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BOILED
ALIVE: CRAWFISH FOR TWO
There’s a Louisiana spring time tradition
that goes way back: hoisting a sack of live, pinching mudbugs and
tilting it until 40 pounds of crawfish drop into a kettle of seasoned,
boiling water. Yes, they are boiled alive!
Backyard cooks add red potatoes, corn, onions, even sausage to make
a hearty meal for families and friends. Crawfish picnics blend well
with toe tapping to the fiddle, two stepping, and telling stories.
Today, plenty of people in Atchafalaya Swamp country still crank up
that butane burner as the weather turns breezy. And still, you just
can’t beat the grand production of a traditional crawfish boil
for celebrating spring time.
But, if you’re like most people, you’re not set up for
big production. You can still get in on the fun. Try this.
CRAWFISH FOR TWO
Ingredients
10 pounds medium sized live Louisiana crawfish
1/2 pound salt
1 tablespoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
3/4 box of ground seafood seasoning mix; usually sold at seafood
specialty shops.
Wash the crawfish.
In a large pot, cover crawfish with cool water and let sit for 10
minutes. Drain and repeat. Discard any dead crawfish or debris.
Boil crawfish
• Half-fill a 5 gallon pot with water
• Turn heat on high.
• Add seasoning to taste. The water will need to be spicier
than you actually want the seafood to taste. Note: the stronger
the mix, the shorter the soak time after the boiling is completed.
• When the water comes to a boil, carefully add the live crawfish
so the hot water doesn’t splash. Cover and bring to a boil
again. Reduce heat and boil gently. Five minutes for early season
crawfish (January-March); 15 minutes for late season crawfish (April-June).
Be careful not to overcook or crawfish will be mushy.
• Turn off heat and move pot to sink.
• Add ice to reduce temperature, to avoid overcooking, and
to allow crawfish to sink. Let soak for 6 to 10 minutes. Soak time
depends only on your taste. Sample crawfish from the bottom of the
pot until you are satisfied. When ready, pour out quickly.
Boil vegetables
Red potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, corn-on-the-cob, even smoked
sausage can be boiled with crawfish. Add enough for two portions.
A few tips.
• For easier handling, use mesh bags made for boiling food.
Remove the vegetables without soaking.
• As potatoes and onions have longer cooking times, put them
in the pot as soon as you light the fire; boil them for 10 minutes
before adding the crawfish.
• Onions cook best if sliced in halves.
• Don’t boil corn longer than five minutes.
Cover a table with newspaper and place the entire boil in the middle.
It’s all finger food, so enjoy. Clean up? Just ball up the
newspaper and toss it.
The Louisiana crawfish season runs from January through June. Harvesters
usually grade crawfish by size: small, medium, large. Medium to
medium-large crawfish give the highest yield of meat and are the
easiest to peel.
Peel your left-overs and serve in salads, etouffees or pastas. Six
or seven pounds of medium crawfish yields about one pound of tail
meat. Depending on your dish, that feeds two to four people.
Louisiana crawfish are available live at seafood counters across
the Gulf Coast. Though traditionally sold in 40 pound sacks, today
you can find much smaller portions. Plus more and more Louisiana
crawfish suppliers are shipping live mudbugs overnight. Check the
Suppliers tab at the top of this page for a source that works for
you.
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