Crayfishing
 

I've been looking into trapping and eating crayfish as a means of alternative sustinance, and I've come to realize that Crayfish eating is actually quite popular in the States.

I didn't realize there was such a market. Any of you GIMers catch and cook Crayfish?

Re: Crayfishing
 

Mud bugs ARE GOOD EATING...!

Crayfish boil spice+Crayfish+New Potato's+Corn on the cob.
Throw spice, potato's, and corn in pot boil until done. throw crayfish in,
they cook like shrimp fast!
Finger licking good..

Have traped here in the Sabine bottoms when I was younger, That was back when the river flooded more and before they put the dams upstream.

As far as a market goes, depends where you live,
If in the south most good places are locked up by the guys that do it for a living.

Lord help you if they find your traps on their grounds..


:36_1_25:

Re: Crayfishing
 

No worries about that here. Anyone I talk to is revolted by the idea of eating them, and NO-ONE is trapping them.

Free food!

Re: Crayfishing
 

Good eating down south...

They are bottom feeders, and are easy to keep. Much better to farm them than to try to trap them imho.

They are running $1 to $1.50 lb live here around Houston.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Get them from a running and clean water sourse.

Nasty water=Nasty Food.

E-A

Re: Crayfishing
 

I have ideal conditions where I live (Read: Bug out spot)
Clean running water, deep clean lakes.

Maybe I'll post pics of my catch, when I get around to building my trap!
(Might start it tonight)

Re: Crayfishing
 

Listen to EA. This is very true.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Nice size.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...icambarus1.jpg

You can catch wild and then put in clean water and keep them there to give them a chance to clean out.
You can feed them to help keep them alive and kicking.

And tell the people that say yuk....

All they are are mini-Lobsters.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Some guys on a Crayfishing forum were saying that if you catch them and put them in a pail of salted water (Sea Salt) they will puke out all the contents in their system and they will taste better.

I intend to try both ways, just as a test.

What kind of sause would you put on them? To you shuck the tail meat and serve it as a mass of tails, like shrimp, or do you just throw the whole bug on your plate?
Thanks for the input!

Re: Crayfishing
 

Whole thing, break off tail , peel shell remove dark vein, pop into mouth.

I like Louisiana crayfish boil myself.

You can do a web search for more info.
Have also dipped into melted butter.

If you are really brave you can suck the fat out the head
goes like this ,,,, break off tail ,,suck head,,,peel tail,,eat tail,,
do it again...and again....:getdown:

Re: Crayfishing
 

I've eaten them while on a survival coarse here a number of years back. They're pretty small up here, so the tail is the only thing worth your time. Caught a pail using a stick, string, and peice of jerky after the sun went down. Held a lantern up and you could see all their eyes as they came out of the rocks in the stream. Just move the bait in front of them, and they don't let go as you pop em in the pail.
:coolbeer:

Re: Crayfishing
 

YALL makes O JJ all Crazy HONGRY tolk 'bout dem mudbugs hoooowee sayin FINE eatin!

Put a lil louziane hot sauce on 'em

Re: Crayfishing
 

The salt water stuff is mostly old wives tales.

You are better off putting them in CLEAN AERATED WATER for 12-24 hours before you cook them. MUCH better way to purge them.


This is alton browns recipe, and it is one of the better ones if you want to make the boil yourself.


Ingredients

<!--concordance-begin-->

• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons whole cloves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
• 5 gallons water
• 1 pound kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dry mustardhttp://a19.g.akamai.net/7/19/7125/14...wlist_icon.gif
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 6 bay leaves, crumbled
• 10 pounds live crawfish
• 3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in 1/2, if larger than 2-inches in diameter
• 8 ears corn, halved
• 2 heads garlic, unpeeled, but separated
• 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

<!--concordance-end--> Directions

Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds.
Fill a 40-quart pot with 5 gallons of water and add the freshly ground spices, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, dill weed, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, approximately 40 minutes.
Rinse the crawfish thoroughly in the bag in which they arrived to remove excess dirt and mud. Put the crawfish in a large container and fill with cool water. Stir to remove dirt from the crawfish. Transfer small batches of crawfish to a colander and rinse under cool running water. Pick out any debris or dead crawfish. Once all crawfish have been rinsed, discard dirty water, and return the crawfish to the container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the water is clear.
Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the crawfish, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.

