Cajun Ponchartrain Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• To make shrimp stock, combine reserved shrimp shells, chopped vegetables and water in a large stockpot; simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes until liquid is reduced to 3 cups; strain and set aside.
• Sauté shrimp in 1 tablespoons butter until turning pink and set aside.
• Make roux by melting 4 tablespoons butter in saucepan until about to turn brown; whisk in 4 tablespoons flour until mixture thickens to a paste; cook until it turns a light, golden brown. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoons butter and add garlic and remaining onion; sauté over medium heat 2 minutes.
• Add shrimp stock and crushed bouillon cube; stir and let simmer.
• While the stock is simmering, melt 1 ¼ stick of butter in a separate saucepan until it turns golden brown then set aside.
• Add roux to stock mixture and stir until fully incorporated; simmer for 3-5 minutes.
• Whisk melted butter into stock until fully incorporated then whisk in ¼ cup Madeira wine until fully incorporated; mix in Cajun seasoning and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
• Add 6 oz. back fin crab meat and cooked shrimp into sauce; simmer for 3-5 minutes and then ready to serve.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, saute mushrooms and garlic in 1 teaspoon butter until tender.
• Stir in shrimp and cook until pink.
• Transfer to bowl.
• In same saucepan melt remaining 2 teaspoons butter.
• Slowly mix in cream.
• Stir in shrimp and mushroom mixture and black pepper.
• Simmer over very low heat until thick.
• Just before serving stir in wine.

Steps:

• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat; add the butter, onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Deglaze the pan by adding the Chardonnay and making sure to scrape all the delicious bits that may have started to stick from the bottom. Juice the lemon through your fingers into the saute pan, tossing any seeds, then throw the lemon rinds in the pan as well. Simmer this mixture until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in thyme, paprika and cayenne, followed by the chicken stock, then bring everything to a rolling boil. Add the heavy cream and bring back to a boil. Upon reaching a second boil, immediately reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Carefully remove and toss the lemons. Season your creamy base with salt and pepper. To thicken the base into Pontchartrain sauce, you will need to combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water into a thin paste, or slurry, in a bowl, and slowly whisk into your simmering base. Continue to make and add slurry at the same 1-to-2 ratio as needed and add a little at a time until sauce starts to show gentle trails behind the whisk, much like a thin gravy. Once adequately thickened, add the crawfish tail meat to the sauce and simmer for another couple minutes to cook out the raw cornstarch flavor and heat the crawfish through.
• And now you have Pontchartrain sauce! At this point it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before serving.
• To prepare for serving, add the Pontchartrain sauce to a saute pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the raw shrimp to the sauce and simmer until the shrimp have become opaque and begun to curl, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a pile of rice on each of four plates, then top each with 4 cooked shrimp and spoon the Pontchartrain sauce over everything.

Steps:

• Cook the Chardonnay and the onion together over a low fire until the wine is reduced and the onion is very soft and transparent.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in another heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and whisk until blended.
• Add the stock a little at a time, whisking constantly until blended and thickened.
• Add the mushrooms, green pepper and garlic. Cover and simmer down until the vegetables are soft.
• Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of butter pieces until melted.
• Add to the Chardonnay (which should now be reduced to a glaze) mixture.
• Blend well over very low heat.
• Season to taste with salt (may not be needed), black pepper, cayenne, and tarragon.