-Funding for "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" was provided by... -Hi, I'm Kevin Belton.

Today on "Cookin' Louisiana," we're doing three dishes from the state's crawfish capital in St. Martin Parish.

First up, stuffed crab over pasta.

Then we're going to make a wonderful crawfish burger.

Now we're gonna finish up, crawfish salad with a spicy dressing.

I've got our crawfish, so let's get in the kitchen and get started.

Come on in, gang!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -Hi, guys.

I am so happy that you're here with me today, for taking the time.

Welcome to my "Cookin' Louisiana" kitchen.

Thank you for joining me on this tasty tour of the state's best flavors and dishes.

Now, today, we're going to make a stop in St. Martin Parish, which produces more crawfish than any other parish in Louisiana.

Breaux Bridge, with the Acadians settled in the late 1700s, was recognized by the state lawmakers as the crawfish capital of the world in 1959.

Now, ever since then, the community has celebrated a crawfish festival.

Now, first up, stuffed catfish featuring that versatile crustacean, and we're gonna serve it over pasta.

So, let's get to it right away.

We're gonna start sautéing off.

So, let's get our pan on.

Now, in our pan, we're gonna drop just a little bit of vegetable oil, olive oil.

The other thing we're going to go with, bacon.

Yes.

We're gonna start with bacon.

This bacon with that sweetness of the crawfish.

It's gonna be a really great combination.

So, to our bacon, of course, we're gonna put in a little bit of chopped onions.

Now, this is gonna be stuffed in that catfish, alright?

So if you want to do your onion really fine... You know, every once in a while, when my grandmother would make a stuffing, she would actually put the vegetables in a blender and just blend them up to where they were just, like, blitzed basically.

So a little celery in there.

Let's go with a little bit of our Creole seasoning.

We're gonna put a little here just to wake it up.

And, of course, with seafood, a little pinch of salt, because we want these flavors just to open everything up.

And if you like, of course, this is something where you could put a little bell pepper in, if you choose to.

So, let's turn the fire down.

A little garlic.

See, now that we have a little moisture in the pan, we could get a little minced garlic in.

Garlic doesn't take too long.

It just has to hit that heat, and it wakes right up.

So now our little crustaceans, our crawfish.

And, you know, I'm sure you all have seen crawfish.

You know, picture lobster, shrink it down to about that big.

Grandmother always used to say that when the Acadians left Nova Scotia, the lobster were gonna miss them.

So, the lobster followed the Acadians down to South Louisiana, and their trip was so long that they were this big and ended up being that big.

But I'll tell you what, we're just glad that they follow them, because let me tell you what, they taste wonderful.

So, here... See, just that crawfish, just a little touch on them.

Parsley.

Fresh parsley.

I just turn the fire out, and we're gonna just give this a nice little stir.

Alright.

This is what we're gonna put inside of our catfish, and it's not so much a traditional stuffing.

It's the things that you like.

So, this is what I felt like today.

But before we go to the catfish... we're gonna serve this over pasta.

Now, if you look at my pot, when I boil pasta, I love to boil it in stock.

So what I have here -- I have a little salt in my water, and this is chicken stock, because as it cooks, it'll get that flavor.

That way, we have flavor in our pasta.

So, any time I tend to cook pasta, I always like to cook it in a little stock.

Basically catfish filets.

I've just put them on a paper towel.

Wiped them off, got them really dry.

So, let's take a little bit of our Creole seasoning.

Alright.

We're going to do both sides.

You know, remember, when you cook, things have two sides to them.

You always have to season both sides.

Oh, look at that.

You know, if you don't have catfish in your area, you can always use the fish that you like.

I would use something for this type dish, just a white flaky fish, a mild fish.

Now, I've taken a dish.

I put a little melted butter in the bottom of our dish.

All I'm going to do is take a little bit of our stuffing... ...stick it right here, on our fish.

Oh, look.

It's going all over.

That's okay.

That's alright.

Try to get in there, baby.

And all we're going to do really is kind of fold this over.

You come here.

We're going to make a flip.

A flip.

Come on, stay in there.

And we're going to turn it over and pop it right there and take our little skewer and stick it down.

So, we're going to do one more like that.

Come on, guys.

Tuck in the sides.

Tuck in the sides.

There we are.

The fish is ready to go in the oven, but let me rinse off my hands right quick.

Alright.

Look at that fish.

It is ready to go in the oven.

All we have to do is finish it off just a little bit.

Now, some of that butter, let's just put some of that butter right on top.

Oh, yeah, look.

Oh!

Doesn't that look great?

Oh, imagine when this melts in the oven, how good that's going to be.

Oh, yes.

Little bit of white wine.