Re: Crayfishing
 

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 width="100%" summary="Layout Table - Content" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=titleBar noWrap align=left width="100%">God puts them in sacks down here in Texas
and they come out on the weekends...

Search Results for "crawfish" Items 1-1 of 1 </SPAN>
</TD><!--------SEARCH RESULTS LIST ----><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" vAlign=top width="100%" align1="center"><!---- 1 or 2 cell table that holds items ----------><TABLE class=contentBorder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 width="100%" summary="Layout Table - Content - Search Result Items" border=0 align1="center" valign="top"><!-- Items List rows --><TBODY><TR height=120><TD class=itemBorder vAlign=top width="50%" height="100%"><TABLE height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top height=50><TD align=left>http://heb.inserts2online.com/HEB052...1z73rev-37.jpg Louisiana Crawfish
Live!
sold by the sack only, lesser quantity $1.29 lb. * Available Friday, Saturday and Sunday only!
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom height=*><TD class=itemPrice align=right>99� lb.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom height=25><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD noWrap>http://heb.inserts2online.com/images/site/addToList.gifhttp://heb.inserts2online.com/images/site/onList.gif http://heb.inserts2online.com/images...viewAdPage.gif </TD><TD class=pricesgood style="TEXT-ALIGN: right" align=right>Valid 05/22/2009 - 05/24/2009</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Re: Crayfishing
 

When driving from Houston to New Orleans on I-10 you pass tons of farms. Often wanted to stop to fill up some bags. Has anyone here ever stopped to at least look?

Re: Crayfishing
 

Sounds great! Alton Brown's recipe is good : )

Putting the Crawfish into clean water is a surefire way to clean their system out. I have heard the salt-water puking before, but I don't know if it is true.

It's just like Shrimp, some people eat the heads and most don't.

You can always eat the tails and throw the heads into your stock-pot for a good broth.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Don't know about the puking, but we used to catch them and then try to get them to molt faster by putting them in water with some epsom salt added. They were for fishing bait. Not many baits work better than soft crayfish (need to tie them on the hook sometimes).

Re: Crayfishing
 

40 years ago when I was a kid up at our lake Tahoe place we would hang scraps of whatever tied in a sack/net in the water under our boat house pier then the next day we would scoop the crawdads up with a net on a long pole. They would be 8' or 10' down but because the water was crystal clear they were easy to see. These things were pretty big and good tasting. We could catch 30 or so a day no problem. I don't know where the heck they came from, but there were lots of um.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Very popular in Louisiana and Texas. Seasoned with Crab Boil or in an �touff�e. Kind of a cream sauce.

And yes, i went home to Colorado, at the time, and trapped them at the lake. :biggrin: Not bad when prepared well, but ain't no way I'm suckin" them heads. :rofl: I don't care if it IS the best part. :452::452: not for me.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Caught foot long ones out of a stream in Guatemala when I was a hungry hippee phreak 35 years ago, ummmmmmmmm good.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Crawfish Etouffe. Emeril.



Ingredients

* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped yellow onions
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
* 2 tablespoons dry sherry
* 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock or water
* 1 pound crawfish tails
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
* Cooked long grain white rice, accompaniment

Directions

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the sherry and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and crawfish tails and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice.

Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.

Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with additional parsley.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Had the same situation in Utah. I was trout fishing at one of the many mountain reservoirs and had a couple trout on a stringer by the shoreline. Shortly after dusk, I looked at my stringer and found crawdads all over my trout.

From then on, I brought a net just for crawdads, and at dark, I'd start roaming the shoreline. I'd get about 40 or so per trip.

I used to use the salt water method (that's the one I'd heard about), and it seemed to work okay. Then again, in a mountain reservoir, they probably weren't that dirty anyway. I used to boil them up with one of the popular crab boils (the one that comes in a drop-in bag). Good stuff!

Re: Crayfishing
 

When I was a kid on vacation visiting relatives in Montana my brother and I caught about 30 crayfish by hand in some lake and cooked them by boiling water over the camp fire. Didn't turn out too bad.

