Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (2024)

Home » Recipes » Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon)

by Mike Hultquist · · 16 Comments · Jump to Recipe

This couvillion recipe is a thick and hearty stew made with a rich roux, loaded with fish and crawfish, simmered in a piquant Creole tomato sauce.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (1)

Most spicy food lovers I know have an appreciation for Cajun and Creole cuisine.

It is loaded with seasonings and flavors, giving us famous dishes like gumbo, etouffee, hoppin' john, and red beans and rice.

One dish you may not have heard of, though, is Couvillion. We're making it today, my friends, and I think you're going to absolutely love it.

What is Couvillion?

Couvillion is thick, tomato-based seafood stew from Louisiana made with lot of seasonings and vegetables. It is a Cajun or Creole version of the French court-bouillon, which is more of a spiced stock used for poaching seafood.

It is sometimes referred to as coubillion, coubion, or simply courtboullion.

It is very much like a Creole Gumbo, though you will find variations depending on the cook and the location it is being served.

In New Orleans, you'll find couvillion served with a whole fish with a similar style sauce.

This particular version is more of the rustic variety, which starts with a dark roux, includes the Cajun Holy Trinity of vegetables, and lots of seasonings, fish and crawfish, my very favorite way to make it.

Let's talk about how to make couvillion, shall we?

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (2)

Couvillion Ingredients

  • Fish. Use redfish filletsor other firm white fish, like grouper, snapper, swordfish, halibut. See the recipe notes for options.
  • Crawfish. Or use shrimp, or both.
  • Cajun Seasonings. Try my homemade Cajun seasoning for serious flavor.
  • Vegetable Oil. Or you can use butter.
  • All-Purpose Flour. For making the roux.
  • Vegetables. Onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. You can add in hotter chilies, if desired.
  • Herbs. Fresh thyme and bay leaf.
  • Tomatoes. Canned or fresh are both good for this recipe.
  • Stock. I prefer seafood stock, though a good chicken stock or vegetable stock will work.
  • Hot Sauce. A must!
  • For Serving. Fresh chopped parsley or green onion, red pepper flakes, extra hot sauce

How to Make Couvillion - the Recipe Method

Season the Seafood. Cut the fish into bite-sized chunks and set them into a bowl with the shrimp (or crawfish). Season with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings and refrigerate until ready to use.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (3)

Make a Roux. Make a roux by heating the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add the flour and stir to form a slurry. Cook, stirring constantly to keep the roux from burning, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the roux darkens to the color of chocolate.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (4)

See my post on How to Make a Roux for further directions.

Cook the Vegetables. Add the onion, peppers and celery. Cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (5)

Stir in the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute.

Simmer the Couvillion. Stir in the remaining Cajun seasonings, chopped tomatoes, seafood stock, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. You can simmer longer if you’d like to continue developing flavor.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (6)

Add the Seafood. Increase heat to medium and add the fish and shrimp. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the seafood cooks through, and the fish becomes flaky.

Garnish and Serve. Remove from heat, sprinkle with parsley or green onion (or both), and red chili flakes. Serve.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (7)

Boom! Done! Your couvillion is ready to serve. Doesn't it look amazing? This is so rich and delicious, I just can't wait to dive in. Pass the hot sauce, please!

I love a good fish stew.

Recipe Tips & Notes

  • The best fish for couvillion is local redfish, or firm white fish like grouper, snapper, swordfish, halibut, or mahi mahi. Catfish is a commonly used fish.
  • Add other seafood to your couvillion as desired, like succulent shrimp, tender crab. or plump oysters.

Storage

Couvillion will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Simply warm it in a pot or pan to enjoy again.

You can also freeze it for 2-3 months.

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this couvillion recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (8)

Cookbook Recommendation

If you enjoy Cajun and Creole cuisine, I recommend the following cookbook, which I used to adapt this recipe. It has a lot of great recipes.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

  • Crawfish Etouffee
  • Shrimp and Grits
  • Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
  • Shrimp Creole
  • Jambalaya Recipe
  • Cajun Red Beans and Rice
  • Creole Chicken
  • Chicken Fricassee
Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (9)

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (10)

Print

Couvillion Recipe

This couvillion recipe is a thick and hearty stew made with a rich roux, loaded with fish and crawfish, simmered in a piquant Creole tomato sauce.

