MAC’s Crawfish Gumbo

MAC’s Crawfish Gumbo

½ cup butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium Vidalia onion or ½ of a large sweet Spanish onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ to 1 cup crushed tomatoes
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 to 2 teaspoons Weber Grill’s Nawlins seasoning, or your favorite Creole or Cajun seasoning
2 quarts seafood stock-I used Kitchen Basics or a veggie or chicken stock will work
1 pound frozen crawfish tails, thawed
Cooked white rice, such as Mahatma’s or Zatarain’s
Hot sauce

Melt the butter and oil together over medium high heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook until the mixture is the color of a new copper penny. Make sure you keep stirring the whole time this is cooking. Add onion and cook until almost tender. Add celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, bay leaves, thyme and half of the seasoning blend. Add the stock and cook over medium-low heat, until gumbo is thickened. Add remaining seasoning blend to your taste. Stir in crawfish tails and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes. Serve over rice. Season with hot sauce.

Makes 6 to 8 large servings