Crawfish Remoulade Salad
Remoulade is a sauce that originated in France and was adopted here in Southern Louisiana due to the French-African Creole influence. The Southern Creole version is a little different from the French original and is similar to a tartar sauce served up North; except richer, spicier, and with more complex flavors.
I had researched and tried a half-dozen remoulade recipes a few months ago while I was trying to perfect my Southern Fried Green Tomatoes, and since I had a couple of pounds of crawfish tails in the freezer, I decided to try and make a crawfish remoulade salad. Shrimp salad is pretty popular up North, so I figured a crawfish salad made with a remoulade would be just as tasty but with a Southern twist.
Since it is most often served as a stand-alone appetizer in restaurants, that’s how I have presented this batch in the photos below; on crackers. It can also be served on a bed of greens, just like a traditional shrimp salad, or stuffed into a Po’ boy.
I just love this remoulade and the recipe below will make way more than you’ll need for just the crawfish salad. I save the extra for dipping french fries, substituting it for russian dressing on corned-beef or pastrami reuben sandwiches, and I have even used it as a hotdog relish. It’s also awesome for making fish tacos!
Recipe follows below.
Creole Remoulade
- 1½ Cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ Cup Celery (chopped fine)
- 2 Tablespoon Garlic (minced through a garlic press)
- ½ Cup Green Onions (chopped fine)
- ½ Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¼ Cup Parsley (chopped fine)
- ½ Cup Creole Mustard (I used TABASCO Coarse Ground Mustard
)
- ½ Cup Ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
In a glass bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours so all of the flavors meld.
Crawfish Tails
2 pounds. I purchased mine frozen and let them thaw in the fridge. Sauté them lightly for 5-7 minutes with a dash of cayenne pepper. Drain any liquid (I used a colander) and pat dry any excess moisture with a paper towel and let them cool before adding the sauce. You can also use tails from a leftover crawfish boil!
Preparation
Make sure the crawfish tails are cool, then spoon the remoulade sauce in a little bit at a time and mix (to your taste). Save the rest of the remoulade for other goodies.
Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade
Spanish Town is a quirky little neighborhood with narrow streets lined with historic homes located in downtown Baton Rouge. It is the oldest neighborhood in Baton Rouge, first settled by Spanish and Canary Islanders around 1805, just two years after the Louisiana Purchase was signed. It was the first neighborhood we looked at when we decided to move down South, but nothing is ever for sale because the people who live there love it and never want to leave.
The annual Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade (running since 1981) is the most famous of all Baton Rouge parades and rolls on the Saturday before Mardi Gras day. I swear, there must have been at least ten thousand people in attendance this year, even in the pouring rain. The parade’s symbol is the flamingo, and there were flamingo’s everywhere!
