Crawdads!! I Love Them!! Do You?!?

[j7wild]

This is the time of the year for Crawfish!!

I love to eat them!!

Especially when they are boiled with onions, sausage, whole mushrooms, new potatoes, corn on the cob
in a spicy liquid and then served over a newspaper covered table while still HOT !!

The best part of it is sucking out the liquid out of the crawfish's heads!!



How To Eat Crawfish:

Crawfish are eaten with your hands (don't ask for utensils; you will only be laughed at). Don't be intimidated by that big pile of cooked crawfish.

With one hand, grasp the crawfish head. Grasp the tail with your other hand. Gently squeeze the tail end of the body close to where it joins the head. Hold the head steady and gently twist the tail end, still applying pressure. The meaty end will twist out of the head.

Put the head aside for the moment. Slide a finger or thumb under the first few segments at the top of the tail and peel away the top partially expose part of the tail. With the shell still partially intact, bring the tail meat to your mouth and sink your teeth into the exposed meat. Chomp down on it, and it will pop into your mouth as you leave the tail behind.

The part that shows if you are a true Cajun or not is if you eat the head. Take the head and suck the hot, spicy juices out of it.

Crawfish Boil Recipe

Ingredients:

30 pounds live crawfish (one sack)*
2 cups salt for purging

2 (3 ounce) Boxes CRAWFISH Boil Seasoning


(It's a packet of spices that you just throw into the water in which you boil your Crawfish (or Seafood from Crab to Shrimp), and makes it spicy-yummy-wonderful.

Just make sure you don't get it near your face and inhale, or you'll be sneezing uncontrollably for several minutes!

It's now widely available in the United States, but not elsewhere in the world. If you live in an area where it's not available, make your own, and have Louisiana-style boiled shrimp, crabs or crawfish anytime.

* 4 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
* 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
* 2 tablespoons whole allspice
* 2 tablespoons dill seeds
* 1 teaspoon whole cloves
* 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
* 8 bay leaves
* Salt and cayenne pepper (or liquid hot sauce) to taste

Combine all dry ingredients thoroughly. Place in a square of muslin or cheesecloth and tie securely with string. Add salt and cayenne or hot sauce to the water to taste, then bring to a boil.

When water for Crawfish is boiling, add the bag and boil for several minutes, until the boiling liquid is tinted and seasoned, then add vegetables and Crawfish and cook until done, depending on what you're using.)


20 small onions, peeled
Smoked sausage, cut up into large pieces
Whole mushrooms
5 pounds small red or new potatoes, unpeeled
10 to 15 ears of fresh corn on the cob, shucked and broken in halves
Whole mushrooms

* Crawfish season is from late February to mid-May. If buying crawfish in advance, keep live crawfish at 36-46 degrees for approximately 3 days with wet burlap sacks, towels, etc. on top. Let crawfish return to room temperature before using.

If you have not already done so, drink a cold beer.

Purging the Crawfish: The cardinal rule is to purge and thoroughly wash the crawfish before boiling them. Placing them in a plastic children's pool, large tub, or a large ice chest - rinse them in enough changes of water for the water to run reasonably clear. Then add more water to cover the crawfish and add 2 cups of salt. This forces them to purge themselves of impurities. Stir for 3 minutes, then rinse crawfish. After purging and cleaning, don’t leave the crawfish covered with water, as they need air to stay alive. Keep the crawfish in a cool or shaded area until you’re ready to start cooking. NOTE: Be careful not to let them purge too long. You do not want them to be dead when you add them to the boil.

In a large (18- to 20-gallon) pot over high heat, add enough water to fill a little more than halfway. Add crawfish or crab boil seasoning. Cover pot and bring water to a boil; boil 2 to 3 minutes to allow the spices to mix well.

Using a large wire basket that fits into the pot, add onions, sausage, mushrooms, and potatoes. Maintain a boil and cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add crawfish to the wire basket, stirring them a bit; cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes (being careful not to overcook the crawfish). Remove wire basket from pot.

To serve the traditional way, cover a table (preferably outdoors) with thick layers of newspaper. Spill the contents of the basket (onions, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, and crawfish) along the length of the newspaper-covered table. They are best served hot.

Makes 10 servings.

[corfy]

I can't say I have ever had them, but considering that I'm not much of a seafood/fish eater, I have a feeling I probably won't like them, either.

[Gaumont]

Every year.

Though August is season for them here.

We only cook them in salt and dill, to enhance its taste.

We break of the "plate" of the head and eat the inside. And we do use a specialises knife for that.

Ours seem to be bigger though. We eat the inside of the claws aswell.

[st39.6]

oh man I love Crawfish. Had a plate of it like a week ago. But I hate to "unpack" them

[jacques1400]

I guess J7wild is originally from "Nawlins", that would explain his avatar !!!!!!!
A little Cajun blood have we ?

[j7wild]

I guess J7wild is originally from "Nawlins", that would explain his avatar !!!!!!!
A little Cajun blood have we ?

actually I'm Italian

[jacques1400]

Hey, dont blame yourself, it's your parents fault !!!
We all have our problems dont we LOL