Now that white wine is gonna give flavor, plus it's gonna help our fish steam.

And look at this -- little Parmesan cheese.

This Parmesan cheese right over the top.

But I tell you what, it's just going to give it a great flavor.

Now, the oven, I have preheating.

It's at 350 degrees, and this is going to go in for 15 minutes.

Now, if you are using a really thick piece of fish, let it go a little longer, but let's get cleaned up, and then I'll show you how we're going to plate it with our pasta.

I can't wait for you guys to see how this is going to come together.

Now, in our pan, little olive oil.

We don't need too much olive oil.

And, you know, when I talk about using garlic, if it's chopped, crushed, or pressed, it has a bite.

Here, look, sliced.

When garlic is sliced, it has a nice, nice, delicate flavor, sliced, okay?

Now, when you're cooking garlic like this, don't cook it too long because it'll turn into a chip when it's sliced real thin.

Let's put a little bit of red pepper flake in here now.

And I put it in the pan because that'll open it up.

This heat is going to open up that flavor.

Let's put in our crawfish tails.

They're in.

You know what's missing?

We need the pasta.

As I said, I've turned this off, and I like to let it sit for just a minute to soak because it absorbs that flavor.

Oh, look at this.

Alright?

Oh, yeah.

Let's get a big portion out.

And I'm also gonna take a little bit of the stock.

Just a little bit to add in our skillet.

Oh, doesn't this look good?

Here, a little bit more pepper flake on this.

Tell you what, with our pasta, because it's seafood.

little pinch of salt.

Not too much -- just a little pinch of salt.

Let's just give this a nice little toss.

Oh, baby.

Little parsley.

Alright.

Now let's go get the fish.

[ Gasps ] Yes, you look good, as well!

Oh, yes.

This is going to be so good.

Look at our fish.

So, now let's get ready to serve this.

So let's take some of our pasta.

Come on.

I know you want to slide off of there.

Let's just put you right on there.

Let's get these crawfish tails, gang.

Don't leave those crawfish tails behind.

Alright.

And, of course, look at these slices of garlic right here.

I'm just going to take them out of the pan right on the edge like that.

Put those right on the top.

Okay.

Let's take our fish.

We can pop our fish right on the top, just like that.

How about... little bit of parsley.

Little bit more, of course, Parmesan cheese.

Oh, look at that there!

Oh, doesn't that look good?

That was our Cajun style stuffed catfish.

Now, coming up next, a burger that's going to satisfy your crawfish-craving -- crawfish burger.

-I'm here with Jody Meche in the Atchafalaya Basin.

-The Atchafalaya Basin, you're not gonna see anything like it anywhere else in the world.

You know, and it's so diverse, as far as all of the creatures that live and survive out here.

It's so rich in culture.

You know, my dad was born in a houseboat and lived in the Atchafalaya Basin, and he survived by fishing and catching crawfish and hunting.

I feel so special that I can bring something that is such a delicacy to the rest of the world so that they can enjoy our culture here in Louisiana.

-♪ Hamburger ♪ ♪ Hamburger!

♪ How about that crawfish burger?

Yes, we're going to do a crawfish burger instead.

Now, of course, in our pan that's heating up, let's do a little butter and a little olive oil.

Okay?

Now, this is going to be some great flavors that we're gonna combine here.

So I'm doing butter and olive oil because, of course, we're going to get in a little bit of onion.

Now, personal preference.

You know, always use the onion that's in your pantry to cook with, you know, red onions, white onions, yellow onions.

And if you notice, we're going to do all three colors of peppers.

Of course, we have a little green, but how about a little sweet yellow?

And, of course, a little bit of red, More sweetness, Doesn't that look beautiful?

A little bit of Creole seasoning in it.

We want this to sauté to where the flavors are released.

We don't necessarily need these to brown off, but I do want to soften up so that flavors release from them.

The other thing we're going to get in, of course, a little garlic.

Alright?

We have to have a little garlic in here, as well.

Now, I'm going to turn this fire real low, and I'm just going to let this go ahead and simmer for a bit.

While this is simmering low, let's go ahead and show some love to our crawfish.

This is 2 pounds of crawfish, and if you're sitting at home going, "Wow, that's a lot of crawfish he has there."

this is just 2 pounds.

Let's go in with a little mayonnaise.

Oh, yeah.

Also, so we're going to do a little Creole mustard.

The brown mustard, you know?

If you have yellow, if you have Dijon, alright.

But I always like that little Creole mustard.

Plus a little Worcestershire.

Oh, look at that.

You know, this is one of those things I like to use in cooking a lot because it's a flavor that sometimes folks miss.

A little bit of Creole seasoning in that.

Yeah.

Why not?

Let's put a little bit in here.