Save Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crawfish, fish, roux

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Calories: 288kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings: 4

Tap or hover to scale

5 from 5 votes

Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1 pound skinless redfish fillets or other firm white fish, like grouper, snapper, swordfish, halibut
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (or use crawfish)
  • 3 tablespoons Cajun seasonings divided
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or use butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper chopped (add hotter chilies, if desired)
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 28 ounce chopped tomatoes Use canned or equivalent fresh chopped
  • 4 cups seafood stock or use chicken stock or vegetable stock – use 6 cups for a looser, soupier stew
  • Hot Sauce to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • For Serving. Fresh chopped parsley or green onion, red pepper flakes, extra hot sauce

Instructions

  • Cut the fish into bite-sized chunks and set them into a bowl with the shrimp (or crawfish). Season with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings and refrigerate until ready to use.

  • Make a roux by heating the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add the flour and stir to form a slurry. Cook, stirring constantly to keep the roux from burning, for 20-30 minutes, or until the roux darkens to the color of chocolate.

  • Add the onion, peppers and celery. Cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

  • Stir in the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute.

  • Stir in the remaining Cajun seasonings, chopped tomatoes, seafood stock, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. You can simmer longer if you’d like to continue developing flavor.

  • Increase heat to medium and add the fish and shrimp. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the seafood cooks through, and the fish becomes flaky.

  • Remove from heat, sprinkle with parsley or green onion (or both), and red chili flakes. Serve.

Notes

This is great served over steamed white rice.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 29gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 1160mgPotassium: 1180mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 4084IUVitamin C: 64mgCalcium: 243mgIron: 6mg

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (11)

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

  1. Selena Heckard says

    Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (12)
    I cooked and used your recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I used white fish. I can’t wait to cook it again. Thanks again for sharing.

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Selena! I love this dish. YUM.

      Reply

  2. John Fields says

    Can I substitute alligator for either the fish or shrimp?

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Absolutely! Just leave it in long enough to cook through. Enjoy!

      Reply

  3. Bill Rich says

    Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (13)
    I've made this with catfish and also with large mouth bass and crawfish. I used bacon grease for the fat. Came out really well. This recipe looks great.

    Reply

    • Mike H. says

      Thank you Bill - I am glad to hear that!

      Reply

  4. Don McQuaig says

    I believe it's pronounced Cajun Coubion!

    Reply

    • Don McQuaig says

      They're all correct, but Coubion is the way I remember it being pronounced, while growing up in New Orleans! My mother was from Houma, Louisiana, so some of her French would kinda throw me off to begin with.

      Reply

  5. Brian says

    Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (14)
    This was delicious

    Reply

    • Mike H. says

      Thank you, Brian!

      Reply

  6. Ethridge Don Griffin says

    Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (15)
    YUMMY

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Thanks!

      Reply

  7. Jérémie says

    Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (16)
    Very interesting story! And a far cry from the original court-bouillon I know - a boring old one, I must say.
    Couvillion, on the contrary, is a little bomb for the palate, full of that pure Cajun flavor I love so much.
    This is the darker roux I made... and it gave a blooming flavor here: what a great dish! Thanks Mr H.!

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Yes, quite different from the original version, and definitely tasty. Glad you enjoyed it, Jérémie!

      Reply

  8. Ariana says

    In Las Vegas some of the oyster bars have what they call "Pan Roasts"...do you know if this would be the same thing. If not, I want your recipe for a Pan Roast. At the Oyster Bar in Palace Station they also do a Bouillabase and a Bouillaroast where they combine the pan roast and bouillabase. The food is to die for...it's open 24 hours and there is almost always an hours long wait. I would love to see your recipes for these so I can do them at home and not have to wait hours in a line.

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      I haven't tried the "pan roasts" in Vegas, but curious to try now! I'll have to book a trip!

      Reply

Couvillion Recipe (Creole Courtbouillon) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Creole and couvillion? ›

A couvillion is in the same family of the Creole/Cajun courtbouillon and the French court-bouillon. The major difference is that couvillion starts with a medium dark roux and is thick and almost stew like.

What is the difference between sauce piquant and courtbouillon? ›

“A sauce piquant is different than a courtbouillon in two ways. A courtbouillon is thicker because it has roux in it; a sauce piquant has no roux.

What is court bouillon made of? ›

Traditionally, court bouillon is made from water, salt, white wine, vegetable aromatics (mirepoix of carrot, onion, and celery), and flavored with bouquet garni and black pepper. Court-bouillon need not be elaborate.

