étouffée

[ ey-too-fey ]

noun

, plural é·touf·fées [ey-too-, feyz, ey-too-, fey].

1. New Orleans Cooking. a stew of crayfish, vegetables, and seasonings, served over white rice.

Word History and Origins

Origin of étouffée¹

< Louisiana French; French (à l')étouffée cooked in a closed vessel with little liquid, braised; noun use of feminine past participle of étouffer literally, to smother, suffocate, Old French estofer, apparently identical with estofer to stuff

Example Sentences

During the festival, food available on site includes crawfish bread, pecan catfish meuniere and catfish almondine, cochon de lait and turducken po-boys, boudin, crawfish étouffée, jambalaya, crawfish Monica and shrimp and grits.

From Seattle Times

The Clesies said their menu will include the dirty rice as well as boiled crawfish, crawfish etouffee and something called a “messi clesi,” which is a combination of the dirty rice and etouffee.

From Seattle Times

At the annual Louisiana Crawfish Festival in St. Bernard Parish, fans chowing down on crawfish pasta, bread, pies and etouffee said the crustaceans have been limited so far this season.

From Seattle Times

“The étouffée wasn’t ready when we were first there, and she had to get back to try it.”

From Washington Post

There's shrimp étouffée, a Louisiana stew made with shrimp, onion, celery, green pepper, and a simple roux; chicken-andouille gumbo, another Louisiana-staple made with spicy pork sausage, Cajun seasoning and roasted potatoes; and muffuletta, a hearty sandwich that beautifully combines Sicilian and Creole flavors.

From Salon

More About Étouffée

What is étouffée?

Étouffée is a New Orleans stew containing crawfish, vegetables, and rice.

Étouffée is the general name for a style of dish that includes crawfish or other seafood with vegetables and sauce served over rice. The sauce is usually spicy, often containing black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper, among other seasonings. The vegetables most often include onion, green pepper, and celery, though other vegetables may be added. Étouffée was first popularized in New Orleans in the 1950s, although dishes like it had been in Cajun culture for decades prior.

Example: My Louisianan grandfather taught me to make étouffée with crawfish we caught in the creek and vegetables we grew in the garden.

Where does étouffée come from?

The first records of the term étouffée come from around the 1950s. It ultimately comes from the Old French term estofer, meaning “to stuff.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with étouffée? 

• stuff
• stuffed
• stuffing

What are some words that often get used in discussing étouffée?

• broth
• Cajun
• crawfish
• rice
• spicy

How is étouffée used in real life?

Étouffée is a popular seafood stew often associated with New Orleans.

would do many things for crawfish etouffee or boudin balls

— Addison Rae (@whoisaddison) November 10, 2020

Cannot WAIT to get Beignets in NOLA this weekend (also all the Gumbo and poboys and Étouffée and etc in arms length)

— Corey Ryan Forrester First of His Name (@CoreyRForrester) April 13, 2021

I gained 5 pounds from crawfish étouffée. Southern food can not be denied no matter how strong thy will power

— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) March 23, 2015

Try using étouffée!

True or False?

Étouffée is a sweet dessert made with toffee.