Directions:
1 stick butter or margarine
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 cup julienne mushrooms
3 ribs celery, finely diced
1/2 bell pepper, finely diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can evaporated milk
2 tsp. Frank Davis Seafood Seasoning
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
3 Tbsp. cornstarch + ? cup cold water
2 lbs. crawfish tails with fat
1/2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. parsley, minced
2 pkgs. Pillsbury Ready-Made Pie Crust
1 beaten egg white
Instructions:
First, in a heavy 12-inch skillet, melt the margarine or butter and cook down the onions, mushrooms, celery, bell pepper, and garlic over a medium-high fire until the onions soften and turn clear. Note that it is not necessary to caramelize (or brown) the onions in this dish since they will later be finished by baking. But you do want to continuously stir the mixture as it cooks so that the garlic doesn't burn and turn bitter.
Next, pour in the mushroom soup and the evaporated milk, taking care to fully combine them both into the smothered seasoning vegetables. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the seafood seasoning, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, being careful to equally and uniformly combine them with the sauce base.
At this point, it's time to stir in the cornstarch and water mixture. Remember that as it cooks, the mixture will begin to thicken (actually, you should plan to cook the base over a medium heat for about 5 minutes). When the base reaches the consistency of a thickened roux, this is when you add and fold in the crawfish tails, green onions, and parsley. Again, taste for the right amount of seasoning and spice, cover the pan, and cook once more for about five minutes, this time on a low fire so that you don't toughen the crawfish tails and turn them into nib lets resembling rubber bands.
While the stuffing is simmering, place the bottom crust dough into a pie pan, slide the pan into the oven, and bake it for about 7 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees (you might want to place a handful of baking beads or dry red beans onto the crust to keep it from puffing as it browns).
Then when the pie crust has pre-baked and is ready, fill it with heaping spoonfuls of the crawfish stuffing, place the top crust onto the pie, vent it with a couple of pokes from a paring knife, brush it liberally with some of the beaten egg white, slide it back into the 400-degree oven, and bake it for another 25-30 minutes or until the crust turns a flaky golden brown.
To be authentic, serve the crawfish pie table warm alongside an ice cold green salad with a French vinaigrette dressing and a frosty glass of Barq's Root Beer. C'est si bon!
Chef's Notes:
For best results, I suggest you allow the stuffing mix to cool slightly before placing it into the pie crust. This way the pie doesn't come out soggy after it has baked.
I also suggest you make sure the stuffing has thickened sufficiently before placing it into the pie crust or your finished pie will turn out to be too runny.
Table warm means you wait at least 15 minutes after the pie comes out of the oven before you slice it to serve it-the delay will give the stuffing time to set up!
Note: Because we use frames on the site, you'll have to take special care when trying to print the recipes - but it ain't that hard. First, click on the frame with recipe, then go to your FILE pull down menu and click on PRINT FRAME.
-Frank
Follow the link below for Frank's Special Seasonings
