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Crawfish Boulettes

Source of Recipe

From "Real Cajun" by Donald Link


Recipe Introduction

"Boulettes, or 'little balls,' are essentially deep-fried balls of meat or crawfish stuffing. Crispy, savory, and satisfying, they are popular at festivals throughout Louisiana, particularly the crawfish festival in Breaux Bridge. The base for this recipe is similar to that of �touff�e and crawfish pie filling, but it is combined with bread crumbs (which also makes these Cajun fish patties economical). The boulettes are coated with additional bread crumbs and fried, which gives them a crisp crust and rich, satisfying flavor. Like most of my favorite snacks, these are great�you guessed it�with plenty of hot sauce and cold beer."

List of Ingredients

◦� 3 tablespoons butter
◦� � medium onion, finely chopped
◦� � green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
◦� � jalape�o pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
◦� 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
◦� 2 teaspoons salt
◦� 1 � teaspoons dried oregano
◦� � teaspoon each paprika and chili powder
◦� � teaspoon cayenne pepper
◦� � teaspoon ground white pepper
◦� Pinch of ground black pepper
◦� � pound crawfish meat
◦� � cup crawfish, shrimp, or chicken broth
◦� 1 tablespoon lemon juice
◦� Dash of Worcestershire sauce
◦� Dash of hot sauce
◦� � cup finely chopped scallions (white and green parts)
◦� � cup finely chopped parsley
◦� 4 cups dry bread crumbs
◦� 1 large egg, lightly beaten
◦� Vegetable oil, for frying
◦� 3 cups all-purpose flour
◦� 3 cups well-shaken buttermilk


Recipe

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalape�o, celery, salt, oregano, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, and white and black pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the crawfish and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, along with the lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, scallions, and parsley and cook for an additional minute, stirring until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and cool for about 20 minutes. Add 1 � cups of the bread crumbs and the beaten egg and stir to combine. The mixture should be thick and sticky enough to hold its shape when formed into a ball.

Using your fingers, roll the filling into golf ball-size rounds. (If the balls do not hold together well, you can add another � cup bread crumbs, or chill the filling for 30 minutes.) Place the finished boulettes on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat 2 � to 3 inches of oil in a large pot or cast-iron skillet to 350� F.

Roll each ball in flour, dip in buttermilk, and then roll through the remaining bread crumbs. Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot, fry the boulettes (they should be submerged in oil) until golden and crusty, about 3 minutes, then drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Makes about 20



❧ Note:
If you don't have buttermilk in your fridge, you can use an equal amount of milk combined with one beaten egg.