To catch them we just swam around with goggles on and flipped over rocks to find them. One of my better memories.

I don't think there are many crayfish around here though.

Re: Crayfishing
 

I also am in the Deep South
LA TX AR often go to the mudbug festival in Shreve LA

And that's sure a mini lobster Nice Golddust..

been awhile since I trapped any ,all or most of the Chinese buffet's offer them around here .

Re: Crayfishing
 

Great comments in this thread. Thanks for contributing.

I started working on my Crayfish trap last night. I found plans here:

http://www.wut2c.com/Activities/Surv...dad%20trap.htm

I'm making mine so that it is completely collapsable for transporting (AKA Camping, bugging out, etc) and will basically lay flat in four pieces. So far so good.

I'm bringing it to our camp in the woods this weekend to finish it, and (if I get around to it) I plan on testing it out there.

And, for the record, I have no interest in sucking the fat out of the head!
LOL. Gross.


However, for you seasoned crayfish eaters, I have a question:
Why does every site I stumble across elude to the fact that the Crayfish meat should be eaten cold????
I like my seafood hot, not cold. In fact, I don't even like seafood generally.
Anyways, It seems like everyone says "Boil them, then simmer them, then let them cool for a couple hours, then eat them". (Paraphrased)
Is this standard, and why?

Re: Crayfishing
 

Dunno Awoke. Down around here, we love 'em steaming, right out of the boil.

$1.40/lb live at our local market. Planning a boil this Sat down here for my B-Day.

We "purge" them in clean water for a day before boiling. Zatarain's Crab and Shrimp boil, butter, whole onions and whole garlic cloves. Cook right along with corn on the cob, new potatoes, and kielbasa. Sprinkle liberally with Tony's Creole Seasoning, serve on cardboard beer flats or just spread out on a long table and you got yourself a party.

We don't exactly peel 'em out like shrimp. If you'll separate the tail and press firmly right at the base of the last joint and the fan, you can feel the meat break from the shell. Takes a little practice, but the tail will slip right out into your mouth. I suck the heads too, but most don't.

Re: Crayfishing
 

HAHA! Gross!!!

Thanks for the tips. Looking forward to this.

What about just standard shrip-sauce?
A lot of the sauces/herbs/spices mentioned in this thread are not in my possession. If I finish the trap this weekend, I won't have that stuff on hand.
I was thinking just butter and heavy pepper. Maybe shrimp sauce.

EDIT - BTW, Happy B-Day Stranger.

Re: Crayfishing
 

I guess you could - but that'd ruin it for me!

cook it right and you really don't need table condiments.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Most stores carry a crawfish/shrimp boil bag. Usually zatarans brand.



BTW> A large portion of the nutrients is located in the body, this is where the internal organs are (everyone calls em heads). Squeezing and eating this juice would be highly recommended for STHF for sustenance.


It can be used if you don't have access to the other stuff.

Bar bones?

Salt, Peppers, Cloves.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Ditto JJ...season the boil right and you don't need the side dressing. Tho', seafood places round here will serve cocktail sauce if you want it. I've seen others dipping the tails in Ranch dressing. Whatever floats your boat, but for my money, just make 'em spicy and give me a couple of cold beers. I'll be in hog heaven.

If you want to try the cocktail sauce, mix up a little ketchup and horseradish to taste. No need to buy the stuff until you know whether or not you want or even need it.

Thanks for the B-day wishes. 40 trips around the sun. I think I'm officially closer to Depends than I am to Pampers!

EDIT:Just a tip, but I've always heard that you don't eat a mudbug that has a straight tail. That indicates it was dead before being cooked and has potentially gone bad. Dunno if it's true or not, but I avoid them. Better safe than sorry.

'Nother couple of quick tips, the more butter you use, the easier the 'dads come out of their shell...the longer your crawdads sit in the boil, the more seasoning they will take up. But be careful not to over-cook...they get a bit rubbery if you boil them too long. The last batch, we just turn off the cooker and let them sit for awhile. Those are our "burn your face off" batch...if you wear contacts, take them out BEFORE you eat!!!!! Spicy finger foods and eyeballs do not mix!LOL

Re: Crayfishing
 

I'm under the impression that you should boil them for about 10 minutes, then let simmer for 20 minutes or so....
Does that sould about right?

