Chicken Etouffee
Chicken étouffée

I am probably the last person in the world who should be writing about Cajun food.

I mean, hello, I live in Indiana. I’ve never even driven through Louisiana, let alone actually stopped and had authentic Cajun cuisine there. I have pretty much no tolerance for spicy foods. And I certainly don’t have access to the freshest gulf-coast shrimp or Louisiana crawfish (hence why this recipe is made with chicken—we can do chicken here in the Midwest). I can write about corn. Or pork tenderloins. Or tomatoes. But I really have no business writing anything about chicken étouffée.

But I have to write about this étouffée, because it is so flipping good, it’d be a shame not to share it with you guys. So I’m going to go ahead and get it out of the way—I’m 100% sure this recipe isn’t even close to authentic. I’m also 100% sure it is incredibly delicious and totally worth you overlooking my culture appropriation (misappropriation?) of this beloved dish. Please forgive me.

chicken Étouffée

My first experience with chicken étouffée was in college. My college town is blessed with a rockin’ good restaurant selection. Name the cuisine, and you can find a restaurant serving it. You can get Turkish food. Or Thai. Or Afghan. There are three Tibetan restaurants (one owned by the Dalai Lama’s nephew). And, there is one Cajun restaurant that serves you big heaping portions of classic Louisiana dishes on top of rice in styrofoam containers. The place is always packed. They only offer a few dishes per day (written on a chalkboard). And they’re kinda mean to you when they take your order. It was awesome.

chicken Étouffée

I’ve been working on my Cajun cooking skills ever since. I’ve done a lot of research about étouffée, and the verdict is—no one agrees on anything about it. Ha! Some people swear étouffée doesn’t have tomatoes or a roux or cream sauce. Some people will yell at you for even suggesting an étouffée is made without tomatoes or a roux or cream sauce. Some folks will tell you it should be thick. Others will tell you it needs to be thin. I think there are as many chicken étouffée recipes out there as there are religions. And people are equally passionate about them. Don’t get between someone and their Mama’s étouffée recipe!

Worth noting, my Mama doesn’t have an chicken étouffée recipe (that I know of), but she does have a delicious red beans and rice recipe that I should share with you. I’m sure it isn’t authentic either.

Chicken Etouffee

One of the biggest points of contention in the étouffée is the roux. If you’ve never made a roux before, it’s basically a thickener made of fat (in the case of this recipe butter, and lots of it) and flour. In some recipes, you’ll barely cook the roux at all, just a few minutes to get off the raw flour taste. I’ve heard this called a light roux. It’s used a lot in cream sauces (think: Alfredo sauce). It doesn’t add much flavor to the dish, it’s mostly just for thickening purposes.

Chicken Etouffee

In other recipes, you cook the roux for much longer, and it helps give an incredible nutty, smoky, rich flavor to the dish. It takes a while, but the flavor is so, so, so worth it. These types are called dark roux. Which can be a bit of a misnomer, because a dark roux can span anywhere from being very light in color (called blonde, and cooked just slightly longer than a light roux) to super dark, black in color. The darker a roux gets, the less thickening power it has.

Some folks swear you don’t use a roux in étouffée. Others say you do, but it should be light. Or caramel colored. Or mocha colored. Or peanut butter colored. Some others say it should be dark (chocolatey or weathered penny colored). For my étouffée, I tend to go with something that looks like you mixed together peanut butter and chocolate. It’s dark enough to have some smoky flavor, but not so dark that you feel like you are licking a grill grate.

It takes about 20 minutes of constant stirring time to get the roux to this point. And it’s totally worth it. Making a roux is definitely an art form—one that I have yet to master. Getting a roux perfectly smooth and even and beautiful like you see on TV isn’t my strong suit. My roux never looks that way, but it does the trick. The roux for this dish is particularly ugly because it’s picked up all the delicious bits from browning off chicken thighs. Delicious, but not very attractive.

Chicken Etouffee

Something I think most étouffée lovers can agree on—it really is best the second day. I mean, it’s good fresh off the stove—really, really good. But when it sits in the fridge overnight and melds and marinates, it becomes something out-of-this-world. I know there are a lot of you out there that don’t like leftovers, but please make an exception this time, because you are going to have the best lunch ever tomorrow if you do.

chicken Étouffée

I like to serve my étouffée with a big pile of white rice (because, really, when you’re using this much butter, might as well go all in), but you can also serve it on top of mashed potatoes or with some crusty bread. If you do choose to go the rice route, I highly recommend cooking your rice with chicken stock and tossing a bay leaf or two while it is simmering away—it’ll give the rice a really subtle flavor that is beautiful with the étouffée.

chicken Étouffée

One last word on étouffée, don’t try to whip this up on a busy Tuesday evening after work. This is event cooking. As in, clear your schedule, put on some comfortable shoes, and go to town. This is the kind of dish you only make once or twice a year (around Mardi Gras, mayhaps?), and enjoy the heck of it while it’s around, but thank your lucky stars you don’t have to spend that much time over a hot stove every day of the year.

