Lobster Base for etouffee?

Did you look at the suggestions we gave you in the other thread you started on seafood base?

I'd use the More Than Gourmet seafood rather than lobster base especially if that base is salty.

What are the ingredients in the lobster base you want to use?

Here's a crawfish base, but it doesn't list the ingredients.

LINK

If you uses the already boiled crawfish for your stock, be aware that those seasonings will be in your stock and if the crawfish are highly peppered, your stock might be too peppery hot. I've washed/rinsed boiled before and it was still not usable. If you know of a place that seasons after the boil, you could ask for a few pounds with no additional seasoning or ask for mild if they offer various heats. Or, you could get a few pounds of live and use those.

The fat provides a lot of flavor, so that's another option. Get some boiled and take the fat from the heads and use it. You can add the tails to the dish as well. It doesn't take much unless you're making a large quantity.

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wanting to add some depth of flavor in my etouffee

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Post the recipe for advice...

I use the fat in the peeled tails, butter, and my aromatics and seasonings for flavor building. I'm not a fan of boiled crawfish flavors in my etouffee...just my preference. I do ALWAYS run a few ounces of water though my tailmeat package to get all of the goodness out. That's my "stock".

I use the second recipe (I think) in the River Roads book. Very few mods. Simple and awesome.

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Get a few lbs of boiled for the fat. No need to make a stock. All you need is as much fat as you can get.

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I disagree. If you're going to get the crawfish, why not go ahead and make a stock? You already have the shells/heads. Crawfish stock definitely kicks it up a notch in flavor.

I use a blonde butter roux for my 'base'. I add the flour after the Trinity, the way Folse does. Keeps the butter roux from getting dark.

And FWIW, I like using crawfish boil shells/heads to make a stock. I rinse them thoroughly and boil them in water, with no other ingredients. Just my preference.

This is what I've been doing. It's somewhat similar to Otis's recipe, I think. It's a good dish, but there are lots of variations that are good that other folks prefer.

Crawfish Etouffee:
2 lb. crawfish tails (fresh or frozen)
Crawfish fat
1-1/2 stick butter
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/2 chopped bell pepper
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. chopped green onion tops
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste
1 tbsp. cornstarch


Season the crawfish tails and set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat melt 1 stick of butter then sauté onions, bell pepper, and celery until they are clear add minced garlic. Add crawfish fat and 3/4 cup of water or seafood stock then let simmer 10 minutes. Add the seasoned crawfish tails and cook for 10 minutes over medium low heat.
Dissolve the cornstarch in a 1/4 cup of cold water and slowly add a little of the cornstarch mixture to thicken as/if desired. And let simmer for 5 minutes.
Add green onions and fresh parsley and seasoning as desired. Let simmer a few minutes more.
Then remove from heat cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Very similar, though I think I'm using about 2.5 to 3 sticks of butter for a 2 lb recipe, and I'm doing a blonde, quick roux with flour .Double the garlic and about 1/3 cup of water from the tailmeat pakage rinse. Pure, simple good flavors.