May 10, 2013

Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Peppers

In southern Louisiana Spring = Crawfish.


Crawfish boils start kickin' into gear around Good Friday.  There's usually a resurgence around Mother's Day and graduation.

We went crawfishing during a recent trip to New Orleans.  This involves finding a spot off the side of the road.  And by spot I mean ditch.  A muddy ditch.

Nets on triangular frames are baited.  In some parts, it's chicken or turkey necks.  In the New Orleans area, beef melt is used.  Trust me.  It isn't as good as it sounds.  Beef melt is the smelliest, nastiest, reekingest thing ever.  EVER.

When we go crawfishing and it's time to bait the nets or...gag...squeeze the bait to "refresh" it, I quietly slink to the back of the group and try to look very busy with something else.  "Fixing" a net.  Tying a shoe.  Eating a donut.  You know, important things.

After all these years, my brother (the smart ass one...oh wait, that doesn't narrow anything down) finally caught on.  Gave me grief about "being a girl."  I baited some nets.  But drew the line at squeezing the bait.



After the nets are baited, a long pole is used to place them in the water.  The pole is used again to pick them up.

Sometimes it's a big catch.

Sometimes it's a cute one.
Awww, cher.
He was released.
After going crawfishing I was itching to use crawfish in a new dish.


My mother-in-law recently bought herself a countertop grill, grilled up some peppers, and stuffed them with a mixture of shrimp and bread crumbs 


Seafood stuffed peppers are common here, although the peppers are usually baked.  I liked mother-in-law's grilled peppers much more and used that as my starting point.


In hindsight, I should have grilled the peppers first, then stuffed them.  It was hard to get them evenly grilled when they were full of stuffing.  At the time my focus was more on speed than anything else.

Live and learn.

But I'm still not squeezing bait.

This month's Pantry Party theme is "Stuffed"
pantry
I always have onions, garlic, and Tony's Creole seasoning in my pantry.  
Found a can of corn too.

This post featured at:
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

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Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Peppers

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 red bell peppers (can use yellow or orange or a mix)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb crawfish tails *see note
1/2 tsp Tony's Creole Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
about 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat.  While the oil heats, slice each red pepper in half lengthwise.  Remove the seeds and ribs.  Set aside.

When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and green bell pepper.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.  Stir in the crawfish and season with Tony's and salt.  If the mixture seems dry, add about 1 tablespoon of water.  Cook the crawfish for about 5.  Add the corn and tomato and saute for a minute or two.  Toss in the green onion.

Meanwhile, heat a grill or grill pan.

Fill the pepper halves with the crawfish and corn mixture.  Top each half with about 1/2 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.  Grill for 10-15 minutes, or until nicely browned in spots.  ~~I filled the peppers first then grilled.  It would probably be better to grill the peppers first then fill for even cooking.~~

Remove to a serving platter.  Squeeze the lemon over the top of the peppers and sprinkle the zest on top.

*Leftover boiled crawfish would be good to use here.  If this is the case, add the crawfish with the corn and tomato just to warm them.  Also, keep in mind that boiled crawfish will be spicy.  Season the filling accordingly.

Linking with:
Food on Friday: BBQ @ Carole's Chatter
Jam Hands  Hearth and Soul blog hop at Premeditated Leftovers Feeding Big
Love Bakes Good Cakes
nap-time creations
White Lights on Wednesdays
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage Photobucket
BWS tips button Freedom Fridays
Memories by the Mile

14 comments:

  1. Hi! Michelle, LOVE this story! I tell my north Louisiana friends about crawfishing in the ditch when we were young. They laughed! They would play with crawfish not eat them. But now the cajun life is more popular up here. I actually saw someone crawfishing a ditch this Easter for the first time. Sending this post to my friend right now. Have a lovely Mother's Day!

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  2. Anonymous5/10/2013

    if you don't "squeeze the meat" how can you have any crawfish; how can you have any crawfish if you don't squeeze the meat?

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    1. Anonymous5/11/2013

      Beef melt > dead frog any day . . .

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  3. How fun! I've never tried crawfish, but would love to someday!

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  4. I tried crawfish once ..... in a restaurant. It came with it's head on and I totally freaked out ....... I had to have my mom pull the head off for me (and I refused to do whatever it is people do with the heads) ... and I tried to eat the "tail" while the guy at another table laughed hysterically at the scene I was making ....... Never tried it again after that ;) Maybe "headless" wouldn't be so bad and it's probably way better in a stuffed grilled pepper :)

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  5. Looks yummy! Another addition to my list. Just pinned this. Dropping by from Simple Living and Eating blog hop.

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  6. Crawfishing makes me think of eel fishing for my grandmother. All the non-Italian kids would be sitting on the dock of a lake catching sunfish while my cousins and I were lurking in the muddy reedy part of the lake looking for eels. Now my question how hard are crawfish to clean? Doesn't look like much meat per crawfish. As usual your post was so interesting thank you again for sharing it on foodie friday.

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  7. It's a funny story, but as far as I see it you need guts(!) to try to catch them.
    I'd scream myself to death if I saw one :)
    The crawfish would probably eat me for his dinner instead of the other way around

    Anyway I don't eat fish but even if I did - these are forbidden for us....

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  8. Here in north Alabama, Spring=Crawfish from Louisiana! And they've been very good this year.

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  9. What a great post, Michelle! [and funny!} The recipe you are sharing looks divine :-) Thank you for sharing this at our All My Bloggy Friends Party !

    Linda
    With A Blast

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  10. What leftover crawfish?! ;) This looks like it will make an appearance on my menu soon.

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  11. Anonymous5/17/2013

    I love crawfish! We're having our annual crawfish party in June. I'm excited!

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  12. I love me some crawdaddies! This is all sorts of yumminess wrapped in one dish!

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  13. Congratulations!
    Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you are having a great day and enjoy your new Red Plate.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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