Crawfish Supply and demand

[highchef]

there are crawfish here, but they are high. 3.50/lb boiled..I have no idea what that transfers to live/sack. I heard someone say they were asking 90/sack live. Too much for me.

[Mayhaw Man]

I'm having a bunch of people over for a boil on Monday night (normally, it's red beans for this group, every Monday night at someone else's house-been doing it for years-but as I have a fabulous new back yard and there are going to be alot of out of town types around, we decided to splurge-it's pretty funny, normally the bean night thing is casual, just show up if you are around because it happens like clockwork. For this, I actually sent out an email announcement and asked people to respond so that we could buy enough to go round, and every single person said that they would show up. It's a pretty good indicator of how few boils are happening this year. It's usually a cheap, easy party. Not so right now). I have been shopping round and it looks like, no matter what, I'm going to be paying $2.50 lb or better. You know they're high when subbing with some shrimp as a filler is a cheaper alternative. I can get off the boat, mixed (unsized), shrimp for 2 bucks a pound right now. I'll keep shopping, but it looks like that's going to be the price.

I'm pretty fired up though. I love a boil.

[bavila]

I'm having a bunch of people over for a boil on Monday night

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Can I come?

[patti]

I talked to an Atchafalya basin crawfisherman today, and he said the water in the basin is just too low to have a good catch, about fifteen feet lower than usual, as a matter of fact. He didn't think walking his boat through muck would be a good thing. That doesn't explain why the pond crawfish aren't being fished very much, though. I'll talk to a pond fisherman on Friday and see what he has to say.

[Mayhaw Man]

A big part of the pond crawfish shortage, probably the biggest part, is that we are in a drought situation and that means that, in order to fill the ponds, farmers had to depend of pumped water this fall once the rice was harvested. Given that the price of diesel was $2.50 or better at that time, the payback just wasn't going to be there on small plots of crawfish-something most of those guys do on the side for a good hobby that pays a littel extra dough (often cash money on the barrelhead).

They are very dear and hard to find. That's just going to be the situation this year, I think.

B

[joiei]

I am invited to a boil up here next week. Now I know that instead of the yearly $10 I pitch in, I should expect to at least double that contribution. This is my one time a year I get to eat fresh crawfish until I am satisfied.

[highchef]

ok, #1 nephew lives in RiverRidge and one of his old employers is serving boiled crawfish for 2.50/lb. Worth the short drive to the burbs from N.O., yes? The place is on Jefferson hwy it's called the Village Inn. It's on the lake side of Jefferson. If you've got an envie for mudbugs check it out. Patty

[NYC Mike]

Crawfish Crop Looking Good For 2007

Louisiana's crawfish harvest is finally bouncing back after two bad years following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Story

Looks like great news!! Now, I have a confession to make. I have never eaten a crawfish. One and only time I was in NO was a culinary train wreck, I spent most of the trip with my head wrapped around a Hurricane and can't remember much else after that.

Brooks, TA, someone, educate me, please.

As a first timer, how do I want to eat them? What are your top 3 ways? Do you think I can find them locally in GA or should I mail order? Could you recommend a mail order farm?

Thanks!

-Mike

[TAPrice]

You really just want to eat them boiled. And they should be served on newspaper and consumed with an Abita beer.

The problem is that the best boils are found in someone's backyard (hell, I might even say the very best boil is found in Brook's backyard [which actually looks out on what used to be my backyard before Katrina--small world and all]).

Short of wrangling an invitation to someone's house, you might check out the Big Fisherman on Magazine Street. You can buy crawfish by the pound and then walk across the street to the Bulldog for outdoor tables and pitchers of beer.

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I just noticed that you need to eat them in GA. Don't know about that. You need them alive for a boil, so I bet they would be expensive.

Edited February 1, 2007 by TAPrice (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

There are a number of people that ship them here these days. I will try to put together a new list of the folks that I reccomend. On the other hand, it's an 8 hour drive. You could come over on a Friday, spend the night and eat some good food, have a few pops, and then get up in the morning and go buy a big load of crawfish. You could then drive home and have a big ass crawfish boil with all of your friends on Sunday. Simple, and frankly, this would probably still be less expensive than shipping live crawfish. They are asking some pretty crazy money for that service, no matter the price.

If you are nice, hell, I might have a boil for you while you are here. Todd's right, I'm no amateur.

[shellfishfiend]

Crawfish Crop Looking Good For 2007

Louisiana's crawfish harvest is finally bouncing back after two bad years following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Story

Looks like great news!! Now, I have a confession to make. I have never eaten a crawfish. One and only time I was in NO was a culinary train wreck, I spent most of the trip with my head wrapped around a Hurricane and can't remember much else after that.

Brooks, TA, someone, educate me, please.

As a first timer, how do I want to eat them? What are your top 3 ways? Do you think I can find them locally in GA or should I mail order? Could you recommend a mail order farm?

Thanks!

-Mike

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Mike,

There are lots of great crawfish recipes. However, during the season (when you can get them live) the only way to have them is boiled. You also need to keep in mind that unlike shrimp, the yield from whole crawfish is tiny. We eat 5-7 lbs. per person and that is with corn and potatoes.

The idea Brooks had about driving down is a good one. Crawfish will do fine on a road trip if the proper precautions are taken. When we lived in Little Rock, AR, we often had to travel several hours to get our crawfish for our annual boil.

When you buy them, make sure you have someone explain how to purge the crawfish. This makes the differnce between great crawfish and crappy (literally) crawfish.

