Crawfish Boil

We're having about 40 folks over for a school fundraiser tonight and I am the main course leg of a progression dinner at three homes in Georgetown.  The menu tonight includes seared lamb carpaccio, tuna sashimi, french onion soup, and smoked pork shoulder tacos.   But the most exotic course on the menu is the humble mud bug.


We find these in season at the Maine Avenue Fish Market (near the oysters) in season (live) for about $5/lb.  We purchased 10 pounds this morning.

Preparation
These little guys ain't called mud bugs for nothin', and they need a thorough cleaning and flushing prior to eating.  Submerge the lot in a large amount of cold water and leave them for several minutes.  Drain the water and repeat.  You will need to do this at least 3 times if not more.  The critters not only have dirt on their bodied, they also have it in their digestive system and you want that (shit) flushed out before you cook them.  So repeat until the water remains clear.  They will need about an hour for their Master Cleanse.

First Bath

Last Bath, Three Changes and Two Hours Later

Drain the final rinse water and begin the sorting process, discarding any dead bugs.  Dead ones are most obvious by their color and lack of movement, but dead specimens also tend to have loose straight tails rather than tight curled ones.  They also have a tendency to smell (bad).  Expect anywhere from 5 to 10 percent to be dead depending on the batch.  No worries.  Better to carefully sort than have a sick guest.

Dead One

Live Ones On Left, Angels' Share On Right

Place the live ones in a tall container.  These little guys can launch themselves a reasonable distance and clear a shallow edge.  Nothing like having your wife wake up to a live crawfish that snuck out at the kick plate of the your cabinets the next morning.  Now the boil.

Cooking Medium
Like most seafood boils, this one includes a healthy amount of salt and seasoning along with the obligatory beer or two.  This size boil will require my largest pot, four gallons, and will include the following roughly-measured boil mix:

1/2 can of Old Bay
1/3 cup of kosher salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Zest of one lemon
The lemon (cut in half and juiced into water, lemon halves then added to water)

Pour this into two gallons of water and two beers.

The Boil
Bring the spiced liquid to a boil.  Turn on the exhaust fan.

Add your critters all at once to the boil (with the heat set on high) and return the water to a boil.

Cover and simmer for FOUR MINUTES.

Turn off the heat and let the buggers steep for 20 minutes...they will continue to absorb the seasonings of the boil and get more flavorful.

The Presentation
 Lay many layers of newspaper or paper bags on a flat surface.  Drain off and discard the boil liquid and dump the contents in a neat pile in the middle of the protected table.  Commence the ritual.

The Ritual
 Now I'm no NoLa native, and no expert at this process, but am a huge fan of the cuisine.  And just like this Irish boy can take a crack at Mexican and Italian dishes, I think I can bring some knowledge to this table.

Pull the Tail Off

Eat the Tail, Suck the Head.  It is no more complicated than that.  Pull off the tail (much like my fellow New Englanders do with a lobster) and apply pressure with your thumb at the end of the tail to force the meat out the base.  Then take the torn end of the head, which is full of delicious fat and juice, and give it a good, loud, suck.  If it doesn't sound like a three-year-old trying to get the last sip of a Coke with straw, you are doing it wrong.  Then discard this portion and move onto the next bug.

Push Out Tail Meat

Suck the Head

If you have done it right, you will have the upper end of the eaten crawfish on the newspaper as well as the spent tails.  Simply roll up the paper with the excess and call it a day.

Jeff.