Pappadeaux Alexander Sauce Recipe (Creamy Cajun Seafood Sauce)
https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/11/Pappadeauxs_Alexander_Sauce47423.shtmlpappadeaux sauce right ok so first thing don’t even start if you don’t have heavy cream I mean it heavy cream not half half not light cream not milk because I tried milk once at 2am because I was desperate and my girlfriend was hungry and I thought maybe it would work and it didn’t it was watery and sad and she just looked at me and said “what is this” and I said “sauce” and she said “no” so yeah heavy cream
next onion yellow onion cut it up small but not tiny you want to see the pieces later when you eat it you know like oh there’s onion not like where’s the onion so half an onion maybe a whole one if you love onion I don’t care
butter in the pan medium heat wait for it to melt and stop bubbling then throw the onion in and here’s the thing don’t rush let it cook until it looks soft and kinda clear not brown if it turns brown you went too far still tastes fine but it’s not pappadeaux it’s your thing call it whatever
garlic after the onion is soft chop up three or four cloves throw them in stir for like thirty seconds you’ll smell it if it smells like burning you messed up take it off dump it start over because burnt garlic tastes like regret
ok now seasoning here’s my secret and I shouldn’t tell you this but I don’t buy cajun seasoning anymore because every bottle is different and half of them are just salt with red food coloring so I mix my own paprika garlic powder onion powder cayenne thyme white pepper no salt ever no salt I keep salt separate because once you add salt you can’t take it back so I do about a tablespoon and a half of my mix stir it into the butter onion garlic let it cook for thirty seconds until it smells like a spicy kitchen and the bottom of the pan looks like red mud if it looks dry add a splash of cream right then don’t let it burn
cream pour it in about two cups maybe less maybe more I don’t measure I pour until it feels right you’ll know because the color changes from red to orange pink and it looks pretty like something you’d pay $24 for at a restaurant
turn the heat down low low low like the smallest flame on your stove because cream is a liar it seems fine then it boils and breaks and you’re left with oily water and cheese lumps floating around and there’s no fixing that I’ve tried blending I’ve tried adding cornstarch I’ve tried crying nothing works so low heat tiny bubbles around the edge not the middle
parmesan now here’s where people get fancy and I used to be fancy and grate my own parm with a microplane and feel good about myself but then I did a catering job for 50 people and grated parm for two hours and my wrist still hurts three years later so now I use the green can the kraft one it melts perfect no lumps no clumps just powder cheese dust that turns into sauce and honestly most people can’t tell the difference so half a cup maybe more add it slowly while whisking don’t dump it all at once or you get lumps
now taste it right now before the seafood does it need salt add a pinch does it need more spice add more cayenne does it taste flat don’t add salt add a little lemon juice later but not yet
seafood shrimp small ones like 51/70 count and crawfish tails frozen is fine thaw them in cold water then dump them in a colander then here’s the part everyone skips pat them dry with paper towels I’m serious press on them squeeze them you want them dry because wet seafood leaks water into your sauce and makes it thin and runny and then you’re mad at yourself for being lazy
turn the heat to the lowest setting the smallest flame you got throw in the shrimp and crawfish stir gently count to forty five out loud one one thousand two one thousand all the way to forty five then stop if you go to sixty the shrimp turn into little rubber erasers I’ve done it a thousand times and I still mess up sometimes
off the heat now lemon juice fresh lemon not the bottle the bottle has preservatives that curdle cream squeeze half a lemon right into the sauce watch for seeds hot sauce crystal or louisiana not tabasco tabasco is too vinegary it’ll taste like pickles and cream which is not good
taste it again perfect now serve it over blackened fish or chicken or pasta or just eat it with a spoon I won’t judge
if it broke meaning you see oil spots on top or it looks grainy you boiled it somewhere along the line nothing you can do except learn for next time pour it over rice anyway and pretend it’s supposed to be like that
leftovers in the fridge two days max day three the shrimp get weird and mealy and gross don’t freeze it ever because cream and cheese and seafood don’t belong in the freezer together it’ll look fine frozen but when you thaw it it’ll separate into a science experiment you don’t want to eat
reheat in a small pan with a splash of milk low heat stir constantly if you use the microwave even on low power it might break and then you’ll cry like I did once
if you’re making this for a party double everything but use two pans side by side don’t use one big pot because the bottom will burn before the top gets hot and the whole thing will taste like smoke and your guests will be too polite to say anything but they’ll know
