Lamprey Etoufee Recipes

BEER-BATTERED FRIED LAMPREY

Steps:

• To clean lampreys: after catching and killing the fish, pop it into boiling water for a few seconds to help remove the slimy coating. Though a knife will often be all that's needed to scrape it away, any remaining vestiges can be rubbed off the skin with a rough cloth. Cut off the tail (usually about 6 inches long), then tie a string around the head and suspend the fish over the sink to drain the blood. Open bronchial holes on the side of the fish and allow the blood to empty Then, remove the intestines and notocordium (the long, dark bitter-tasting organ running down the abdomen). Rinse the fish again and then decapitate it by slicing around the body and pulling off the head. If you don't want crunchy lamprey, make sure the thick, bony cartilage comes out with the head. Discard both.
• To make the batter: Mix the dry ingredients together.
• Add beer slowly, stirring constantly, until you get the texture of pancake batter.
• Let sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 20 minutes to allow the gluten to break down.
• Cut cleaned fish into 1" sections and drop into the batter.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan to 350°F.
• Drop the battered fish in the hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides, about three minutes.
• Serve immediately.

CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the sherry and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and crawfish tails and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice.
• Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.
• Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with additional parsley.

CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and whisk in flour to combine well. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until roux is a peanut butter color.
• Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and cook until vegetables are soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, salt, red pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
• Skim surface, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add crawfish tails and fat, lemon juice, green onions, and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining butter and stir to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over hot rice.

CHEF JOHN'S SHRIMP ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• Whisk paprika, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
• Drain shrimp in a colander for at least 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels and dry shrimp for about 3 minutes. Remove paper towels from bowl and season shrimp with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon spice blend. Toss to coat shrimp with spice blend.
• Heat vegetable oil a large heavy skillet over high heat until oil is smoking hot. Cook shrimp in the hot oil without stirring for 1 minute; stir, and cook 1 minute more.
• Transfer shrimp to a large bowl. Let stand until juice forms in bowl. Strain shrimp juices into chicken stock to total 2 cups, adding more chicken stock if necessary.
• Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to turn tan at the edges. Saute onion, celery, and green pepper in hot butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in remaining spice blend.
• Sprinkle flour into vegetable mixture and saute until combined, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook until tomato juices begin to brown on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes. Whisk stock into vegetable mixture, stirring until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a gravy consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Season with salt to taste.
• Stir shrimp into etouffee sauce; let simmer until shrimp are cooked all the way through and no longer translucent, about 1 minute.
• Garnish with green onions and a dusting of cayenne pepper. Pour over rice in large, shallow bowls.