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Many, many, MANY years ago, I was working at a store in a mall in North Carolina and often went to the Piccadilly Cafeteria to grab some lunch or dinner, depending on which shift I was assigned. One fateful day, the special was Chicken Etouffee over rice. I decided to be brave (since it smelled ridiculously good) and ordered it.
Holy Crap, was it good!
I have since introduced friends and family members to this bowl of awesome (and my Louisiana friends sort of laughed and patted me on the head, since they’ve been aware of the magic in this bowl since they were babies.
I got this recipe from a magazine–the page says January/February 2007–I think Southern Living? And, of course, tweaked it to make it the way I like it.
What you’ll need:
4 large chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green or red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup diced celery
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces beer (whatever you have)
1 quart chicken broth
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Roux ga Roux from Taste Fire Hot Sauce, but you can use whatever you like)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Hot cooked rice
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and sear the chicken on both sides.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper when almost finished.
Remove the chicken and add the butter to the pan. Let it melt, and stir in the flour to make a roux.
Cook and stir 8-10 minutes on medium, until it turns a nice brown.
Add the onion, celery, and peppers, and cook 2-3 minutes or until softened.
Add the garlic and the beer and stir to loosen any lovely bits that are sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the broth, brown sugar, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir it all in.
Bring to a simmer and put the chicken back into the pot. Simmer for an hour, then shred the chicken.
Return the chicken to the pot and let simmer another 30 minutes on low, until the sauce is thickened.
Serve over hot cooked rice and top with parsley, chopped green onions, more hot sauce–whatever you like.
You can do this with thighs or a whole chicken if you’d like. Just remove the bones after the first hour, and return the meat to the pot for the remaining half hour.
