Crawdads, Crawfish... Crayfish! page

[Tigerfeet]

I grew up calling them crawdaddies. I've got a friend coming to visit from down south (Texas/Louisiana area) and he's bring buckets (BUCKETS!) of crayfish with him. I've never eaten crayfish and I don't know what to do!

My husband says he knows how to handle these critters, but there's a catch. Our friend isn't primal. He's a real southern boy who likes his fried chicken and eats out waaaaay too much. We're really really fond of him and he's been having depression issues like crazy. Basically, I want to take his crayfish and do something spectacular with them. Something that will remind him super strongly of home but that will also be primal.

We'll be celebrating another friend's 21st birthday so at the VERY least I want everybody to have good food in them when they're recovering from hangovers. So whatcha got for fresh (LIVE!) crayfish? He'll be driving with the buckets (BUCKETS!) from Louisiana to Iowa. Should I super duper insist on a cooler filled with ice? I think so.

Still geeking (or is that groking?) out at the idea of BUCKETS of fresh, live crayfish.

[Meadow]

If he is bringing live crawfish, really the only way to cook them is by boiling. Adding in corn, new potatoes, and maybe some good sausage to the boil is a must. Seasoning is the key. Most of the pre-bought ones contain flavorings and such....so if you want to make your own it will take some research. Crawfish are a blast to eat. Just like crabs, set up some tables outside lined with newspaper, a big cooler of adult refreshing beverages and water. Spread the crawfish out on the newspaper and go to town. We keep ours in a cooler after cooking so they stay hot, and bring them out in batches.

You might have to rent a big stock pot and outdoor gas burner if you don't already have one......that is really the only way to cook them.

Sigh. I lived in Louisiana for two years, and my husband is from there. We JUST got back from a mini reunion and we did a crawfish night....oh, so so good.

Crawfish is probably the name he would use.....growing up in colorado we called them crayfish, but if you are from the south it is usually crawfish.

Enjoy them!!

[Goldsmith]

Adding in corn, new potatoes, and maybe some good sausage to the boil is a must.

Large Mushrooms too.

We always called them crawfish growing up in Tx.

[theholla]

I second the boil - though I would consider the sausage essential Most recipes call for the packaged seasoning, and all the ones I've seen have MSG. I found this recipe for making the seasoning from scratch, but I haven't tested it (so not promises). It yields enough for 5 lbs of crawfish:

* 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

[MalPaz]

I LOVE CRAWFISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE DOING A BOIL THIS WEEKEND. it is a HUGE celebration here in Mississippi for a 'crawfish boil'- pool, alcohol, crawfish

my mom does the boiling- its lemons, garlic, seasoning plus extra cayenne, potatoes, corn, artichokes, sausage, mushrooms

Suck the head haha, i am sure your friend will school you on crawfish eating.

[Catherine]

gotta have lots of cold beer too. I don't see how in the world anyone could eat crawfish without beer.

[MalPaz]

gotta have lots of cold beer too. I don't see how in the world anyone could eat crawfish without beer.

+1

[Kaylee99]

My husband is Swedish and in August we do a crawdad boil (aka kraftskiva) with tons of crawdads, beer, everyone brings a side, more beer (we'd have vodka but with kids no one ever wants to get totally sloshed) and more crawdads. This is the recipe we use:
Swedish Crayfish Boil
And it works every time, those little guys have so much flavor. I don't make the mayo dip sauce cause I'm lazy and no one complained-they were too busy slurping crawdad brains.

[Tigerfeet]

Love the idea of large mushrooms! And thanks so much theholla for the custom spice mix. I've done a shrimp boil before and used old bay and made sure it didn't have any msg. Given the choice though I prefer to make my own mixes (I already do for taco meat and curries)

What about the corn though? Doesn't that qualify as a grain? Or when eaten fresh is it in the same vegetable category as green beans?

[Meadow]

What about the corn though? Doesn't that qualify as a grain? Or when eaten fresh is it in the same vegetable category as green beans?

Well, I would say it still qualifies as a grain, and personally I don't usually eat it at the boils, but since your friend is from the south he might want an ear or two. All the same, usually you cut the corn into about 3 inch long lengths, so having one piece (about half an ear or less) is not a big thing. The corn and potatoes soak up the seasoning. If you make your spices hot, it really gets spicey, so kind of fun to eat .