Art of the Boil!

If you’ve been cravin’ crawfish lately, you are in the right place!  Finally, the price of the tasty buggers has come down in the area considerably the past few months, but you might still find them costly, depending on your budget.  I won’t say “At a price you can afford” because I hate that line in commercials.  How do they know what I can “afford?”  Maybe $9.99 a month would severely cut into my edibles budget!  But I digress, back to the ‘bugs, which by the way are nowhere near $9.99/lb live, closer to the four-dollar range.  Shop around for you best deal, there are abundant crawfish price resources and apps to refer to, not unlike finding cheap gas.  Once you find your best deal, get after it!  Just boil ’em up with a sack of seasoning and you’re good to go, right? Well, that’ll work for sure, and it’s my chosen method, but if you’re going for the Art of the Boil, you’ll need to add some finesse, some panache, some creativity.  That’s when I turn to a master crawfish cooker, like my son Zak. It’s his handiwork pictured here by the way, and the taste is exceptionally scrumptious…like nothing you’ll find at you favorite crawfish restaurant, I guarantee!

Start with a fat sack of select crawfish, fresh from a reputable dealer.  Then, give those bugs a bath!  Place them in a large vessel with good drainage, a kiddie-pool works well, or a big clean trash can.  We were happy with the performance of the commercial crawfish cleaner pictured below. Hook your hose up to the bottom and fill with water.  the agitating water rinses the bugs exceptionally well, and conveniently drains on the opposite end.  Again, you’ll find such devices readily available online.

Once thoroughly rinsed, they’re ready to hit the water, now at a rolling boil and rich with seasonings and more!  Corn and potatoes a must have, but don’t stop there! Toss in some Down Home sausage if you desire, lemons, garlic cloves, onions or whole mushrooms.  Pineapple?  Hey, some say it’s not just for pizza.  If you can boil it, let your imagination be your guide…most everything goes with crawfish!

So happy crawfish cookin’, and here’s hoping you achieve the Art of the Boil someday.  If not,  let the pros do the cookin’ and get your fill at Mudbug Madness the 24th-26th! I’ll definitely see you there!