Re: Crayfishing
 

Can we please call them Crawfish? Crayfish is just so... :thumpdown

You can get crawfish traps (nets) online I would think. VERY easy to catch.

As far as "survival" food. It would at best be "seasonal survival food". I lived in Louisiana for many years, you can only really eat them in the spring to early summer. Their shells get REAL hard in the summer and almost aren't worth fooling with. They go underground in the fall and winter. Come back out around easter.

As far as boiling them... order some liquid Zatarans crab and shrimp boil and follow the directions. super EASY.
http://mycajunkitchen.com/catalog/im...BOIL%20JAR.jpg

As others have mentioned, you can throw all kind of things in the pot besides the crawfish (or shrimp).
My favs: Potato, onion, garlic cloves, mushrooms, corn. Even had sausage thrown in there, but i don't like (it tends to make everything greasy).

I've never understood why it hasn't caught on more in the north. Just about everyone that has tried them, likes them.

As far as purging them... tried both ways. I can't tell a difference. We usually go with the fresh water soak (if for nothing else but to get the mud off). Catfish are bottom feeders, you don't purge them.

You iodine level will shoot through the roof (note if you're allergic). If not, no worries.

Keep in mind you can substitute Shrimp or crabs for the crawfish and still have just as much fun.

I SO don't want to eat my can of soup for lunch now...............

Re: Crayfishing
 

Crawfish is for the south. (Anywhere south of Canada! HAHA!)

Really? Just from eating them?

So you wouldn't want to live off them in a SHTF situation then?

Re: Crayfishing
 

We usually boil multiple batches, 15-20 lbs per boiling, and adding seasoning after every other batch so we really don't simmer any except that last batch. 10-15 min at a med boil is probably about right. Like shrimp, they'll float when done, and the amount of seasoning in your boil will determine the level of spice/flavor. Gotta' play with any recipe to suit your own personal tastes.



Didn't know about the iodine spike, but it makes sense, as that's part of many folks' shellfish allergy...interesting, but I'm not allergic, so I'll make sure their share doesn't go to waste.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Yeah, know a few people that it has affected. Also when they do bloodwork on you (for whatever reason) they can tell if you've been eating crawfish. I believe your cholestoral will spike to an almost unrecordable amount. But it goes down within a day or so.


Are you kidding? I'd live off them every day if I could!!!!!

Re: Crayfishing
 

You're not making it sound very healthy, SilverJeep.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Who ever said it was healthy? But they're easy to catch, easy to cook. A little work to eat (peel), but once you get the hang of it. mmm mmm mmm!

Tastes great, plus you can throw all those other things in the pot.

Or if you want to save the tail meat (or buy it). Follow an Etouffee recipe, OR buy this mix and follow the directions exactly and you'll LOVE IT!!!

<TABLE class=productListing cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=productListing-data align=middle rowSpan=2>http://www.cajunsupermarket.com/imag...ouffee_Mix.gif </TD></TR><TR class=productListing-odd><TD class=productListing-data align=right colSpan=0><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.louisianafishfry.com/shop...showitem&id=14

Crawfish is a great tasting shellfish that can be used in MANY amazing recipes.

Great in Gumbo too! My mother-in-law can make a gumbo that can make jack rabbit slap the bear.

Re: Crayfishing
 

:111::4_1_72::111::4_1_72:

Re: Crayfishing
 

That's why you put them in a salt or fresh water soak for several hours before cooking them to purge all of the dirt out of their systems.

The same for crabs.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Whoa up, folks.


Adding salt and that kind of stuff is heading down the wrong track.

Something I learned from my Mother

(One side of her family were French Hugenots who settled

In Louisiana in the early 1500's) is as follows:

"Take a big bucket of fresh cold water and put your crayfish in it. Then add a handful or two of fine cornmeal and leave the crayfish in for a day."

The explanation for this is simple; crayfish are greedy little buggers

And immediately start feeding on the cornmeal, which scrubs out the

Previous contents of their alimentary system (that dark vein).

Previous contents are mud/organic matter, no matter how clear

The water you caught them in looked.

The difference in taste is amazing.

