Crawfish Boil

Hey everyone! How’s ya mama an’ them? (As you can make out I am already in my “Cajun” ensemble, saying what the Cajun’s say and that’s just a Southern Salute!)

What do you when the sun shines for two consecutive days for the first time since January 1st? Well, you put on your “party hats” and feel lucky that you’ve got an exclusive invite to your boss’s “Craw-fish Boil” event! Ah, free food and heaps of fun! *woot-woot*

For the ones who don’t know what a “Craw-fish Boil” is (and are finding me a little more excited than I should be) – It is a social “messy” affair which absolutely has nothing to do with virtuously sitting down at a table with sophisticated silverware, awaiting your first course on a silver platter! Well, in all honesty, it is more about getting your hands dirty and “wriggling” into the tastefulness of the succulent crustaceans by the pounds! (Ha! Talk about healthy living!)

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Foooood!

Undoubtedly, nothing else symbolizes the Cajun (a member of any of the largely self-contained communities in the bayou areas of southern Louisiana formed by descendants of French Canadians, speaking an archaic form of French) culture of Louisiana like the craw-fish. Considered a Louisiana delicacy, the craw-fish (aka crayfish) resemble tiny lobsters – only much tender, juicier and flavorsome! (Yum!)
Also called the “mud-bugs” since they live in the mud of freshwater bayous, the craw-fish are “springtime staple” and the heart and soul of Louisiana’s long-established food industry.

With some outdoor high-pressure propane cookers, a few gigantic ice chests, a water hose, bags full of Cajun spices and 94 pounds of fresh craw-fish to devour – we were all set for out first ever “Craw-fish Boil!” “Laissez les bon temps rouler” Ahem, I mean “let the good times roll!”

It starts with a  bunch of live craw-fish –

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94 pounds worth of goodness!

Kept fresh and alive at 36 to 46 degrees F, they are hosed down in a cooler. With an essential of 7-9 pounds per person, I’ll just say that – we had enough of them! (Way enough!)

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Up, close and personal!

The next step, known as “Purging Craw-fish” – is a cardinal step, involving purging and thoroughly washing the craw-fish before boiling them. (Remember, “mud-bugs” – so you gotta clean them up good!)

Note – Be careful not to let them purge for too long coz you DO NOT want the craw-fish to be dead when you add them to the boil!

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Purging in action!
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Can’t touch this!

Next comes – “Boiling Craw-fish” – In a large (60- to 80 quart) pots over high heat with lemon halves for extra cleanse before you finally douse them into another huge pot with whole heads of garlic, potatoes, corn, sausage, mushrooms and yes, all kinds of spices!

Note – Packaged seasoning blends, famously marketed by Zatarain’s as “crab boil,” are often used and generally include potent combination of salt, black and red pepper, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, cloves, and marjoram. (Did I say Hotness!)

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Cooking in progress!

Post boiling it for a while (until the shells are bright red), the craw-fish are then strained to be served “piping hot!”

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My “precious” in the voice of Sméagol!
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When the “venue” be like this!

Well, next comes the step that we all have been waiting for – Eating “Sucking” Crawfish(Not that I at all minded the beers on the sides while basking in the sun!)

The spoils were dumped directly onto the long picnic-table covered in plastic tablecloth. With no plates, no forks, abundant rolls of paper towels and instructions like – “remove our rings and watches before digging in,” “if you’ve got long hair, keep an elastic band handy” and “keep water in easy reach”, we knew this is gonna be a “crime scene” for sure! (Undoubtedly, some “serious bloody-business” undertaking!)

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Busy hands!
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When the Boss’s wife tells you to – “PINCH THE TAIL AND WIGGLE-WIGGLE THE MEAT OUT!”

So how do you eat a craw-fish? Well it’s simple – PINCH THE TAIL AND SUCK THE HEAD – so that you can get the meat out of the tail and then suck all the good stuff out of the head! It’s a ritual and a pretty good one at that!

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Beer and lots of food! Ah, what every man wants!

So, there we go folks – This is how we rolled our “Craw-fish Boil” event! *burp burp*

It was absolutely wonderful for all of us to be able to “meet and greet” everyone from work and come together for a day filled with laughter, merriment and glee. The entire event indeed was an impressive and exciting experience! Hats off to the wonderful hosts who made this “Craw-fish Boil” encounter of ours, both delightful and enjoyable. Oh yeah, your lips will burn and your eyes will tear up – But you’ll still love fact that you did what you did!

Here’s to zero table manners, messiness, camaraderie, some Zydeco music and Cajun lifestyle! Cheers! 

Love,
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49 Comments

  1. I’ll admit to pinching the tails and doing the “wiggle-wiggle” move to get the meat out, but, for the record, I did not suck any of the heads! We had a great time and your blog captures it well.

    1. Haha.. I agree! I guess, it’s for the more seasoned gastronomers.😁
      Thank you so much for stopping by. It was indeed a wonderful experience!😊

    1. Haha.. Me too! 😉
      It was an incredible experience and I had loads of fun! Thank you so much sweetheart! 🙂

  2. 😂 You had me laughing right away with “hows your mama an them” and yes, so so grateful to finally have sun and warm weather! This food looks delicious so I have to find a way to try this…

    1. Haha.. You bet! 😉
      Oh yes, thank god for the weather! It is such a relief! 🙂
      Also, plan yourself a trip to New Orleans – you’ll LOVE it there! Lots to do and see for an avid traveler like you! 🙂

  3. hello iscriblr its dennis the vizsla dog hay my dada is saying sumthing abowt how wen their wuz no meet they ayt fowl and wen there wuz no fowl they ayt crawdad and wen their wuz no crawdad to be fownd they ayt sand i hav no ideea wot he is tawking abowt as yoozhual but i am pritty shoor he has never eeten sand!!! i am not shoor on the crawdad!!! ok bye

    1. Haha.. Well, I don’t blame you! It’s kinda hard to watch but yummy to eat! 😉

      PS – I am a Vegetarian (an occasional Salmon eater).. This was for my Huz, who does/can eat any fish! 🙂

  4. Crawfish boils are the essence of Cajun culture! It’s delightful to find a fellow Cajun 😉 “Combe yeah sheh!” Crawfish is the only food you can eat for 3 hours :))

    1. Haha.. You bet! “Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez!” 😉 😛

      Thank you so much for stopping by “Sha!”❤️❤️

      1. I wasn’t gonna attempt to spell that but hell yeahh! I just ate the last piece of king cake that I had preserved in the fridge. I guess I’ll have to wait till next year or holiday cakes…

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