The other thing I'm going to put in -- a little pinch of salt, okay?

Just get a little salt in.

Oh, yes.

Now, don't look at me crazy when I do this.

I turn the fire off.

Little Parmesan cheese.

Just some grated parmesan.

Think about it.

That's just more flavor.

More flavor, alright?

To kind of help bind this all together, we have that mayonnaise in there, but how about a couple of beaten eggs?

We'll get those eggs in.

I'll tell you what, if you ever have the opportunity to come to crawfish festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, you're going to see crawfish prepared so many different ways.

Everybody always sees the pictures of it piled on the table on a newspaper, where we have the crawfish bar.

Everybody sitting around and picking it.

But crawfish -- there's so much you can do to it and so much you can do with it, okay?

So, now let's go ahead.

Get in some of our trinity into here, with our onion and garlic.

Oh, let's get some of this in.

Alright.

Oh, look at that.

Now, some bread crumbs.

I use a seasoned breadcrumb.

A lot of folks like a panko breadcrumb.

I just always prefer the seasoned breadcrumb, especially in something like this.

So, this is just going to absorb all those flavors.

The egg and the breadcrumbs are just going to bring this all together, where it can form a nice patty.

So, look at this.

You want to make sure that this is mixed thoroughly so all those flavors get to blend together.

And what we have to do now -- now we have to put this in refrigerator for it to chill.

So once this chills, then I'll show you how we're going to make our burgers.

Yeah.

Let's get in the fridge.

Our crawfish mixture has chilled.

This is ready.

So in the pan, I have a little butter.

We're also going to put some olive oil, and I have the pan heating up, okay?

So, what I have here, I have a little flour, I have some bread crumbs, and you can put a little pinch of our Creole seasoning in.

Okay?

So, let's take the crawfish mixture and, you know, how big or little do you want?

It is totally up to you.

Let's shape it.

Press it into a nice little patty.

We'll get one in.

Let's get one more.

Oh, yeah.

Now, let's go ahead and just get these -- We just want these to get coated, alright?

We're going to shake off any excess.

And, you know, what's going to happen to you now -- If you don't have enough breadcrumbs in the mixture, they may fall apart on you a little bit.

So just if they start to break apart, just add a little bit more breadcrumbs.

That will tighten them right back up.

So let's just go right in our pan Try to shake off the excess the best you can.

Alright.

So... Now, let's take care of this tartar sauce, and, you know, the other thing I like to do is, I like to serve it on a toasted bun.

So on our griddle, I'm going to put a little spot of butter here, a little spot of butter here, another little spot of butter there.

And we'll do one more right there.

See, this saves you from having to butter the buns.

So let's just put those down.

Look at that butter, baby.

Oh, yeah, that's going to have a little extra butter.

What that is, that's flavor.

That toasting is going to give us a nice flavor.

So, what I'm starting off with here -- a little mayonnaise, okay?

A little hot sauce.

To brighten it up, a little lemon juice.

We're also going to put -- Yeah, you know I love garlic.

We're going to do a little garlic sauce in here.

Oh, this is going to be good.

So let's mix that up.

Now I know what you're saying.

Hey, you didn't put any Creole seasoning in there.

No, I don't have to yet, and I'm not going to put any salt because you know what I have -- Capers, chopped capers.

That's another flavor.

A little bit of dice pickled.

Hear that?

[ Sizzling ] Oh, yeah!

Come on.

The other side.

Look at that.

Ahh.

Doesn't that look beautiful?

And it smells so good.

Let's turn you down.

Some parsley.

And if you want to use cilantro, you can.

Little bit of green onion.

Little spring onion in there.

And now all we have to do is just mix this all together.

This is going to be so good.

Alright.

I think we're ready.

Now, I'm going to dress this with a little lettuce and tomato.

So let's take our bun right there.

Let's take this bun right here.

Let's turn you off.

We've got to get a little vegetation on there.

See, this will get the kids to eat salad.

Put a crawfish burger on top.

Let's get a couple of slices of nice tomato.

Yeah!

That one right there.

I like you, too.

You two come here.

Oh, you thin.

Let's get this fat one right there, okay?

You want two, as well.

Okay.

You get to have two, as well.

Alright.

There we go.

Let's get our burgers.

Come here plate.

We'll slide you right there.

Oh, yeah.

We'll slide you right there.

Alright.

Alright.

Burger, meet tartar sauce.

We're gonna take a little.

We're gonna show this a little bit of love.

And you can put it on the bun.

But I'mma just put it right on the top.

You know why I put it right on the top?

Because what's going to happen, it'll just ooze and drizzle and work its way down.

So, now let's take this one, and we'll cover this one.

Let's just sit this one to the side.

