BIG DADDY'S CRAWFISH STEW

This recipe is for the day after you have a crawfish boil and you don't know what to do with the leftovers!!!

About 2 # Peeled crawfish tails
5-6 Cups cooked rice
3 lg. onions (chopped)
Fresh French Bread
2 lg. bell peppers (chopped)
2 Stalks celery (chopped)
1-1/2 cups plain flour
3 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1-1/2 Cups vegetable oil or lard
Potatoes, carrots, corn and mushrooms from crawfish boil                                 
Tabasco Sauce
Zatarain's crab boil
Tony Chachere's Seasoning

***NOTE***

If you don't have leftovers from a crawfish boil (Too Bad) you can use crawfish tails from the market, or fresh shrimp.

Peel the leftover crawfish and put the shells in a stock pot. Add water enough to cover the shells, bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 40 minutes. This is your crawfish stock.

Next you have to make your roux. In a black iron or heavy aluminum pot add 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil or hog lard and heat to about 300ºF (don't let it smoke). Add 1 1/2 cups of plain flour (Be careful, it's very hot). Stir until chocolate in color. Let it cool and put in a dish. 

In the same pot add about 1/4 cup of oil and heat on medium fire. Add onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic. Sauté until very limp. Add about 3 cups of water from the crawfish stock (be sure to strain).  Bring to a boil, turn heat down to med-low. Slowly stir in the roux to mix well and let it cook about an hour (stir occasionally). Taste it 30 minutes into the process and add salt and pepper and Tabasco. 

After the hour is up add the potatoes, carrots, corn and mushrooms, then, cook for about twenty minutes. Add the crawfish tails and cook for another 15 minutes.

If the sauce is too thin add a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in water at a time (stirring in between adds) until the sauce is like you want it. Cook another 15 minutes and start tasting.  

***NOW IF YOU DON’T HAVE LEFTOVERS****

Peel about 2 lbs. of shrimp and take the shells and make stock with them (as described above) and add a tsp. of red pepper, salt to taste, and 1/2 cup of Zatarain's Liquid Crab Boil. 

Next put potatoes and carrots in another pot, cover with water, add the same seasonings as above and boil about 15 minutes. Save this water and the water from the shrimp peelings and use this as the liquid for the stew.

****NOTE***

Tony Chachere's can be used for all above seasonings, but, try to use Zatarain's for the shrimp peelings.