The proper way to eat crawfish is to twist off the tail and suck the fat juice from the head. Next, remove the meat from the tail and eat it (this is the best part). Discard the shell and reach for another. This is what I learned at Acadiana’s Crawfish Boil cooking class. Well, that and if I ever want to host a crawfish boil I know how to do it and where I can order crawfish.
Acadiana's cooking classes are worth the money. You sit, consume unlimited amounts of alcohol, and watch and learn from the chef as he cooks. Then you eat. It's a little bit like watching the Food Network, but better because instead of pressing your mouth up to the TV you actually get to taste the food.
We consumed 80 pounds of crawfish and 20 pounds of shrimp during that class (not bad for 21 people). I am not so much a fan of the fat juice part, but I do like the tail meat. Crawfish look like tiny lobsters and taste similar, but unlike lobster, crawfish are a fresh water catch.
I didn't count how many I ate. My best estimate is 20 to 25. Oh dear.
A few years ago, I went to the New Orleans Jazzfest. I spent a lot of my time eating crawfish: crawfish monica, crawfish pie, crawfish etouffee. But before this class I had never see a live crawfish (below). While they are tiny compared to lobster, it surprised me how big they are. There is not much meat for all that crawfish. Legend has it that when the people of Nova Scotia were expelled from their land, they brought lobster with them. The trip to Louisiana took so long that the lobsters lost weight on the way. That's silly.
Sorry, little one, you have to go in the pot.
The photo below shows Chef Chris Clime dropping crawfish into the boil. Clearly, if you were doing this at home it would be a pot, not a professional boiler. Crawfish season lasts from February to May, so you have a few more weeks to get a piece of the action. Acadiana hosts crawfish boils on Friday from 3:30 to 6:30. Guests have their choice ofcrawfish ($13 per pound) or shrimp ($17 per pound), plus potatoes and fresh corn on the cob. Buckets of four ice-cold Abita Lights are available for $12. Check out Acadian's website for more details.
