I guess all you can do is eat them. I have no problem with this. They probably taste better than the gray squirrels do.
You can fry the tails too if you like. They’re pretty good that way. I love them boiled but I still can’t get the hang of peeling them. I haven’t been trying for very long, though. So I either sit next to a fast peeler who might take pity on me, or just eat the potatoes that have been boiled with the crawfish. Yum!
It took me quite a while to peel the fourteen big ones I caught - instructions linked in this thread talked about 'gently peeling off the tail carapace segments or some such, but ‘gently’ just wasn’t an option with mine - they were really tough. I’ll try squashing them widthways a bit next time.
Grey squirrels are reasonably good eating, but not as easy to catch.
The first time I ever took a crawfish in hand to peel it, I accidentally, er, threw it across the room. In my defense, it felt like a bug. I provided amusement thereby for everyone else in the room.
Crapsfish?
Anyway from what you’re saying it sounds like:
So I’m struggling to find a downside.
The downside is that sometimes you eat too many at once and then you feel kind of weird.
The downside is the very probable extinction of our native species. Also, I understand these things are upsetting the ecology of the rivers generally (they burrow into banks causing them to collapse and they devour lots of the other organisms in the rivers). But they’re here now and there doesn’t seem to be any way to turn back the clock.
From a selfish, culinary perspective, of course I’m glad they’re here - I almost wish they were in the river that runs half a mile away from my house; the idea of introducing them there is a bit of a temptation, but my conscience will never, ever permit me to do it. Someone else will though.
Why don’t crayfish freeze well? I’ve had frozen ones, and they taste pretty bad. Does freezing destroy the flavor?
They have quite a high moisture content and fairly soft flesh - I think the process of freezing probably damages the meat a fair bit, although I’ve heard plenty of people talk about freezing them to kill them and thawing/cooking them later - and not everybody complains about the flavour… Then again, not everybody cares…