So how you like that?

Ooh, you look so good.

How's that for that crawfish burger to fix that craving.

Now, next up, crawfish salad with a spicy dressing.

Yes, I'm doing salad.

What makes the crawfish so special that come out of the basin?

-When the water conditions are right in that peak time of the season when you have a good flowing water across your swamps, I think there's no way you can prepare crawfish that I don't like them.

I love a good crawfish bar because of the festiveness and everybody getting together and having a good time.

It's got its own really distinct taste.

And, of course, our Cajun culture really gives it a good, good flair, also, you know?

-I think we ought to crank up this motor and go eat.

-[ Laughs ] -We've had crawfish rolled in catfish.

We had crawfish in a burger.

So what's next?

Let's do a salad.

Yes, something nice and light and refreshing.

So we're going to start off with a nice spicy dressing.

So, of course, first off, a little olive oil.

I like a little olive oil for this particular recipe.

Red wine vinegar.

Now, if you want to use white vinegar, sure, go for it.

To brighten things up, how about a little lemon juice?

Lemon always brightens up.

Now we're going to go with a couple of things that are going to add spice, okay?

Garlic.

Garlic...

Believe it or not, if you just take a bite of garlic, it has a little bite to it.

It's a little [groans].

It gives you that little unh, alright, that you may not expect.

A little hot sauce.

And, you know, adjust it to your taste.

How about a serrano chili?

Now, I've taken the seeds out, diced it up really fine.

Now let's hit this with a little salt, and we can always adjust that.

Now, paprika, mustard, black pepper, and a little sugar.

That's in.

Here are our herbs -- basil, thyme, and oregano.

Was that a song?

Alright.

So, we're going to get our lid on, and we just want this to pulse nicely.

We're gonna running it on high just for a minute.

We just want this to blend together.

It doesn't have to run forever.

Alright.

And this is where -- You know, I have my spoon.

Let's get a little bit.

You know what, gang?

It needs a little salt.

And remember, you can always add to something.

You can never take away from it.

There you go.

That's all we need right there.

Let's take you over here.

Let's take you out.

Now, I'm gonna put a little bit of our dressing right here on our salad.

Just a little bit, and look, we can put the rest... Because, you know, there's always someone that wants extra dressing, right?

Okay.

Now let's go ahead and assemble this.

Just a nice little toss.

Now, this is just a spring mix, okay?

I love salads.

I probably eat a little salad almost every day, believe it or not.

Now I want to take our crawfish.

And I'm going to just put him right in the middle.

Everybody can grab as much or as little as they want with their crawfish.

Okay?

I have a little bit of just red bell peppers.

just julienned.

We can spread these around.

Alright?

we can also spread around a little bit of red onion.

This is something where, when you put this on a table, you can always grab from the side, and that way, I'm putting it on the sides because everyone can get just a little bit of the things that they like.

Cherry tomatoes.

You know, you can plop them on.

If you want to spell out somebody's name, if it's someone's birthday, you can spell out their name for them.

We'll get all of you guys around.

And last, a little bit of boiled egg.

And, basically, I've taken egg and just quartered it.

And I just like to lay the eggs all the way around.

And, you know, I know this will sound crazy.

I know we already seasoned the dressing, but this is a little something that I like to do That I don't know if you guys like this or not, but once it's like that, I always like to take just a little pinch of salt and just go around on those eggs.

They just need that little bit of extra love.

Wow!

Doesn't that look great?

Nice light, refreshing crawfish salad with spicy dressing.

You know, I really appreciate you joining me on this culinary road trip.

Now, you got to keep that party rolling and bring the big flavors of Louisiana to your home.

So, see you next time for more "Cookin' Louisiana."

We'll see you soon.

-The companion cookbook to "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" is available for $28 plus shipping and handling.

You can also order an hour-long DVD of favorite dishes from the series for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Both the book and favorites DVD are available for $43.95 plus shipping and handling.

To order these items, call 1-866-360-4928 or order online at wyes.org.

♪ -And this cream cheese does not want to melt because you know why?

The kitchen staff played a joke on me.

They gave me frozen cream cheese.

This is frozen.

That's why it's not melting.

Look at that.

Is it melting?

No, it's not, 'cause it's frozen.

Your order is ready.

There's your por-- "portlock"!

I'm gonna brrrpt!

Brrr!

Brrr!

Brpt!

Tasty bits of fried pork cracklins, or what we call "graton."

Why am I on my tiptoes?

Why am I -- I'm talking about cracklin, and I even got up on my toes.

You see me?

I mean, I was tiptoeing.

Cracklin will do that.

♪ ♪ -For more information about "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana," visit wyes.org.

-Funding for "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" was provided by...