Crawfish Meat Casserole

Recipe from Kate Logan

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Cooking time: 45 min

Servings 4

A very hearty dish made from simple ingredients that everyone has at home, with the possible exception of crawfish. But if suddenly you have a couple of ones, then why don't you make a delicious and tender casserole for the whole family from them. In addition, crayfish will give a special taste that will remind you of the wonderful days, Crawfish Meat Casserole spent on the sunny coast.

Crawfish

1,6 lbs.
Potatoes

1,2 lbs.
Carrots

1,2 lbs.
Bechamel sauce

12 fl.oz.
Milk

16 fl.oz.
Cold water

16 fl.oz.
Butter

4 sticks
Bread flour

20 oz.

Calories

345 kcal
Protein

12 g
Fat

34 g
Carbohydrates

68 g

Wash, peel with a knife and cut the potatoes like french fries or strips. Fry the potatoes in a large amount of hot vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over high heat until cooked and golden. Be careful not to overcook, otherwise the potatoes will give a rancid taste to the casserole.
Wash and peel carrots, grate them on a coarse grater. If you do not have enough carrots and the filling is not enough, you can take cabbage and chop it in julienne. This way the casserole will be more hearty.
Take the crawfish, rinse them in water and brush off any excess dirt. Put a pot with salted water and put the crawfish into it. Cook the crawfish over medium heat until the shell turns red. After it, the crawfish are ready. Take them out and peel off the shell with a knife or your hands. Remove the meat from the claws and tails as well.
Chop the crawfish meat with a knife and mix with chopped cabbage and carrots in a deep bowl. You can use a ready-made bechamel sauce, or you can make it yourself - for this you need to melt the butter in a pan, add the flour, stir quickly and gradually add milk, stirring all the time, add a little boiling water (preferably add the broth in which the crawfish was boiled, so that the taste is richer), mix everything very carefully, salt, pepper and bring to a slight thickening. All mixed with the sauce, if it was too thick, add a little of cream. Place in a baking mold. Heat the oven to 400 °F, put the slices or grated cheese on the top of the casserole and put it into the oven for about 30 minutes, until the cheese melts and roasts. Done! Pierce the casserole with a putty knife. If nothing sticks to it, then you can take it out and let it cool a bit. Cut it to pieces with a knife and serve.

You can choose not to fry the potatoes as in step 1, but note that in this case you will need to bake the casserole a little longer. The potatoes should become soft and pierce well.
The main rules to peel the crawfish.

First, you should inspect the tail, if there is a caviar under it - the crawfish is edible and tasty.
Then you should tear off the thin walking legs. Under no circumstances they should be thrown away, because they contain meat, and if the crawfish is large - quite a lot. It is not difficult to get this meat - break the legs at the joints and squeeze the contents.
Now, separate the claws. There is not much less delicacy in them than in the crawfish neck. The edge of the shell near the joint should be cut with scissors and the meat removed through the hole formed.
Holding the crawfish, separate the abdomen from the torso. Pull in different directions by the edges of the shell. It will burst where it joins the head. Grasp the tip of the head to separate it all the way.