Boiled Crawfish
There is nothing like spring in Louisiana, the sun shines, the air warms, the swimsuits come out, and you might even momentarily forget how brutal the summer will be. For a glorious few months, it is heaven on earth.
One of my favorite spring memories growing up was picking up Jr. Whoppers on the way to the camp before we splashed through the water lifting crawfish traps. The swamp air would be warm and still and the water cool. Lessons were learned: you’d sink pretty much indefinitely if you walked in clear water and check the trees for snakes (although not terribly common and it was really only the ones with the white mouths you had to worry about). I’m still puzzled why I would wear rubber boots because water would pour over the tops of them within minutes and soak my jeans and socks.
Crawfish is one of those things that brings people together. You stand around folding tables with newspaper covered tables, and peel crawfish while chatting or maybe just listening. You might even pick up on a fellow eater’s quirks like the person who lines their heads up all facing the same direction. In case you’re wondering, I am definitely not that person.
It is in the moments that the sun is warming your back and the shade is cooling your face that every worry leaves with each twist of the head. Time stops and there’s no place better to be.
My favorite holiday is Easter, but more specifically Good Friday. Schools are closed, people are off of work (unless you’re a CPA and it’s before April 15), and the weather is perfection. The gathering is basically a crawfish boil on steroids. Family and friends gather with the highlight being boiled crawfish, but their chorus is made up of fish, shrimp, oysters, alligator, and frog legs.
My Armo got a kick out of the coozie with the last supper being depicted as a … CRAWFISH BOIL!
Back to crawfish — while there are small differences in boiled crawfish, a non-negotiable is they must be well-seasoned or they will taste muddy, bitter, bland, and overall gross. Some people boil only the crawfish while others add things like potatoes, corn, garlic, onion, lemon, and even sausage with them. — Stay tuned for the boiling and eating tutorials below!
I’ll address the controversial method of how to cook the crawfish. Some people season the boiling water, and they turn the heat off and let the crawfish soak in the hot water. It can be tricky because it’s easy to overcook the crawfish before they absorb enough seasoning.
Other people, especially in southwest Louisiana, boil crawfish in plain water and season them in an ice chest. Just lower the basket of rinsed live crawfish into boiling water. Allow the water to come back to a boil and immediately remove them from the liquid. Pour about 2-3” layer of crawfish in the ice chest, and a layer of seasoning. You take a paddle (or small oar as an Okie friend once named it) and push the crawfish back and forth to mix it. If you stir or fold the crawfish, you’ll “beat them up”, and you’ll get fussed. Repeat until the basket of crawfish is gone. Flip the ice chest over and allow the seasoning to penetrate for 20 minutes.
People who are proponents of flavoring the water will say the ice chest method only seasons the outside of the crawfish and the tails are bland. You can only taste the seasoning because it sticks to your fingers as it peels. Here’s my take on it, the crawfish is coming out of water and while it’s drained, they are not dried so the seasoning still soaks into the shell. If you don’t believe me, have someone else peel the crawfish and you eat them. You’ll still taste a well-seasoned crawfish.
The key to seasoning the crawfish (if you buy a spice mix) is to season it for the correct amount of salt. If you want more pepper, you’ll need a spicer mix.
Video Credits: My Armo was the cameraman and narrator, my lil bro was the cook, and Cousin Lauren made a special appearance.
