Cooking Resources

giggler · 10-09-2011, 07:19 AM

This dish continues to elude me..

I make a mean shrimp creole and a Nice shrimp gumbo..

but I think etoufe is Shrimp in Brown Gravy..

no Tomatoes..but very light, served over rice.

Help Please? Eric, Austin Tx.

pacanis · 10-09-2011, 07:37 AM

Brown gravy? I thought it was a dark roux? A lot of those dishes seem to run together for me though... gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya...
I'm interested in the responses to this.

CraigC · 10-09-2011, 07:41 AM

Etouffee requires a roux (I prefer red-brown), the trinity (onion, green pepper and celery), garlic, spices and stock. Those are the basics, IMO, no matter what the protien. Of course stock and spices, would be based on the protien.

Since you make gumbo, these ingredients should be familiar. "Smothered" shrimp, is basically a gumbo with a lot less stock!

Craig

Claire · 10-09-2011, 07:45 AM

The brown gravy is definitely a roux. I'm trying to think of what show I saw yesterday morning which made this step so easy. I think America's Home Kitchen. They lightly toasted the flour before adding the oil, which immediately turned a beautiful golden brown. It was then put it in the oven to wait for the rest of the meal. It looked so much easier than the traditional methods.

Constance · 10-09-2011, 08:29 AM

The dishes change according to the cooks. When I lived down on the bayou, the neighbor fixed a dish she called shrimp etouffee, which was pink and very rich. I know it started with a roux, and had cream in it, obviously some tomato product, and I'm guessing stock from shellfish.

Many of her dishes had some fine herb in them that I now think was probably thyme. I have often thought of Naomi and her kindness to me.

pacanis · 10-09-2011, 08:43 AM

Basically gumbo with less stock, I like that definition, Craig.

G_Licious · 10-09-2011, 09:57 AM

A roux is a thickener.

CraigC · 10-09-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G_Licious

A roux is a thickener.

That is true, but in a lot of Cajun cooking, it can be thinned for recipes like etouffee, to be more "gravy" like.

Craig

Sir_Loin_of_Beef · 10-09-2011, 11:22 AM

I was planning on making this for Sunday dinner today, but the chicken chow mein I was supposed to make yesterday has already been Mise en placed.

Food & Wine Chicken-and-Andouille Étouffée Recipe. Just subsititue ½ or all of the chicken with shrimp. I am going to substitute half the chicken with bay shrimp when I make it, probably next week some time.

Andy M. · 10-09-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir_Loin_of_Beef

I was planning on making this for Sunday dinner today, but the chicken chow mein I was supposed to make yesterday has already been Mise en placed.

Food & Wine Chicken-and-Andouille Étouffée Recipe. Just subsititue ½ or all of the chicken with shrimp. I am going to substitute half the chicken with bay shrimp when I make it, probably next week some time.

It's interesting the linked recipe has no seasonings other than S&P.