Crawfish and Corn Beignets

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 Tbsp salted butter
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 lb crawfish tails, coarsely chopped
• 1 green onion, green parts only, finely sliced
• 1 Tbsp Creole/Cajun spice
• 1 (11oz) can whole-kernel sweet corn, drained
• corn oil
• 1/4 lb peeled crawfish tails, whole

Warm the milk and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Gradually add the butter to the saucepan 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and gradually mix the flour into the liquid, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until smooth. Return the pan to low heat and continue stirring until the mixture no longer sticks to the side of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs until well scrambled. Slowly pour the eggs into the liquid while stirring vigorously. Continue whisking until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into a large glass bowl and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the coarsely chopped crawfish tails, green onion, Creole spice, and the corn kernels to the batter and stir to incorporate. Refrigerate the batter for about 30 minutes.

Once the batter is cool to the touch, pour about 3 inches of corn oil into a deep cast-iron pot and heat to 350. Line a plate with paper towels. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter and form it into a ball around one whole peeled crawfish and roll with the palms of your hands. Make these balls until you run out of batter. There should be enough batter for 10-12 beignets. When the oil is hot, drop one ball into the pot and fry until medium brown, 6 to 8 minutes, turning as needed. If the oil is too hot, you might have brown beignets with a gooey center. If the first beignet looks like it is browning too fast, lower the temperature of the oil a bit. Fry the remaining beignets, being careful no to overcrowd the pot. You need to give each one a chance to brown on all sides. Drain on the paper towel-lined plate. Serve these with a nice tartar sauce or maybe even a remoulade.

Roughly 5 WW PointsPlus per beignet.