4 perfect crawfish recipes for a special occasion or as a quick midweek dinner! Get inspired

Do you love seafood or just want to try something new? For both variants, we have prepared these delicious crawfish recipes that are worth trying!

The meat of this marine crustacean is similar in taste to lobster, but at a fraction of the price, so go for it with gusto!

There is no doubt that this dish will become one of your favorites because it is absolutely delicious!

What do you say about them?

Lobster with creamy risotto

Crawfish risotto is a delicious dinner for special occasions. Whether it’s an anniversary, Valentine’s Day or birthday, a recipe like this is the perfect choice for private celebrations at home.

What will we need

1. 125 g of aborio rice
2. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. 200 ml of white wine
4. 750 ml of chicken stock
5. 250 g mushrooms (cleaned and chopped)
6. ½ chopped onion
7. 4 cloves of garlic (pressed)
8. 3 tablespoons of butter
9. 125 g Parmesan (grated)
10. 750 g cooked crawfish (tails)
11. Salt
12. Pepper
13. Lemon stripped of juice and peel
14. A spoonful of chopped parsley

Method

1. Coat the pan with a thick layer of olive oil
2. Add pressed garlic and fry
3. Remove the garlic from the pan when it becomes fragrant and before it turns brown
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry until they release their liquid
5. Then season them with salt and pepper, mix
6. Take them out of the pan and put the liquid they released into a bowl next to it
7. Return the pan to the stove and brush with oil again
8. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper
9. Cook the onion until it is soft and translucent
10. Add the rice and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly
11. Add a little white wine so that the rice is covered and stir until it is completely absorbed
12. Add a little chicken stock to cover the rice and stir again until absorbed
13. Repeat this twice more until the rice is cooked “al dente”
14. While the rice is cooking, add the crawfish to the pan with a tablespoon of butter
15. Sprinkle them with salt, and once they are warm, sprinkle them with fresh lemon
16. Mix the mushrooms, their liquid and crawfish into the rice
17. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and cheese to the rice, mix
18. Serve the risotto with crawfish immediately sprinkled with parsley and sprinkled with lemon zest and a little Parmesan cheese on top

Crawfish soup

Crawfish meat is tender, soft and very easy to prepare. Similar in taste and texture to lobster, but at a fraction of the cost. This recipe is a really easy option for a quick midweek dinner, but also elegant enough for special occasions.

What will we need

1. 8 tablespoons butter (divided)
2. 160 g yellow onion (diced)
3. 60 g celery (diced)
4. 60 g carrots (diced)
5. 70 ml of tomato puree
6. 950 ml of chicken stock
7. ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
8. ½ tsp onion powder
9. A teaspoon of dried tarragon
10. 250 ml red wine (sweet)
11. 340 g crawfish tails (boiled and peeled, thawed)
12. 450 ml thick whipping cream
13. 4 tablespoons of flour
14. ½ teaspoon of salt
15. ½ teaspoon of pepper
16. Grated Parmesan

Method

1. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan and add chopped onion, carrot and celery
2. Fry the vegetables for 8-10 minutes until they are soft
3. Remove half of the vegetables from the pan and set aside
4. Add the tomato puree paste to the pot and continue to cook for another 1 minute, then add the stock, garlic, onion, tarragon and wine
5. Bring the mixture to a boil in the pan
6. Add 60 g of crawfish and mix everything with an immersion blender
7. Add the cream and bring to a boil again
8. Meanwhile, make the roux by melting the remaining butter in a non-stick pan, then add the flour and stir for about 3 minutes, until everything is mixed and the flour starts to brown
9. Stir the broth into the soup
10. Once the soup has thickened, add back the reserved vegetables and the remaining crawfish
11. Taste the crawfish soup and season with salt and pepper
12. Let the crawfish warm up in the soup for a few minutes and then serve the soup sprinkled with Parmesan cheese

Dumplings filled with crawfish meat

Simply fry the meaty tails in a pat of butter and capers, then add them to the buttered and toasted buns. If you are a lover of seafood or just want to try something new for dinner, all recipes with crawfish will simply fall in love and become a regular part of your diet.

What will we need

1. 340 g of crawfish tails
2. ½ teaspoon of salt
3. 6 tablespoons butter (soft)
4. 4 baguettes (hot dog buns)
5. Spoon fresh chives (finely chopped)
6. A teaspoon of lemon juice
7. A teaspoon of capers (drained)
8. Lemon wedges (to serve)

Method

1. Thaw the lobster tails overnight (if using frozen)
2. Then drain them well and dry them
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat
4. Cut each bun or baguette and spread it with butter
5. Then put the baguettes in the pan and fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side
6. Set the baguettes aside to cool slightly
7. In the same pan, melt another 2 tablespoons of butter
8. Add lemon juice and capers
9. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until the capers start to sizzle
10. Add the crawfish and cook until heated through
11. Stir the mixture in the pan so that the crawfish are coated in butter
12. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and set aside
13. Pour the crawfish mixture evenly into the balls and drizzle them with the remaining melted butter

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Grilled lobster with pickled fennel

This delicious grilled seafood recipe makes a great appetizer for any special occasion. The meat is tossed in a mild but bold sauce, seaweed butter and pickled fennel, which adds a twist to the dish and pairs well with the strong fish sauce.

