Savory Crawfish Cheesecake Recipe
Leftover crawfish from your last boil? Make this savory cheesecake.
Wipe the thought of sweet dessert cheesecake from your mind. Gone? Good.
Now let’s talk about savory cheesecakes. The kind you would find featured as an appetizer, a light main course, or, my favorite, on a charcuterie board. This one features plump crawfish tails, crab boil seasoning, chives and roasted red bell peppers all on a crust of buttery crackers, black pepper and Parmesan cheese.
Serve the cheesecake as an appetizer, on a charcuterie board, or as a light meal.
I’m not sure how yours go, but the boils we do are generally big. There always seems to be more food than we can eat. This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover crawfish tails you might have after your latest boil.
This cheesecake is a great way to use up leftovers from your latest boil.
INGREDIENTS
Filling:
1 pound crawfish tails
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
2 Tbsps cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 Tbspn crab and shrimp boil seasoning
3 Tbsps minced roasted red bell pepper
1/2 cup chives, diced
2 large eggs
Crust:
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about a sleeve)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon black pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixer, blend all filling ingredients except the crawfish until smooth. Using a large spoon or spatula, gently fold in the cooked crawfish tails. Set the filling mixture aside to prep the crust.
Leftover crawfish tails blend with other savory ingredients in this cheesecake.
To a one-gallon zip-style bag, add a sleeve of crackers (about a cup, crushed), the Parmesan cheese and black pepper, shake to combine. Pour in the melted butter and shake again. Pour the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of a glass to press the crust mixture tightly into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Crush and mix the crust ingredients inside a zip-style bag for less mess.
Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Pour the filling mixture into the pan. Wrap the outside of the springform pan in aluminum foil to make it watertight then place into a larger pan. Pour water into the larger pan until it reaches 1-inch up the outside of the springform pan.
Gently fold the tails into the blended filling mixture.
Carefully transfer the cheesecake to the preheated 350-degree oven. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until center is set. Turn oven off and crack the door slightly to allow the heat to escape. Allow the cheesecake to rest inside the oven for 60 more minutes. Serve the cheesecake at room temperature of refrigerate the cheesecake overnight and serve chilled.
Bake until the center is set.
To remove the ring before slicing, dip a thin bladed knife in hot water and run around outer edge of cheesecake before releasing spring clamp.