We are planning a boil in a couple of weeks for my birthday/Mardi Gras. With limited tables available in my back yard, we don't always use the "newspaper on the table." Instead, we go to the liquor store and get the cardboard flats that six-packs of beer come on. Put a few sheets of newspaper in the bottom to catch the juices and you can sit in a lawn chair with your beer in hand and your "plate" in your lap. Abita Purple Haze is great with crawfish. Well, any Abita beer is great with crawfish.

Be sure and let us know how it turns out if you try crawfish. And you should try them-they are fantastic!

[Varmint]

Well, hell, I'm looking for someone to have a crawfish boil for me and 10 of my friends the night before the Mardi Gras Marathon (and Half Marathon for those who are almost obese and can only run 13 miles). Todd, Brooks, what are you doing on Saturday, February 24th? I pay good money!!!!

Glad to hear the crawfish harvest is on the rebound.

[Mayhaw Man]

I pay good money!!!!

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Is there any other kind, Dean? Perhaps I have missed something that I should know about.

[Dave the Cook]

Mike, not to discourage you from enjoying Brooks's fine hospitality (or Dean's largesse, should your visits coincide), but in the Atlanta area, DeKalb Farmers' Market often has live crawfish, as do the two Harry's locations.

[NYC Mike]

Thanks Dave, I will start calling those local places to when they will have some in. I know I can get Abita too!!

Brooks, that is an awesome idea for a road trip! That sounds like a plan!

When you boil them, is it similar to crab or shrimp boil? Am I prepping a nice big pot with corn cob and potatoes and sausage? Seasoning with Old Bay bags or something like it?

Thanks!

-Mike

[shellfishfiend]

Thanks Dave, I will start calling those local places to when they will have some in.  I know I can get Abita too!!

Brooks, that is an awesome idea for a road trip!  That sounds like a plan!

When you boil them, is it similar to crab or shrimp boil?  Am I prepping a nice big pot with corn cob and potatoes and sausage?  Seasoning with Old Bay bags or something like it?

Thanks!

-Mike

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Mike,

You will need a big pot full of boiling water. throw in potatoes, garlic, onions, corn, lemons and sausage if you like. I have never had crawfish done with Old Bay. It might be okay. But you really need something spicier. You can probably find or mail order Zatarain's Crab Boil. If so, use lots of it. There is a seasoning mix here called Swamp Fire that is really good too.

Brooks seems to be the expert. He might have his own seasoning blend that he can give you the recipe for.

[Mayhaw Man]

Instructions with illustrations (sort of, anyway) here. I will put together something for you and post it on this thread (just as soon as I send instructions to Todd about cooking boned chickens-ack, I forgot about that).

Crawfish boiling and other LA food activities-click here

It's funny, and not a little bittersweet, about how much has changed since I did this blog. A number of those people don't live here anymore, and the very back yard that those photos were taken in probably had 6 to 10 feet of water in it on Monday, Aug 29, 2005. Hell, I don't live in that house anymore (though my children do). It's got a nice kitchen now. Life changes pretty damned fast. Enjoy it while you can. Make that roadtrip. You'll be glad that you did.

[shellfishfiend]

Had our first crawfish boil of the season last night. Just a small affair; the next-door neighbors came over to watch the Super Bowl. Sorry, no pictures. Just as I was getting ready to get the camera, the neighbors came over and I forgot all about it.

We called around to five places on Saturday to check price and availability. Two places had stopped selling live because they were running low. We were quoted prices of $2.09/lb., $2.29/lb., and $2.49/lb. Up until this weekend, they were going for $1.99/lb. I guess the Super Bowl increased demand and thereby price.

We ended up buying a 34 lb. sack for $2.29/lb. from a local fish market. They were a little small and some were crushed, but they cooked up really well. They peeled like a dream. Pinch the tail and the meat popped right out.

We served them with corn, potatoes and mushrooms.

Our next door neighbor is nine months pregnant and didn't think she would be able to eat much. However, she was a trooper and ate two trays. I hope I can do that if I am ever in the same situation.

So, four people ate supper last night from a 34 lb. sack of crawfish and there were only about 2 lbs. left over that my husband finished off today. I was pleased.

We will have another small boil of similar size in two weeks. Then in late March or early April, we will do a boil for 15-20 people. I hope the price drops more by then.

I love crawfish season. Pictures next time.

[Dago]

ahhh....crawfish purging.

so....I hear two schools of thought on this. Some say you HAVE to purge them.....it's the only way to insure they have coughed up all of the non-desirables.

others say that purging them is a totally useless step, that it doesn't actually do what people have thought all these years that it does. And that simply soaking them in plain water, and draining and repeating several times does just as much.

I honestly don't have an opinion one way or the other. Personally i've never had crawfish that hadn't gone through the purging step.

discussion??? (ducking)

[highchef]

Observe the water after the initial purging. It becomes cleaner and cleaner with each rinse and batch of clean water and salt. That's enough evidence for me. Every back yard has to have a couple of metal tubs for this, and a half dozen cartons of mortons salt is a must.

reminds me. I have to check prices for next week. I'll let ya'll know so we can compare.

I'll be in N.O. this weekend..Lakeview area for a game, hope it looks better than it did last year this time, but somehow I don't think so.

[shellfishfiend]

I think purging is a must. I have had crawfish that weren't purged adn crawfsih where the purging and rinsing was rushed. There is a grittiness and strong muddy taste to crawfish that aren't purged (imo). The grittiness is the most off-putting thing to me. Now, mind you, I never devein shrimp—but I do purge my crawfish.

After a few years of trial and error, we came up with a pretty good system. We bought several galvanized wash tubs, drilled lots of holes in the bottoms of half of them. Now, it is easy to pick up the tub with holes and drain it of the salt water to put in another tub to rinse.