Brady Kidder's Recipe

Crawfish Bisque

Category: Recipes

For the Stuffed Crawfish Heads/Croquettes:
1 pound crawfish tails
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tablespoon minced garlic
3 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
Cajun All-Purpose Seasoning
*45 cleaned crawfish heads
Flour for dusting
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grind crawfish tails, onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in a home-style meat grinder or food processor. Once ground, add eggs and enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together but not so much that the stuffing becomes too bready. Begin with 1 cup. Season the mixture liberally with all-purpose seasoning.
*Stuff the crawfish heads with as much stuffing as possible. Gently coat the stuffed heads with flour and arrange them on a large sheet pan. Spray the stuffed heads with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned to fully cook the stuffing.
Remove and set aside.

*If you don't have access to crawfish heads you can make small croquettes with the stuffing. If you are making croquettes don't coat them in flour like you do with the heads.

For The Bisque:
2 quarts seafood stock
6 ounces dark roux
2 tablespoons chicken base
1 tablespoons paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet
2 medium onions, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 pound cleaned crawfish tails
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped parsley

In a 6 quart Dutch oven bring 1 quart of stock to a near boil. Wisk in the roux and stir until it is dissolved. Stir in the remaining stock, chicken base, seasonings, kitchen bouquet, and the diced vegetables. Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes. Reduce to simmer and add the crawfish tails and the stuffed crawfish heads or croquettes. Stir well into the mixture and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It is important to stir the dish since the crawfish will settle to the bottom of the pot and may tend to scorch. Stir in the green onions and parsley.
Serve with hot cooked rice.