Celebrate Jazz Fest with these mudbugs

It's Jazz Fest time in Louisiana and what better way to celebrate than to whip up some tasty recipes based on New Orleans’ seasonal specialty, crawfish. John Besh, chef and proprietor of the restaurant August and the consulting executive chef of the Besh Steakhouse in New Orleans, was invited on the “Today” show to show us the best way to eat crawfish. Here are the recipes:

Down Home Crawfish Pie
Serves 6 to 8

This is one of my favorite crawfish recipes.  Once the mixture has been chilled, it may be placed in a large pie shell, as demonstrated here, or into individual tart shells, or used as filling for an empanada and then fried.

4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups onions, small diced
1/4 cup bell peppers, small diced
1/4 cup celery, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/5 cup heavy cream
1 pound peeled crawfish tails
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 9-inch prepared pie shell

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour to the melted butter, stirring until it is incorporated.  Cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper.  Cook the vegetable mixture, while stirring, until golden brown. Add the tomatoes and cream to the mixture and cook for 15 minutes, while stirring.

Add the crawfish and allow them to simmer for two minutes before removing the pan from the heat.  Refrigerate the mixture until cool.

Pour the chilled crawfish mixture into the prepared 9-inch pie shell and bake for 40 minutes or until the pie shell is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and slice into 6 or 8 wedges.

Crawfish ‘Crez Bruno’
Crawfish Sautéed with Armagnac and Truffle
Serves 2

This is, by far, my favorite crawfish creation, inspired by a fabulous meal at Chez Bruno in Les Arcs, France.  We refer to this dish at our restaurant as the “French Crawfish Boil.”

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound whole large crawfish, blanched in salted water
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced  
1/2 cup Armagnac
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup shellfish stock
1 sprig tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced fresh truffle

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the crawfish. Continue to cook the crawfish for 3 minutes over high heat while stirring often.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot and garlic. Cook for two minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and deglaze with the Armagnac. Return the pan to moderate heat and cook for several minutes while the crawfish flame.  Add the cream, stock, tarragon, salt, red pepper flakes, and truffle.  Simmer the mixture for five minutes and serve.

Besh House Crawfish Boil
Serves 12 to 16

10 gallons water
3/4 cup kosher salt
2 boxes (3 ounces each) Zatarain’s crab boil
10 each lemons, cut in half
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
10 heads garlic, cut in half
5 onions, quartered
1/2 cup canola oil
5 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
5 pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into large pieces
20 small red bliss potatoes
2 pounds button mushrooms
10 ears of corn, cut in half
5 turkey necks (optional)
40 pounds live crawfish, cleaned with fresh water

Fill a large pot with 10 gallons of water, leaving room for all other ingredients.  Bring the water to a boil with the kosher salt, crab boil, lemons, cayenne pepper, garlic, onions, canola oil, and celery.  Allow this to simmer for 10 minutes and then add the andouille, potatoes, mushrooms, corn, and turkey necks (if you wish). Increase the heat and cook for 15 minutes.  Add the crawfish and allow the mixture to cook at a simmer for 8 minutes before turning the heat off. Once the heat has been turned off, let the crawfish sit for 15 to 20 minutes before draining.  Pour the contents of the strained pot onto a picnic table covered with The Times-Picayune (or your local newspaper) and feast!

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