Crawfish Bisque (Crawfish Balls Instead of Heads)

This recipe for Crawfish Bisque (Crawfish Balls Instead of Heads), by Rose Martin - Administrative Services, is from A Taste of Geismar, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• Crawfish Balls

• 2  lbs  of the ground crawfish tails (see NOTE in directions)
• 1  small onion, very finely chopped
• 1  stick celery, very finely chopped
• 2  stalks shallots, very finely chopped (green onions)
• 2  tablespoons parsley, very fine chopped
• 1  cup  breadcrumbs (plain or Italian)
• 4  eggs (add 1 extra if too dry)
•  vegetable oil (for frying)

• Gravy

• 1  lb  of ground crawfish tail (see NOTE directions)
• 2  medium onions, chopped
• 2  sticks  chopped celery
• 1⁄2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped shallot (green onions)
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped parsley
• 1 -2  clove chopped garlic
• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups  cooking oil
• 1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
•  salt and pepper

• The Rest

•  white rice, cooked

Directions

1. NOTE:  Drain all liquids from the 3 pounds of tails before grinding and reserve for later use. It is a good idea to use hands and squeeze the liquids from the tails. Grind all crawfish tails with food processor. Use 2 lbs of tails for the balls and the remaining 1 lb for the gravy.
2. CRAWFISH BALLS: In a large bowl, add 2 lbs. of ground crawfish tails, onions, celery, parsley, shallots and bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. While mixing, season mixture with salt, black pepper, red pepper and garlic powder. Add 4 raw eggs to mixture and mix thoroughly. Form into 1" to 2" balls. After balls are made, deep fry the balls until they are golden brown. Set them aside to add to gravy later.
3. GRAVY: In a medium-sized thick bottom stock pot, add cooking oil and flour and cook on medium to high heat stirring constantly until roux is golden brown. Add onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper and sauté until onions are clear. Add ground crawfish tails to mixture sauté for 8 to 10 minutes. Add crawfish liquids that were removed from tails prior to processing, chicken broth; bring to boil. Add shallots and parsley and cook on gently boil for 1 hour. Add fried crawfish balls to gravy and cook on medium to low heat for about another 30 minutes. Season to taste and add water as necessary (gravy should be a heavy and smooth consistency). Serve over white rice.