Hang out with the Swamp Chef for a new holiday classic, Crawfish Stuffing! When I served it to my Cajun family, they gave it a big thumbs up.
If you haven't met the Swamp Chef, he's my brother from another daddy. I once asked my Mom who the daddy was, and she said, "That's a good question".
The Swamp Chef came in from the bayou over a decade ago, and we haven't been able to get rid of him since.
What makes this stuffing recipe unique is the combination of the veggie Cajun Trinity and Louisiana Crawfish.
The Cajun Trinity is comprised of chopped bell pepper, celery, and onion. Sauté the veggies until soft and add them to your favorite stuffing recipe. I like a cornbread stuffing from the box.
Adding cooked and peeled crawfish to the stuffing mix is the cherry on top. Crawfish are milder in taste than shrimp, and small like bay shrimp, so they do not overwhelm a typical turkey stuffing. I like crumbled pork sausage in my stuffing, but substituting crawfish is a tasty change-up.
Crawfish are easy to come by in Louisiana. They're sold in 12-ounce to one-pound frozen packages. I buy them when they are on sale and put them in the freezer until ready to use.
Click on any photo to see larger.
You can buy locally sourced packaged crawfish or the cheaper crawfish from China. Guess which one real Cajuns buy?
They are cooked and peeled and ready to heat up and eat when defrosted. Add a whole package to the stuffing mix before shoving it into the big bird before roasting.
I use 2 boxes of stuffing from the Dollar Tree, but most grocers sell it pretty cheap. I prefer cornbread stuffing mixes. There are easy-to-make cornbread mixes that are even cheaper than boxed cornbread stuffing.
You can cook the Crawfish Stuffing in the turkey or separately in a pan. I cook my stuffing in the turkey. After the turkey is done, I remove the stuffing and place it into a pan to bake an extra 15 minutes in the oven to make sure the turkey juices are cooked through.
A roasted turkey straight from the oven needs to rest about 10 minutes anyway so the juices redistribute. And while that is going on, the Crawfish Stuffing can finish cooking in the oven.
You can use any favorite Stuffing Recipe you like, but adding the sautéed Trinity of veggies and cooked crawfish makes the most unusually tasty Swamp Chef Turkey Stuffing. If you don't trust the Swamp Chef, then trust me, it's darn delicious.
Play it here, video runs 5 minutes, 18 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding: just click here.
Ingredients
- 2 Boxes of Cornbread Mix - each box is 6 ounces. Okay to use any packaged stuffing mix you like.
- 1 Cup Water - for 2 boxes of cornbread mix, according to the directions.
- Cooked Crawfish - I used a 1-pound package of cleaned, cooked, and peeled crawfish.
- Cajun Trinity Veggies - 1 chopped onion, 2 ribs of celery, and 1 bell pepper.
- Garlic Powder - 1 teaspoon, optional.
- 2 Slices of Toast - optional.
- 1 Tablespoon Oil - to sauté veggies.
- 2 Tablespoons Butter - or a butter substitute.
Directions
Over medium heat, sauté the Cajun Trinity of chopped bell pepper, celery, and onion until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add 2 boxes of Cornbread Stuffing Mix. Okay to add any favorite Stuffing Mix. Follow box directions.
Tear apart 2 slices of toast into bite-sized pieces. I like a little bread to soften the Stuffing - this is optional.
Sprinkle in a teaspoon of Garlic Powder, optional. Add 2 tablespoons of butter or a butter substitute.
Pour in 1 cup of hot water (for 2 boxes), according to box directions. Mix the stuffing ingredients until the Cornbread chunks soften.
Finally, pour in a 1-pound package of Crawfish Tails. In Louisiana, you can find Crawfish Tails in the frozen seafood case. They are cleaned, cooked, and peeled - ready to eat.
Mix the Crawfish Tails and Cornbread Stuffing. Now it is ready to stuff the Turkey.
You can cook the Crawfish Stuffing separately in a baking dish or piled on a pan. Cook the stuffing for about an hour (when the turkey is an hour away from being done), if you have room in the oven. For extra flavor, add some pan drippings to the stuffing when you first start baking it.
Bake the Stuffed Turkey according to the package directions. Typically, 3 hours at 325 degrees for a 10- to 12-pound turkey. Click here for an easy-to-follow turkey baking chart.
You want the dark meat internal temperature to be about 165 degrees. I usually cover the turkey breast (not the stuffing) with aluminum foil for the first 2 hours, then remove it so the skin browns during the last hour or two.
Keep an eye on the stuffing after a couple of hours. If it gets close to browning too much, then cover it with aluminum foil.
When the Turkey is done and resting on the kitchen counter, I will remove the Crawfish Stuffing. I like to see if it is too mushy. Also, the Turkey may need a bit more cooking if the cleaned turkey interior is a little pink.
Once the Crawfish Stuffing is removed to a baking dish, I cook it another 15 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven to firm it up, or to make sure it is cooked all the way through, just to be safe.
Serve slices of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, and scoop on plenty of my Cajun Crawfish Stuffing.
