re: Lobster Base for etouffee?

You really don't need a stock if you get enough fat, but if you have the crawfish from getting the fat out, may as well simmer some for a bit for the little bit of liquid you might use. I don't use much and sometimes none at all. It's really a smothered dish in butter. Fat is the key to the flavor much moreso than stock in my opinion. However, there's never enough fat in those bags of tails for me. You can't really even see much because there's not much, if any.

Years ago, you could sell fat. Then, that was outlawed so I suspect there's not much more than accidental fat in bags of tails. It goes rancid quickly.