Judy McIlhenny's Crawfish Etouffee

* Note: If you cannot purchase crawfish fat separately, you can extract it from crawfish by running sealed package of tails under hot water to make fat more liquid. Cut open package and empty into colander with bowl underneath to catch fat that runs off.

In Dutch oven or large heavy pot, melt butter and cook onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add salt, Tabasco sauce and crawfish fat, and cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add crawfish tails, lemon juice and parsley. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes.

Just before serving, add chopped green onion. For best flavor, prepare dish the day before. Remove from refrigerator an hour before serving, and reheat just until hot to avoid overcooking crawfish. Serve over steamed white rice.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.