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Breaux Bridge Crawfish Pies

Source of Recipe

From "Real Cajun" by Donald Link


Recipe Introduction

"Crawfish pies are a weakness of mine that I associate with the crawfish festival in Breaux Bridge and the Jazz Fest in New Orleans, among others. Eating them is a family tradition, too; for many years Cassidy and I have made a stop at the Cypress Knee Café at the New Orleans Audubon Zoo to eat crawfish pies and red beans and rice, our special tradition. The filling in this pie is like an incredible etouffée packed into a crisp crust. Crawfish have a wonderful way of cooking down and permeating the other ingredients they are cooked with. In this case, the rice absorbs the flavor of the crawfish and the sauce. I often make these crisp, fin-to-eat pies at home when I have a group of friends coming over. The pies stay hot for a long time, so they're great to set out on a plate and let people nibble on, while I finish cooking the rest of the meal (everyone's always in the kitchen). It's rare to see me without a bottle of hot sauce in my hand when I'm eating these pies — I like a dash on every bite."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 tablespoons butter
â—¦ 1 medium onion, finely chopped
â—¦ 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
â—¦ 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
â—¦ 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
â—¦ 1 tablespoon salt
â—¦ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
â—¦ 1 teaspoon paprika
â—¦ 1 teaspoon chili powder
â—¦ ½ teaspoon dried thyme
â—¦ ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 pound Louisiana crawfish meat
â—¦ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 ½ cups chicken broth
â—¦ Dash of Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
â—¦ Dash of hot sauce
â—¦ 2 cups cooked rice
â—¦ ½ bunch scallions (green and white parts), minced
â—¦ 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
â—¦ Meat Pie Dough (recipe follows)
â—¦ 1 egg, lightly beaten
â—¦ Vegetable oil, for frying


Recipe

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, celery, pepper, jalapeño, salt, oregano, paprika, chili powder, thyme, cayenne, and white and black pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the crawfish meat to the vegetables, sprinkle the mixture with the flour, and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the chicken broth, Worcestershire, lemon juice, and hot sauce and simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice, scallions, and parsley. Taste for seasonings and add more lemon juice or hot sauce as desired. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 15 minutes, until chilled throughout (spreading it in a shallow dish speeds the process).

When you're ready to prepare the pies, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and a dusting of flour. Divide the dough into four even sections to make it easier to work with. Return three of the sections to the refrigerator. Dust the counter with a sprinkling of flour and roll out the first section until it's just under ¼ inch thick. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a similar-size bowl or jar lid), cut the dough into rounds. Save the scraps; they can be re-rolled if needed.

Lightly brush the outer edges of each circle with beaten egg.
Place 2 ½ tablespoons of filling in the center of each round. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-circle. Using the back side of fork tines, press around the edges to seal the pie. Transfer the pies to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough sections. When you fill a baking sheet, place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so the dough stays firm when you go to fry it. You can also freeze the uncooked pies. Just freeze them on the sheet pan first, and then when they are fully frozen, transfer them to a plastic freezer bag.

To fry the pies, heat 2 ½ inches of oil in a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven to 350° F. Fry the chilled pies in batches of four or five at a time, cooking for about 8 minutes, until golden. (Frozen pies will need 12 to 14 minutes.) Transfer the cooked pies to a sheet pan lined with paper towels or newspaper, and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the remaining pies.

Makes about 16 pies



Meat Pie Dough:

â—¦ 1 pound cold butter, cut into small pieces
â—¦ 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ cup ice water
â—¦ 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse pebbles. Using a fork, stir in the ice water until the dough pulls together, then use your hands to knead for a few minutes until it's smooth and evenly blended.

Roll the dough into a rectangle and fold it over itself three times like a letter. Repeat this process four times and reshape to a rectangle, and refrigerate until firm, at least 15 minutes.