With spring quickly approaching, according to Southern Living now is the best time to buy crawfish. Originally part of Native Americans’ diets in the South and Midwest, crawfish, aka “mudbugs,” became a staple meal for Louisiana’s Cajun population due to their abundancy and easiness to catch, making it the perfect “poor man’s meal.” Now seafood fans across the globe have caught onto the trend.
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Catching the Best Crawfish
If you’re looking for the best place to source live crawfish nationally, make your way to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. As crawfish increased in popularity in the 1960s, farmers turned flooded rice fields into crawfish ponds and made Louisiana the nation’s leader in crawfish production. Louisiana supplies the country 100 to 120 million pounds of crawfish per year.
You can also find crawfish locally in Arizona’s Rim Country where they are considered an invasive species and open for unlimited catching for personal use with a valid fishing license. If you don’t want to do all the work yourself, Angry Crab Shack is your go-to restaurant for Cajun seafood.
At Angry Crab Shack, we source our crawfish from the gulf coast, Texas and Louisiana!
The Art of the Boil
While there are multiple ways to cook crawfish, the most popular method is to put them back in the water and boil them–after a proper rinse with fresh cold water, of course!
You’ll then need a pot big enough to hold a gallon of water for every five pounds of crawfish. A typical serving size is three to four pounds per person. Next up, it’s time to season the water using either a pre-packaged seasoning pouch, or you can make your own seasoning blend based on personal taste with butter and a variety of spices such as salt, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, paprika, etc.
After the water and seasoning have come to a boil, you can add any additional ingredients to the boil you prefer. Popular choices include corn, potatoes, sausage, and lemons. Recover and cook.
Now it’s time to add your crawfish. Toss them in, cover and cook for around five minutes or until the shells look bright red and float to the top. Be careful not to cook too long or they’ll get mushy. Quickly remove from heat, dump in some ice and continue to soak them for another 15 minutes. You can use a large strainer to remove the crawfish from boiling water to prevent overcooking or you can put some ice in the boiling water to drop the temperature of the boiling water. If you do drop ice into the water, be sure not to let the crawfish sit for too long or they can get mushy.
No Plates, No Forks, No Problem!
Eating crawfish is almost as much of an art as cooking it! For first timers, it can seem intimidating but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be a pro in no time.
To begin, grab the crawfish between your thumb and index fingers on the head and tail. Firmly push the tail towards the head while twisting, ripping it in two. Take the tail and separate the meat from the shell, using your hands or mouth, and enjoy! You can also suck out the juices from the head. Toss the empty shells and grab your next bite. It tends to be quite a messy meal, so when you’re eating out take advantage of Angry Crab Shack’s crawfish “amenities” which include a bib, gloves and butcher paper for easy cleanup.
Crawfish boils are best enjoyed with friends and often a popular stable at celebrations such as birthdays, graduation parties, and anniversaries as well as a popular fundraising event for local organizations and charities.
Author: Michael Chavez is kitchen development manager at Angry Crab Shack.
