April is crawfish season in Houston, and Bayou City restaurants make the most of the mudbugs by turning them into innovative dishes. One must-try collaboration is the Crawfish & Andouille Kolache, created by Kolache Shoppe and Brennan’s of Houston. Inspired by Brennan’s signature dish of poached eggs, Hollandaise, and crawfish-loaded Kacal sauce, this kolache features fresh crawfish and Andouille sausage in a rich, creamy filling that is uniquely Texan. kolacheshoppe.com
The Dough
Since 1970, Kolache Shoppe has used the original dough recipe first developed by founder Erwin Ahrens with the help of Texas-Czech grandmas. “Pillow soft and lightly sweet, it’s an enriched yeast dough that pairs beautifully with both sweet and savory fillings,” says Michael Hines, Director of Operations and co-owner of Kolache Shoppe’s Memorial location.
The dough is the same for this kolache as for others, but Brennan’s kitchen thickens the sauce so it holds up better inside the pastry. “To help it hold up in the kolache dough, we swap some of the original recipe’s butter for cream cheese, so the final mix is thicker,” says Carl Walker, General Manager at Brennan’s of Houston.
The Filling
The kolache is filled with chopped Andouille sausage and Gulf crawfish tails in a creamy, spiced sauce inspired by Brennan’s Kacal sauce. “To prepare the filling, we render the Andouille, add the crawfish tail meat, Creole seasoning, garlic, Crystal hot sauce, house Worcestershire sauce, cream cheese, and a little touch of butter roux, and finish with the green onions and bread crumbs,” explains Walker.
Hines notes that the combination works well with the dough: “The slightly sweet kolache dough helps tame the spice and smokiness of the crawfish and Andouille, complementing each other versus competing. The dough’s stability and softness hold the filling well, allowing you to enjoy its texture. It’s also just fun to have Cajun staples like crawfish and Andouille combined with another local Texas staple like kolaches.”
The Sauce
Brennan’s Kacal sauce is a creamy seafood sauce inspired by the French Nantua sauce, traditionally made with crawfish. The Andouille addition was suggested by a Brennan’s regular, Mr. Bill Kacal, and became a signature part of the dish.