Suck the Head. Pinch the Tail.

Let's talk...  crawfish!!  

What did you think this post was going to be about, you dirty pervs???  Something sexy??  Not that a lot of kinky shit doesn't go down in this city, but this post is about food.  So there.

We have entered into crawfish (crayfish or crawdads or crawdaddies or mudbugs - as some others may refer to them) season.  Which means that the boiling parties have begun.  As a matter-of-fact, our neighbors are having their first boil this Sunday (February 10th) and we've been invited to participate in this very New Orleans tradition.  I'm so stupidly excited about this!!  My first REAL boil (outside of an actual restaurant).

So...  what does happen at one of these festivities???

The crawfish are boiled outside (in what looks like a big turkey fryer) - using a propane burner.  Much like a Southern BBQ, the men-folk stand around the pot, drinking beer, telling tall tales, and just bullshitting each other (in general).  Of course, the crawfish are not the only things that go into said pot.  Added to the mix are a ton of spices (Zatarain's is preferred), spicy andouille sausage is another ingredient, along with potatoes and corn-on-the-cob.  Chunked-up yellow onions and bell peppers may or may not be added (I've yet to see a Boiled Plate where there were peppers in the mix) - and then it all cooks together and tastes ahh-may-zing!!!  It's like the Southern version of a New England Clam Bake - well, minus the seaweed (and the beach - but I can see the levee and the Mississippi River from my house, so it's close enough for Government work, eh?)...

After everything is cooked, tables are set up outside and lined heavily with newspaper.  Most of the cooking water is drained, and the entire contents of the pot are spread all over the tables.  Then??  It's a free-for-all.  You grab your crawfish, sausage, potatoes, and corn and go.  to.  town.  The claws on a crawfish are too small to get any meat, so in order to eat these lovelies, you would pinch the tail, twist it off, take the shell off, eat the meat, and then suck the head (which has a lot of fat and a lot of flavor - so I've been told - I just can't seem to bring myself to do it).  And on to the next... and the next... and the next.  The usual configuration of the crawfish-to-human-ratio happens to be about three pounds of mudbugs to each person.  S. is planning on having about 15 of us over, so we'll have about 50 pounds of crawfish in the pot.  

I've volunteered to be the sous chef and help with everything - nothing like getting some hands-on experience.  :0))

^^  This is the apron I plan on wearing so I don't mess up my tee-shirt...

^^  Here is a finished crawfish boil platter... husby had these at Savoie's in Shreveport, LA

^^  And the infamous Zatarain's boil spices...  you can order online and do your own boil!!

And I plan on having a bunch of very cold beer with my huge-ass plate of crawdaddies!!  

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