Crawfish Pies

I absolutely love crawfish pie. Usually for a meal, it’s served as a regular pie in slices, but since the main course for the party was the actual boil, I decided to make mini hand pies. I made the filling the night before, allowing the flavors to meld in the fridge overnight. I definitely recommend doing this because the filling was firm to work with for making these pies, and also, the flavor was definitely awesome!

The only problem I have with this original recipe is that it calls for 1 cup of oil. This was WAY too much oil, in my opinion. I ended up spooning the oil/fat off of it and after measuring it, that was almost 1/2 cup of oil! My husband also pointed out that a roux is usually 1:1, which is essentially what you are making in the end to thicken the filling. So, next time, I’m using 1/2 cup of oil in the recipe!

Crawfish Pies
Adapted from John Folse

Ingredients:

• 1 pound crawfish tails
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup tasso ham, diced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• salt and cracked pepper to taste
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 packs of refrigerated pie dough sheets

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 10-inch saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and tasso ham. Saute 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.
3. Add crawfish and saute an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and using a wire whisk, stir constantly until white roux is achieved. Add tomato sauce and slowly add broth, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. (NOTE: You may not use all of the broth.)
4. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes. Season to taste using salt, pepper and Tabasco. Remove from heat and allow to cool, preferably overnight.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine egg, milk and water. Using a wire whisk, stir until all ingredients are well blended.
6. Using the rim of a cup, cut the pie dough into circles. Place about 1 tsp. of filling center of each circle.
7. Brush the edges of pastry with eggwash and fold over in a crescent shape. Crimp the edges closed with a fork and pierce the top of the pie to create vents for steam to escape during cooking. Brush eggwash over pies and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.