Enjoy!

 
Chicken Étouffée

Chicken Étouffée

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

This recipe for Chicken Étouffée may or may not be authentic, but it sure is delicious!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bottle beer (I recommend something not too heavy—an amber is good)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning {recommended: Tony Chachere's}
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • Louisiana hot sauce, to taste {recommended: Crystal}
  • Rice, minced parsley and diced green onions for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a heavy-bottom cast iron Dutch oven. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown each side of the thighs for 2-3 minutes, or until just seared and browned. Make sure not to crowd the pan. Remove the thighs to a plate, and continue with remaining thighs.
  2. Once all thighs are brown, lower heat to medium-low, then add the butter to the pot and melt completely. Add in the flour, and stir well to combine.
  3. Continue stirring constantly (or at least, very frequently), until the mixture is just a little darker than peanut butter, about 20-25 minutes. Make sure to scrape the "corners" of the pan to avoid any burning.
  4. Once the roux is the right color, add in the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until just beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.
  5. Pour in the beer, and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it and get all the good browned chicken bits in the étouffée.
  6. Add in the bay leaves, diced tomatoes with chiles, chicken stock, maple syrup, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and the chicken thighs. Also add in salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.
  7. Turn heat up to high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the mixture is thick, bubbly, and the chicken thighs are falling apart. Use two forks to shred the chicken thighs if they need any help.
  8. Serve with a big pile of rice, plus extra hot sauce for those who like it a little bit spicier. Top with minced parsley and diced green onions.

Notes

Make sure to taste along the way while cooking, the heat can really build in this dish, and it's better to let your dinner guests customize their own heat with hot sauce on the table than blow them out of your kitchen with their first bite.

Étouffée really is better the next day. Stash it in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving to hear a big chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" when you serve it.

Beer not your thing? No problem. Just use an extra cup and a half of chicken stock in place of it.

Speaking of chicken stock, homemade is an absolute must with this dish—the flavor is worth the extra time. If you're in a pinch, make sure you look for high quality low-sodium chicken stock from the grocery store.

The influence for this recipe comes from a lot of places. Check out these folks for other étouffée recipes: Emeril Lagasse, Real Cajun Recipes, Eat Live Run, The Curvy Carrot.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 370Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 1330mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 33g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

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21 Comments

  1. Hi there! This is such a favorite recipe of mine that I’ve shared with many people. I’m wondering about doubling the recipe…would I need to make any adjustments if I do?

    1. Hi, Amy! We’re so glad you like it! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about it. If you want to double this recipe, you should be fine to double everything without making any adjustments. Let us know how it turns out for you!

  2. Hi Cassie,
    This is excellent! It was definitely more “melded” the next day but I couldn’t help myself smelling it cook and not have a bowl. I made the roux in an old cast iron skillet and it only took about 15 minutes to cook to the right color. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing your recipe and the excellent instructions!

  3. Hi! I am a fellow Hoosier (went to IU and grew up in Southern IN) and I have been HARDCORE craving the tastes of my college days. I’m gonna try this out for sure. Thank you for adapting it and hopefully it will fulfill my Dats/Yats craving. I’ve been making a corn and black bean dish the past couple of weeks as an homage. Hopefully this will become a good addition to my recipe collection

  4. I saw you said you did this with BLW. That’s awesome (we are from Louisiana and I’d love to make it)! How did you adapt this for her?

    1. No adaptations. The chicken came out soft enough that you don’t really need to worry about a choking hazard. We just gave her some of the chicken and sauce and some of the rice in a pile. 🙂

  5. This is my first time making an etuoffee. My roux turned out just past blonde. I added smoked sausage to the pot, I hope that it turns out ok. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

  6. I’m trying this version tonite. I live 90 miles East of New Orleans- I eat alligator and make a great sauce piquant and I just literally swatted away three mosquitos typing this. I think I can tell you- in my opinion this recipe is very authentic. I only consider it an ettouffee is it is a buttery roux (u got that), celery and onion (u got that) and a tomato added in some way- whether a sauce or whole. Be proud! I’ll tell you how I like it. A Pinterest pin led me to your blog- I’m really enjoying reading it! I’ll be back. Kerri from MS ?