Dude serious props for writing that all out, i seriously doubt I'd find a recipe online with such a well described method. I MUST try this
Couple questions -
salted or unsalted butter?
And
I know you say whatever you have in the fridge but gimme some examples. Sausage? Bacon?! Chicken, white fish...what sorta stuff we talking about here? Just give me a couple of combos that worked out well for you
Thanks again man, that was beast to read
Ask as much as you like... this is my jam bro.
I'm not even fucking around when I say, that I've been perfecting this method for decades, 3 actually. Notice the avoidance of the word "recipe"... this is more of a "method" to understand the process & why each phase works as it does. Once you get the method, then its more of a guideline than a "recipe" once you get your head into it. hope that makes sense.
By myself.... for a full batch, is 3 hrs. (half that with help to cut veggies, shell shrimp etc....) That's for a 12 serving batch though, it's less with a half batch, though I hardly ever make less than the full 2 gallon batch.
Shrimp is kind of a mainstay across all of standard recipes. I use 3 lbs. in my 2 gallon Etouffee & tear them in halve to bite size. (A SHRIMP IN EVERY BITE!!!)
You always want the shrimp in the shell when you buy them. the ones pre-shelled have frozen some of the magic out of their flavor & are bland. Always get the intestine along the back out. The tract in itself it's not bad unless its full of sand & then that's 3 hours of cooking dumped in the trash. (speaking from experience) The ones with the shell on... & the split back... with the intestine removed, are ideal... & less work to clean while retaining the flavor. 25 count/lb or so is a nice size that you can tear in half.
Don't fook with taking out the nerve at the front... it's pointless.
Also, I always use Zatteran's crab boil to pre-cook the shrimp. (a couple bucks) with 2 quartered lemons with some salt in the water to cook the shrimp. let it sit in the mixture half the time as the instructions say though... you'll cook the shrimp in the etouffee later, so you just want to get it started here. run cold water over them to stop them from cooking once you dump it into a collander & begin shelling.
(eat any less than healthy shrimp for quality control measures as you shell them
it's a perk for the chef yeah?
They're fooking delicious in this crab boil. Lobster tail is as well... top tip there.)
I use salted butter... but on the real I don't know how much difference that makes. You could even take salt out of the spice lineup & use unsalted butter if that's an issue & I'm sure it's going to be amazing.
It's the nature of Cajun cooking to just use whatever you got. However, I'll be more clear, that etouffe... is typically a seafood experience. I was first turned on to this world with a crawdad etouffee, but since my lady doesn't like crawdads, we've gravitated to just shrimp & the holy trinity + portabellas. That's my etouffee go to. It's mind buggling how fooking delicious it is. Scallops are a valid addition but they really don't add that much to it for the amount they cost, so we typically just make Shrimp etouffee. Everyone loves it. I actually get in trouble with my mother in law if she finds out I cooked it & didn't send her a bowl... lol...
now the Gumbo & Jumbalia are almost expected to have shrimp & sausage in it. yard bird is always a welcome addition... pork is good... these are more wide open traditionally than etouffee. Fooking smoked pork in a Gumbo... good lord!!!
![[<dunn]](http://i.imgur.com/tNvC16j.png "dunn [<dunn]")
You can use almost any veggie... though I've gravitated away from carrots & fennel as they're kind of too strong. String beans don't do much for me... though black beans or something like that often works well with Gumbo & jumbalia.
Another tidbit is that I use red bell peppers in the holy trinity as my favorite... instead of green because green's flavor is kind of overwhelming to the whole. I will use the green for the 1st batch that disapears because the overwhelming flavor is neutralized in the caramelization, but for sure in the 2nd & 3rd batch I'll use red, orange or yellow. Red preferably.
Actually, I've used all 4 before just for the polythenol variety. (pigment comes from different chemicals that do different things when consumed.) About a half of each works out in a 2 gallon batch.
for my 2 gallon batch I'm working with
each phase around: 1 large onion, 2 celery stalks, 6 oz pack of portabellas, & 1/2 of a large bell pepper. (note: there are 3 phazes, & so I need 3 times that amount for the whole dish.)
6 oz of shrooms is about 2 or 3 big heads or one package of small ones is typically 6 oz.
I always buy organic every chance I get.
These are some of the simplest recipes to make... though labor insensitive to prepare. Once you get your head into it, it's a natural & intuitive flow of sometimes following the method & sometimes improvising. I've found though that in explaining it to others... it takes a lot of description to learn the ways of teh sacred sauce... so if you have any more questionz please don't hesitate to ask. I love talking about cooking!!!