What is a couvillon? ›

Couvillion (pronounced koo-vee-yon) is a Cajun fish stew. Keep the heads and tails on your shrimp for maximum flavor in this version. 3.5 from 2 reviews. Redfish and Shrimp Couvillion. Yields: 6-8 servings.

What is the most famous Creole dish in New Orleans? ›

Gumbo—Gumbo is the quintessential stew-like soup of Louisiana. The dish is a Louisiana version of West African okra soups which the dish gumbo is named for.

What race are Cajuns? ›

Cajuns include people with Irish and Spanish ancestry, and to a lesser extent of Germans and Italians; Many also have Native American, African and Afro-Latin Creole admixture. Historian Carl A. Brasseaux asserted that this process of mixing created the Cajuns in the first place.

What are the 5 grand sauces called? ›

The five French mother sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato.

What is Benny sauce? ›

A tropical take on hot sauce with passion fruit, agave, chile manzano, carrots, & aji amarillo. With fresh grassy & earthy notes. This sauce pairs nicely with lighter foods, with the focus of enhancing the natural flavors of the dish.

What is piquant sauce made of? ›

In Cajun cuisine, Sauce Piquant is a spicy, tomato-based stew made with any type of meat. "Piquant" comes from the French for "to prick or sting," which is exactly what this stew is supposed to do, in a zesty, flavorful way, of course.

What is the flavoring used in court bouillon? ›

It's usually made with a trio of vegetables—the iconic trinity of celery, carrot, and onion, but sometimes leeks are involved—along with plenty of salt, some white wine, a bouqet garni of herbs, peppercorns, and sometimes lemon (the acid helps draw flavor out of the plant matter).

What's the difference between bouillon and court bouillon? ›

The main difference between court bouillon and “regular” bouillon is that the court bouillon contains no meat and is devoid of any animal collagen, because—unless you're working with a pressure cooker—you aren't going to extract much in a “court” amount of time.

How does court bouillon taste? ›

Court bouillon contains more acid than vegetable stock. Acid is added for flavor but court bouillon should not taste sour. Commonly white wine and/or lemon juice or a sliced lemon is added.

How to cook couvillion? ›

Simmer the Couvillion.

Stir in the remaining Cajun seasonings, chopped tomatoes, seafood stock, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. You can simmer longer if you'd like to continue developing flavor.

Where does the name Couvillion come from? ›

Altered form of Couvillon, a surname of French origin. Some characteristic forenames: French Andre, Gaston, Jacques, Landry, Lucien, Monique, Pierre.

What is the meaning of Coubion? ›

A Deep South Courtbouillon is a roux-based fish stew, made with creole tomato sauce, stewed down and reduced, and used to poach fish - often redfish, red snapper or catfish.

What are the two types of Creole? ›

Creole languages include varieties that are based on French, such as Haitian Creole, Louisiana Creole, and Mauritian Creole; English, such as Gullah (on the Sea Islands of the southeastern United States), Jamaican Creole, Guyanese Creole, and Hawaiian Creole; and Portuguese, such as Papiamentu (in Aruba, Bonaire, and ...

What's the difference between Cajun and Creole or is there one? ›

For Cajuns were—and are—a subset of Louisiana Creoles. Today, common understanding holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana.

Is etouffee Creole or Cajun? ›

Etouffee can be found in both Creole and Cajun cuisine, with slight but important differences in the seasoning and preparation of each version. Creole etouffee uses a traditional French-style roux made from butter and flour while the roux for Cajun etouffee is made with oil, lard, or other animal fats.

Is Creole a race or ethnicity? ›

It was not a racial or ethnic identifier; it was simply synonymous with "born in the New World," meant to separate native-born people of any ethnic background—white, African, or any mixture thereof—from European immigrants and slaves imported from Africa.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner

Last Updated:

Views: 6766

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (73 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner

Birthday: 1994-06-25

Address: Suite 153 582 Lubowitz Walks, Port Alfredoborough, IN 72879-2838

Phone: +128413562823324

Job: IT Strategist

Hobby: Video gaming, Basketball, Web surfing, Book restoration, Jogging, Shooting, Fishing

Introduction: My name is Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner, I am a zany, graceful, talented, witty, determined, shiny, enchanting person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.