish Cream Sauce
That’s it, simple as that.
Hints and Tips
My sauce separated!
Most sauces made with butter and cream may have the tendency to separate (sometimes referred to as “break”). This sauce is no exception. The amount of “fat” on your crawfish tails may also affect this. Not to worry, just stir or whisk vigorously until everything is back together. This won’t impact the flavor.
What kind of crawfish should I use?
I recommend only Louisiana crawfish. The freezer case in your grocery store or seafood market will probably offer 1 pound packages of frozen crawfish tail meat. Louisiana crawfish get to the market quicker than imported crawfish which helps the flavor and freshness. If you have to use imported (likely Chinese) crawfish, make sure to rinse them thoroughly as the “fat” can get rancid at about 6 months. Frozen Louisiana crawfish tails are ready to go right out of the pack, their “fat” will add a sweet depth of flavor. A great online source for Louisiana crawfish tail meat is The Cajun Grocer. Please note, I do not have an affiliation with Cajun Grocer, I just know them to be a reputable vendor.
Do I need a dark roux?
You don’t want to make a brown roux for this, the lighter the better but you need to cook it long enough to cook the flour taste away. Normally a roux is equal parts fat and flour, but here we are using much more butter than flour. It will be smooth and still serve to thicken the sauce along with the heavy cream.
How do I turn this into an entree?
This is a very versatile sauce and it’s good enough to be the main event. If you want to mix this with pasta (really good with Fettuccini) consider using a whole pound of tail meat. Of course, you could use a whole pound of tail meat no matter what you are putting this on if you want!
Do I need the Dry Sherry?
You can substitute any dry white wine or this or even a light rum. I would stay away from “cooking” wines because they usually have a very high salt content. You can also leave the sherry out altogether if you prefer, but if it’s not an issue, I encourage you to try it with the sherry, it really puts a special mellowness to the whole thing.
How should I store leftovers?
You can store the leftover sauce in the fridge in a glass or plastic container with an airtight seal for about 3 days. The sauce will likely separate in the fridge, but just reheat it in a saucepan over low heat, vigorously stirring or whisking to bring it back together. The appearance may not be perfect, but the flavor will still be great.
I am not a big fan of freezing leftover crawfish cream sauce, but you can do it if you want. The flavor quality will last for up to 3 months in the freezer if stored in an airtight container. A vacuum-sealed bag is good for this. Defrost it in the fridge for about 8 to 24 hours, then reheat it in a saucepan over low heat. The sauce will likely separate, so stir or whisk vigorously to get everything where it belongs. Again, the appearance may not be perfect, but the flavor will be there.
Try this sauce on this Cajun treat:
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Crawfish Cream Sauce over a Cajun Stuffed Pepper
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Yeah You Right!
Recipe
Crawfish Cream Sauce
Here's What You Need
- 1 cup crawfish tails about ½ pound
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon AP flour
- ½ cup shallots about 2 finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic about 2 cloves
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning plus some for crawfish tails
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 3 green onions chopped, about ½ cup
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
Here's What You Do
Prepare the ingredients
- Place the crawfish tails in a bowl and blend in some Creole seasoning. Set aside.
- Chop the shallots and garlic very fine and set in separate prep bowls.
- Finely chop the green onions and roughly chop the parsley and set aside in separate bowls.
- Measure the butter, flour, creole seasonings, Worchestershire sauce and sherry. Pour the heavy cream in a measuring cup and let it come to room temperature.
To make the sauce
- Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- When butter is bubbling add the AP flour and stir constantly to make a light roux, about 3 minutes. See Notes.
- Add the shallots to the roux and saute for about 3 minutes until softened, stirring constantly.
- Add garlic, Creole seasonings and kosher salt and pepper, stir for about 2 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium-high and add the parsley and crawfish tails.
- Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Next add the Worcestershire sauce, sherry and green onions to the pan and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
- Increase heat to high and add the heavy cream, stir or whisk to combine.
- When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan often until thickened slightly.
Recipe Notes
You don’t want to make a brown roux for this, the lighter the better but you need to cook it long enough to cook the flour taste away. Normally a roux is equal parts fat and flour, but here we are using much more butter than flour. It will be smooth and still serve to thicken the sauce along with the heavy cream. If the sauce begins to separate, simply whisk the warm sauce until it's back together. You can substitute any dry white wine or this or even a light rum for the sherry. Of course, you could leave it out altogether. This sauce is great spooned over fried or broiled fish, stuffed peppers and even on Pasta. There really is no end to how you will use this sauce.
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