# Crawdad boil **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664 "2011-04-16T23:09:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/21 "2011-04-18T13:03:36Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I like crawfish but how can you justify so much work peeling back the shells for so little meat?? That bothers me every time I eat it Think of them as the Disneyland of seafood. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/22 "2011-04-18T13:30:48Z")
I don’t eat aquatics. When a friend of mine used to do crawdad boils, he’d put in extra sausage and then pull out a bowl of all the goodies for me just before he tossed in the 'diddies. Since they only take a few minutes, it all worked. So yeah, add sausage or shrimp or whatever for her. If she’s freaky about it, pull her stuff out before you add the crawdads. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/23 "2011-04-18T14:35:48Z")
I wonder what effect the BP spill in the Gulf will have on crawfish populations this year? Hopefully not appreciable but the CoE did divert normal flow to some areas in an attempt to keep oil from invading the marshes. Whether this will negligable or not I havent heard. I just picked up a giant pot and burner this year specifically for mudbug boils. Time to get busy. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/24 "2011-04-18T14:57:17Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I wonder what effect the BP spill in the Gulf will have on crawfish populations this year? Hopefully not appreciable but the CoE did divert normal flow to some areas in an attempt to keep oil from invading the marshes. Whether this will negligable or not I havent heard. > > I just picked up a giant pot and burner this year specifically for mudbug boils. Time to get busy. Not much. China’s been exporting crawfish since the early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/25 "2011-04-18T15:05:05Z")
Why don’t you just steam a pot of blue crabs? Everything you said except crab instead of crawfish. Your roomie is spot on, too much work for too little meat and odd texture. Crabs otoh have a big bite of backfin that can’t be beat. Might be that I live by the Chesapeake Bay, we don’t do crawfish as food, only bait. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/26 "2011-04-18T15:09:49Z")
We just had a boil this weekend. 90 lbs flown to Colorado over-night delevery $4.50/lb. Damn, good time. Next weekend I’m showing the southerners a Santa Maria style [bbq](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Style_BBQ) to return the favor. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/27 "2011-04-18T15:24:46Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > too much work for too little meat and odd texture. In my experience, peeling and eating a crawfish is far more productive than peeling and eating a shrimp - probably not as efficient as a crab, but people who have problems with crawfish are just doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/28 "2011-04-18T15:45:20Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I like crawfish as an ingredient in pastas, or various prepared dishes, but eating boiled bugs is too messy, too much of a hassle for a such a small amount of actual food. I found my long-awaited first crawfish boil somewhat underwhelming as well. It was both extremely messy and extremely salty, for little payoff: essentially licking and slurping a lot of seasoned salt off of a plate of soggy, drippy shells. I walked away with my mouth puckered, hands and shirt drenched in seafood stench, and still hungry. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/29 "2011-04-18T15:55:55Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Your roomie is spot on, too much work for too little meat and odd texture. Crawfish are easier to eat than uncapping a tube of ChapStick! What are you guys doing to your crawfish - going at them with chopsticks!? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/30 "2011-04-18T16:46:12Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Not much. China’s been exporting crawfish since the early 90s. I hope not to Louisiana though. :eek: Chinese crawfish are nowhere nearly as good as the Louisiana kind. Crawfish when I was there were farmed in the stubble of rice fields, and so wouldn’t be at all affected by the oil spill. We lived next to a coulee, and we had a few crawfish in there - but not nearly enough to bother with. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/31 "2011-04-18T16:48:41Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > In my experience, peeling and eating a crawfish is far more productive than peeling and eating a shrimp - probably not as efficient as a crab, but people who have problems with crawfish are just doing it wrong. Back quite a while ago we went to a Cajun dinner special at the Vista hotel by the World Trade Center. They had a buffet style table of Cajun food, including crawfish. My fellow New Yorkers were taking one or two, and were puzzling over how to eat them. My wife and I gave lessons - and grabbed a lot of the mudbugs. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/32 "2011-04-18T17:01:13Z")