What will we need

1. 12 crawfish (cooked tails)
2. Olive oil
3. Salt

For pickled fennel

• Fennel
• 100 ml of white wine
• 100 ml of white wine vinegar
• 50 ml of water
• 50 g of sugar
• A teaspoon of thyme
• Teaspoon of salt

For the sauce

1. Onion (chopped)
2. 2 celery sticks (chopped)
3. Fennel
4. 3 cloves of garlic
5. 4 sprigs of thyme
6. Bay leaf
7. Star anise
8. A spoonful of tomato puree
9. 75 ml of brandy
10. 250 ml of white wine
11. 250 g of tomatoes
12. 2 liters of fish stock

On the buttermilk

1. 100 ml of buttermilk
2. A teaspoon of lemon juice
3. A teaspoon of lemon zest
4. Salt
5. Pepper

For seaweed butter

1. 250 g of butter
2. 2 sheets of nori seaweed

Method

1. We start by preparing the pickled fennel
2. Remove and save the tops of the fennel, then thinly slice the onion
3. Season the fennel with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes
4. In the meantime, prepare the varnish by mixing white wine, vinegar, sugar, thyme and water in a pot
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, and as soon as it boils, remove the pot from the heat
6. Wash off the salt from the fennel slices and carefully dry them with a kitchen towel
7. We put it in a container or glass and cover it with warm varnish
8. Cover and let the slices marinate for at least 3 hours
9. Bake the crawfish pieces in the oven for 20 minutes until golden
10. Meanwhile, fry the onion, celery, fennel and garlic in a pan, then add the herbs and star anise
11. Add the tomato puree to the pan and let it cook for 2 minutes
12. Pour brandy and white wine into the pan, add tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes
13. Add the broth to the pan and bring everything to a boil
14. Then reduce the temperature slightly and cook for another 30 minutes
15. Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes
16. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean saucepan and heat until it turns into a thick sauce
17. Season to taste and then remove the pan from the heat and keep warm until serving the crawfish
18. Grind the nori seaweed into the butter in a food processor until a fine powder is formed
19. Beat the softened butter until creamy and then stir in the seaweed
20. Put the butter in a cool place until needed
21. For the buttermilk, mix together the milk and lemon juice with the zest until well combined
22. Add salt to taste and, if necessary, add more lemon juice
23. Place a pan on the stove and heat it to high heat until hot, then add the crawfish, season with salt and a little oil, and place in the pan
24. Grill them for about 1 minute until they caramelize on one side
25. Then take them out of the pan and brush them with seaweed butter
26. If we want to serve grilled crawfish, spread each plate with a little buttermilk and a teaspoon of sauce
27. Arrange a large portion of pickled fennel in the center of the plate and top with grilled crawfish and the reserved fennel stalk

How does the crawfish eat

Start by holding the head with one hand and the tail with the other.

Put your head aside.

Any ‘bits’ you don’t eat can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Later, you can make crawfish soup from them (recipe above).

Use both thumbs to break open the shell.

The meat should now slide out easily.

Cut the meat off the back of the crawfish and serve.

How to cook crawfish

Basic method

The most basic method of cooking langoustines is simply to cook them in a pressure cooker and peel them at the table.

No matter how you cook them, place them in the freezer for 30 minutes to stun them before cooking.

Bring a large pan of heavily salted water to the boil (1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water)

Being careful not to overcrowd the pan, add the crawfish, in batches if necessary, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to overcook.

You can tell if they are ready by the underside of the tail; it will be white when cooked as opposed to translucent when the crawfish is raw.

Remove the crawfish from the pan and drain before serving.

Serve on a large plate with a little mayonnaise for dipping, lemon wedges and a pinch of salt.

Other methods

Place the crawfish directly on the hot grill (cut in half lengthwise, cut side up) and grill for a few minutes. Grilling on charcoal or wood gives crustaceans a slightly smoky flavor.

To make the crawfish easy, blanch them in boiling salted water for about 20 seconds, then remove them from the pot and immediately plunge them into ice water. You then easily pull the head and claws off, then squeeze the belly in to break the carapace. Peel off the carapace by running a sharp knife along the back and remove the black thread (gut and digestive tract). Finish cooking the crawfish either by frying them in a pan with butter until blanching/pinking, or by poaching them in a sauce, soup or stock.