76 years old from Bristol, Louisiana preparing a crawfish étouffée

Albert Venable Sr. is a descendant of Acadian deportees, Creole Frenchmen, Irish immigrants, and English Quakers who first settled in New Jersey . He grew up sharing the labor with his parents, who were cotton, Irish potato, and corn sharecroppers for a wealthy Church Point family in Bristol.

He was drafted during the Vietnam War and stationed in Germany. After his return to the states, he became the chief of police of Church Point and serving his community for nearly thirty years. He is married to Faye Richard and has four children. Albert is retired and spends his time maintaining his chickens and garden, helping neighbors and strangers, and preserving his culture.

Learn more about Albert’s life from his oral history while you prepare your mise en place for this delicious Cajun staple.

Albert is the second addition to Ya MeeMaw’s Magnalite Collection. He chose to prepare a crawfish étouffée in his cast iron pot. Étouffée is the French word for “smother”, as early recipes of the dish included the smothering of onions to create a thick gravy. Albert’s version features tomato sauce as well as Campbell’s golden mushroom soup as a thickener, giving the sauce deep red color.

To make Albert’s version of a crawfish étouffée, here is what you’ll need:

• 1 lb peeled and deveined crawfish tails. They can be frozen or fresh.
• 1 stick unsalted butter and a splash of vegetable oil
• 1 medium diced white onion
• 1/2 medium diced green bell pepper
• minced garlic
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 10.5 oz Campbell’s golden mushroom soup
• water as needed
• a pinch of white sugar to reduce the tomato sauce’s acidity
• salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• green onion tops for garnish

1. In a large cast iron or magnalite pot, heat 1 stick of butter on medium, adding a little bit of oil to prevent the burning of the milk solids in the butter.
2. Add your diced onion to the pot and stir. Allow them to sweat down for about 10 minutes.
3. Add your diced bell pepper and cook down for about 5 minutes.
4. Lower your heat and add a tablespoon or 2 of minced garlic.
5. Pour in an 8 oz can of tomato sauce. Be careful, it might splash. Add a few cans of water to the pot. You’ll need some water in order to cook down the sauce.
6. Bring your sauce up to a boil. Add a tablespoon or so of white sugar. This is going to cut the acidity in the tomato sauce and help caramelize your sauce.
7. Add water as to not burn the sauce, then add your 10.5 oz can of Campbell’s golden mushroom soup. This is going to add a glossy sheen to your sauce.
8. Season your crawfish with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
9. Drop the heat down to low and add your crawfish tails. You are just heating them through.
10. Let your étouffée simmer for about 20 minutes. Garnish with green onion tops and serve over white rice.

See Albert’s handwritten recipe below.

ALLONS MANGER