Just my .02..............


scyth

Re: Crayfishing
 

Don't forget to save the shells! They are rich in calcium and phosphorous. Grind them up and use as fertilizer for your garden.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Pinching tails and sucking heads. I sure do miss that! It's been years since I've had (proper) mud bugs. There's a saying when it comes to eating crawfish. "If your lips aren't burning by the third one, someone f*&ked up the boil." Damn, I miss the south.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Attachment 70945You call that a crayfish? Thats not a crayfish.



This is a crayfish

Attachment 70944

Re: Crayfishing
 

Wicked thread. Thanks Awoke for starting and others too........great contri's.

Gonna get me sum tooooo , 'ol JJ. Kan tastum now. MMMMMMmmmmmmm.

Re: Crayfishing
 

crayfish...crawfish....nonsense! Where I grew up everyone I know calls them crawdads.

as far as eating them, yummy! Though where I lived they were only small and hardly worth the trouble, but if you did want to trouble with it they were yummy! You just better have another meal planned or you would go away hungry.

Can't wait to get back "home"

Big Country

Re: Crayfishing
 

A lot of poeple in Australia are farming a similar type called red claw and selling them in south east asia.Apparently they make more $ per acre than they would if they farmed beef.Many farms are small scale(10-20 concrete tanks and a dam) and they still seem to make a living

Re: Crayfishing
 

Cajuncoin here,

Crawfish or Ecrivisse as they are called here in Louisiana is a delicacy like no other, Cajuncoin even has a special pot to boil the rascals in fueled by a propane jet burner where we sacrifice the Crawfish:


1. To catch crawfish is easy, you need a net, melt or bait (Old meat works ok, Chicken necks, etc). a 4 by 4 (ft) net will yield about 1 lbs at a time, in an hour you can get 40 Lbs if you work the rice field hard. ( We cajun grow our crawfish with rice or wild rice, they are dependent on each other).

2. Use ZATARAINs but not the liquid, it is too strong and oily, use the powder and add the powder to the boiling pot in slow amounts, put in your vegetable (Potatos, Corn, Califlower, Carrots along with the sausage) let boil.

3. Put your crawfish in a kiddie pool and yes we use salt and running water to purge the things, sort out the dead ones, they will not cook right.

4. Add live crawfish to boiling water as to harden the shellfish meat and let boil until done, add seasoning to taste, and after cooked stop boiler, let set to absorb seasoning and then put in an unused ice chest to keep warm.

5. Do not forget about the vegitables, pull them and set them aside for eating.

6. Sauce- Mix Ketchup and Mayonnaise with a touch of what you like in hot sauce.

Ca, cest bon mon ami.


I am a real Cajun, the story of the Crawfish is rooted in our past, when we were told to leave Nova Scotia in 1755, our friend the Hemard (Lobster) was also sent along to keep us company and remind us of our home in ACADIE in Canada, but in the warm waters of Louisiana, the Hemard shrunk and his decendants are the crawfish we enjoy.

AWOKE, there are several crawfish eateries in the Maritimes and Quebec, those Northern Cajuns (acadiens) love them aussi. :adore::adore:

:4_1_72:
Les angles lam pas ca.

I am a Cajun, Je son fieron du mon heritage. ( I am proud of my heritage).:565:

Re: Crayfishing
 

MAIS OUI.

The rice farms are our source of the best.
river bottom are good also but not a pletiful.

Re: Crayfishing
 

God Bless yall coon asses !:15_1_70v:

Re: Crayfishing
 

Initially eaten warm but if to be stored, they should be put on ice and frozen, shellfish has a very short shelf life, it spoils quickly.

Re: Crayfishing
 

Asking anybody else other than a cajun about crawfish is like asking a liberal how to balance the budget.:36_1_30:

WE ARE THE EXPERTS, WE HAVE SPECIAL TOOLS AND POTS TO CARRY OUT THE MISSION and yes Fridays during Lent is Crawfish days.:565:

MUDBUGS R US.:36_1_32v:

Re: Crayfishing
 

Amen! They will never taste good as long as you call them crayfish. They are called crawfish when you eat them.

I recommend the zatarans crab boil to use. Throw some potatoes, corn, mushrooms and sausage in there too. Good eating.

- A native Louisianian (Shreveport)