Field to Feast: Jenny's Crawfish Stew

Crawfish season is here, and the crawdads are big and plentiful this year! In this month’s Field to Feast, TWILA's Jennifer Finley and Commander's Palace Executive Chef Tory Mcphail take us to Four Oaks Farm in Pointe Coupee, where they’re running crawfish traps and cooking up a crawfish dumpling stew you're sure to enjoy! You can find the recipe and video below.

Four Oaks Farms

Four Oaks Farms is a crawfish farm in Pointe Coupee Parish, operated by crawfish farmer Matt Frey.

What goes into Crawfishin’?

The first thing Matt Frey tells everybody is there is nothing easy about it! There is no way of getting that crawfish to the public without picking a sack up, running the boat, picking the traps, fighting the weather, the rain, the cold — everything! It is a physical, demanding thing.

What is Jenny’s Crawfish Stew?

It’s a riff on chicken and dumplings, a classic American dish. Our dumplings are made with spicy fried-chicken and we add Louisiana crawfish!

Jenny’s Crawfish Stew

Ingredients:

Stew:

About 4 tbs butter
2.5 ounces of garlic and shallot mixture
2.5 ounces of diced sweet onion
2.5 ounces of diced celery
1.5 ounces of diced carrots
2 tablespoon of flour
1/4 cup of Liquor
2.5 ounces of crawfish stock
1 cup of chicken stock
1-8 ounce can of peas
1 lb. of crawfish

Instructions:

Dumplings

2.5 ounces of all-purpose flour, mixed with salt, sugar and pepper
Buttermilk
Crawfish-boil fried chicken
Crawfish tails
1 tsp chopped Thyme
1 tbs chopped green onions

Stew:

Add 2.5 butter your handy pot at medium-high heat.
Once your butter is melted and a little brown, add in your garlic and shallot mixture. Add your salt and pepper. Continue to stir and sauté down your mixture until shallots and garlic are tender.
Once your mixture is tender, add in your french trinity — onion, celery and carrots. Add another tablespoon or two of butter.
Add flour to the mixture to create your roux. Continue stirring your flour in to your sauté mixture.
Add half of your liquor to the pot. Be careful, as the liquor will catch on fire. Shake the pot before placing it back on the heat.
Add your crawfish stock to the mixture and stir.
Add the chicken stock and stir. Bring your mixture to a boil on medium heat.
Once your dumplings are ready, scoop one tablespoon of dough into a ball and place them into your pot.
After your dumplings are in, gently scoop peas, drained and washed, and crawfish tails into pot.
Cover pot and simmer for 5-6 minutes before serving

Dumplings:

Add your flour mixture (salt, pepper and a little bit of white sugar), into a mixing bowl.
Add buttermilk to your mixture, and fold the dough until you have a doughy consistency
Add your chopped fried chicken and continue folding until chicken is distributed evenly
Add your crawfish tails and continue folding your dough
Sprinkle in fresh thyme and green onions

Disclaimer: These are estimated measurements, and are flexible to your needs. Content and photographs are protected. We encourage you to share this recipe with family, friends and online. Post your photos with #fieldtofeast and tag us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.