Good recipes using pre-cooked crawfish tails

You know when you’re in the grocery store and you see those frozen packages of cooked crawfish tails? I always want to buy some but I never do because I can’t immediately think of a recipe to make.

But not anymore. Crawfish bread, y’all. This sounds delicious.

Crawfish Bread

1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread, halved lengthwise

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup finely-chopped sweet onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound cooked crawfish tails

3/4 cup chopped green onion

1 tbsp freshly-chopped parsley

1 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 (8-ounce) package

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Parsley

Preheat oven to 375°. Place bread halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Divide mayonnaise between bread halves, spreading evenly. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sweet onion, and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add crawfish, green onion, and parsley, stirring to combine. Cook until crawfish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Add Cajun seasoning and cream cheese. Remove from heat, and stir until cheese is incorporated.

Divide mixture between bread halves, spreading evenly to cover. Top each half with cheeses and paprika. Bake until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil. Broil 6 inches from heat until cheese has browned, about 2 minutes. Top with parsley, if desired.

—kwc—

And, because I think those frozen bags of crawfish tails are more than one pound, here’s another two so you”ll get your money’s worth.

Crawfish Dirty Rice

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced celery

1 cup diced sweet yellow onion

1 pound cooked crawfish tail meat

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

2 cups long-grain rice (cooked according to package directions)

3/4 cup seafood or chicken stock

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and celery, and cook, stirring frequently, until nearly tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in crawfish, garlic, salt, cayenne, and paprika; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, stock, and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Cold Crawfish Dip

1 lb crawfish tails

3 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves minced

8-oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup of mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tbsp salt free Cajun seasonings

1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Melt butter over medium heat, add onions, celery and garlic, cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add crawfish and cook for 2 minutes.

Mix together all other ingredients except sour cream then add to crawfish mix and melt.

Take off heat and cool and store in the refrigerator for an hour or so then add sour cream.

If possible store overnight and serve with chips, crackers or toasted baguette bread.