We just fished them out of a creek with our hands when I was on a Girl Scout camping trip. We tossed them into our freeze dried stew, then took them out and ate the meat while one girl autopsied hers and explained crawdad anatomy. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/33 "2011-04-18T17:02:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I found my long-awaited first crawfish boil somewhat underwhelming as well. It was both extremely messy and extremely salty, for little payoff: essentially licking and slurping a lot of seasoned salt off of a plate of soggy, drippy shells. I walked away with my mouth puckered, hands and shirt drenched in seafood stench, and still hungry. I am still really looking forward to the boils—There is going to be live music, tons of beer and other beverages, a large choice of side dishes, and a bunch of people enjoying some authentic cuisine from a culture world-famous for the love of the good life; It’s just the “main course” itself that doesn’t really appeal to me, but as someone who has not eaten any meat for many, many years, I still always enjoy an invitation to a friendly neighborhood BBQ, even if I am only having chips, salsa and beer. I am certainly looking forward to the festivities, if not the actual crawfish themselves… ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/34 "2011-04-18T17:25:24Z")
I appreciate this thread. I am of the remedial crawdad appreciation and application school. I have nephews that can catch buckets of them in a stream, with a stick wrapped in bacon, but beyond the obligatory, “Ohhhh, Wow! That’s amazing!”, I am at a loss. Please forgive me if I am redundant here. So, I am staring at a crawdad and he is blankly staring back at me. I pick him up and I A) Put his head in my mouth and suck his brains out? (OMG! That can so be taken another way) B) Turn him around, open his backside a bit and suck out his innards? C) Use the head for laughs. hmmm… I’m intrigued ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/35 "2011-04-18T18:04:30Z")
One other crawfish story. I bought two at the aquarium store because they are good at cleaning the bottom of the tank. Two weeks later they had eaten about $70 bucks worth of my underwater plants. That’s when I decided to take them fishing. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/36 "2011-04-18T18:22:04Z")
> [@](#): > > A) Put his head in my mouth and suck his brains out? (OMG! That can so be taken another way) > B) Turn him around, open his backside a bit and suck out his innards? > C) Use the head for laughs. A) Twist his head off, and suck the juicy bits out from the head cavity. Sounds and looks gross, but it’s delicious. B) Peel a ring or two off of his midsection to expose the meaty bit. Hold the meaty bit between your teeth, and pull it while pinching its tail. The meat should completely extract very easily. C) Stick the disembodied head onto your thumb. Finger puppet! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/37 "2011-04-18T20:19:53Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I like crawfish but how can you justify so much work peeling back the shells for so little meat?? That bothers me every time I eat it The same bunch that introduced me to crawdad boils also introduced me to rattlesnake. Another high effort-low yield food. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/38 "2011-04-18T20:33:52Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > One other crawfish story. I bought two at the aquarium store because they are good at cleaning the bottom of the tank. Two weeks later they had eaten about $70 bucks worth of my underwater plants. That’s when I decided to take them fishing. Well, duh. They’re just like Cajuns - they’ll eat any damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/39 "2011-04-18T21:02:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I hope not to Louisiana though. :eek: Chinese crawfish are nowhere nearly as good as the Louisiana kind. No worries, at least here in Houston. There’s plenty of Louisiana crawfish this year. Any residual effects of the oil spill don’t look to be seriously affecting production. Already been to a couple boils and expect to be at a few more before the season’s up. Not sure about fish, especially in deeper waters, but there’s at least been some PR pushes by Louisiana claiming that commercial fishing is also back. I don’t know what the official word on it is, but Gulf seafood prices don’t seem to be that much out of the historical line. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664/40 "2011-04-18T21:18:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I hope not to Louisiana though. :eek: Chinese crawfish are nowhere nearly as good as the Louisiana kind. > > Crawfish when I was there were farmed in the stubble of rice fields, and so wouldn’t be at all affected by the oil spill. > We lived next to a coulee, and we had a few crawfish in there - but not nearly enough to bother with. No, they aren’t as good, but they’re priced cheap enough that the quality isn’t anything to sneeze at. Yes, they do even bring them into the gulf. People in LA thought that was ridiculous back in 91, but there is a market - even among Louisianians - for cheaper crawfish. They’re here to stay. > [@](#): > > Cheaper Chinese crawfish have crippled the Louisiana crawfish industry, he says: “Our restaurants don’t serve any Chinese crawfish.” If they did, “my momma would slap me in the face and my father would rise from the dead and kick me in the butt.” > **[Who Dat?: D.C.'s New Louisiana and Cajun Restaurants](https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/361732/who-dat-d-c-s-new-louisiana-and-cajun-restaurants/)** > > A tall Air Force officer walks into the new and low-ceilinged Cajun Experience restaurant in Dupont Circle, to pick up a carry-out order. He asks owner Bryan Crosswhite, who is situated on a bar stool, chatting and fiddling around with a broken door... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crawdad-boil/578664.md?page=3)