Preparing and Eating Crayfish

Crayfish are most delicious when briefly cooked in salted water seasoned with crown dill. Like lobster, the crayfish turn bright red when cooked. They are cooled in their cooking liquid absorbing salt and dill aroma to enhance their flavor. When chilled, they are shelled and eaten with fingers, accompanied by fresh dill, freshly toasted bread and butter.

Crayfish are a great delicacy highly appreciated in many countries, especially in Europe and the southern United States. Arranging a special bash entirely dedicated to feasting on boiled crayfish is a popular tradition in the Nordic countries, like Sweden and Finland.
Crayfish parties are held there during the cray fishing season, mostly in August. In Finland, the open season for catching wild crayfish starts at noon on July the 21st and ends on October the 31st. For many, the crayfish season is the highlight of the culinary year.

A pricey delicacy

In the late 19th century Sweden, among the upper class, it became fashionable to celebrate the ending of summer season with a crayfish dinner. This custom also spread to Finland. At the time crayfish were abundant in the waters of Sweden and Finland. Since then, the crayfish plague, spread to Europe from North America and with the introduction of the American signal crayfish, have practically devastated the native stocks.
Nowadays, the native noble crayfish in Finland are scarce, making their price very high. The signal crayfish are more affordable, yet still quite expensive, too. This is why cheaper — and mostly inferior — frozen crayfish imported from countries like Turkey, Spain, China and the U.S.A. are more often used to replace the fresh, domestic crayfish.
Buying and storing tips

The freshest crayfish are alive and frisky. To check, stay well out of their claw range, grasp them firmly by the sides, and hold them upside down. Live ones will wiggle.

Put live crayfish in a bowl, cover with wet paper towels, and keep in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours. Fresh crayfish is best cooked and eaten the same day you buy it, but will keep safely in the refrigerator for up to two days after it is cooked.

To freeze, wrap crayfish meat carefully in freezer paper or plastic, and over-wrap with a plastic bag. Store for up to two months. To thaw, unwrap, place in a bowl or pan and cover and let thaw in refrigerator overnight. To thaw more quickly, wrap crayfish in waterproof plastic and place in a sink with cool running water, allowing about 30 minutes per pound (454g). For fastest thawing, place in a shallow microwave-safe bowl, cover and use the defrost cycle of your microwave allowing three to five minutes per 1/2 pound (227g).

Availability

In the South, crayfish are harvested from November to June; on the West Coast, crayfish come on the market from May to October. Crayfish may have to be special-ordered from a fish-market or specialty store.

Preparation, uses, and tips

To clean, spread crayfish out on the counter and remove any dead ones. Put the rest in a colander and spray with cold water to remove any sand or silt.

To remove the crayfish’s sand vein, boil briefly. When cool enough to handle, turn the crayfish stomach up, firmly grasp and twist the tail until it cracks, then gently pull out the vein.

To boil live crayfish, fill a large pan with water and flavorings (herbs, spices, and vegetables ,such as carrot , onion and celery ) and bring to a rapid boil. A few at a time, plunge crayfish into boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer until the tail meat is opaque, about six to seven minutes. Serve crayfish in their broth.

To eat crayfish, pinch the sides of the tail until you hear them crunch, pull away the shell, and pick out the meat. For small crayfish, twist off the head and suck the meat out of the shell.

Nutritional Highlights

Crayfish, 3 oz. (84.9g) (cooked, moist heat)
Calories: 70
Protein: 14.2g
Carbohydrate: 0.0g
Total Fat: 1.02g
Fiber: 0.0g
*Excellent source of: Selenium (31.2mcg), and (1.83mcg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily Value.

Recipes

Crayfish Etouffee
2 1/2 lbs. crawfish tails
1 stick margarine
3 large onions, finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions in margarine about 15 to 20 minutes until soft. Add crawfish fat (from the body cavity) and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until fat comes to the top. Add tail meat and season the taste. Add just enough hot water to etouffee for desired consistency. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add parsley. Serve over steaming hot rice. Serves 5 to 6.

Crayfish Salad
2 cups boiled crawfish meat, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 T. dill pickles, chopped
1/2 t. worcestershire sauce
mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and mix with mayonnaise to desired consistency. Season to taste. Serve on bed of shredded lettuce. Serves 4.

Crawdad Pilaf
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup stuffed olives, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 cups cooked crawfish meat
4 T. flour
2 cups milk
3 T. melted butter
Combine rice, olives, onion, green pepper, crayfish meat and most of the grated cheese together in a well-greased casserole. Make a medium white sauce of flour, butter and milk, and season to taste. Pour over casserole and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until top is brown. Serves 6.

Bisque De Cribiches
(freshwater Crayfish Bisque)
Yield: 6 servings

4 tb Butter, unsalted
2 lb Crayfish; cleaned, shelled
1 Onions; chopped fine
2 Garlic cloves; chopped
1 Fennel sprig; (optional)
1 sm Pepper, hot; left whole
4 c Water
1 c Milk, coconut
2 Egg yolks
Salt; to taste

The crayfish shells are simmered the water first to make a more
flavorful stock instead of using plain water. The shells includes the heads legs everything.
At the end of simmering 20 minutes or so blitz the liquid. Strain using a fine strainer.

Heat butter in heavy saucepan and add crayfish, onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat until the crayfish have changed color, about 5 minutes. Add the fennel, hot pepper and water. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer
for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the fennel and the hot pepper. Remove the crayfish and pound in a mortar and push through a fine sieve or reduce to a puree in an electric blender with a little of the stock. Return the pureed crayfish to the saucepan, add the coconut milk and heat through. Beat the eggs yolks with a little of the soup and stir into
the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup is lightly thickened.

Malay Crayfish Curry (4)

Ingredients
2½ lb crayfish tails
4 oz coconut cream
1" ginger, finely chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp lemon or lime juice

1 Tbsp Mild Curry Powder Or
2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp corriander
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp chilli
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp black pepper
pinch of cloves and nutmeg

Instructions

Cook crayfish for about 10 mins. Cool. Remove meat from tail and claws. Cut into cubes. Reserve cooking liquid.
Mix coconut cream with 1 cup of the crayfish cooking liquid in a saucepan until melted. Add spices and cook over a medium heat until a ring of oil appears and the spices smell cooked.
Add onions and garlic to the mixture with another cup of water and cook for 15 mins more. Add crayfish meat. Season with salt and heat for 5 mins over a low heat. Add brown sugar and lemon or lime juice.

Serve with yellow pilau rice.

Crispy Crayfish (2 - 4)

Ingredients
1 lb raw crayfish
2 tsps light soy
1 tbsp chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
15 fl oz groundnut oil
8 tbsps cornflour
2 eggs, beaten
10 tbsps breadcrumbs

Instructions

Peel crayfish, discarding shells.Using a small sharp knife partially split the crayfish lengthways. Pat the crayfish dry with kitchen paper. Mix the crayfish with the soy sauce, rice wine, five spice powder and pepper.
Heat wok and add oil. While the oil is heating dip the crayfish in the cornflour, shaking gently to remove any excess. Dip into the beaten egg and coat thoroughly with breadcrumbs.
When the oil begins to smoke lightly deep fry the coated crayfish until golden. Drain well on kitchen paper.

Crayfish Potlicker (3)

Ingredients
1 lb pealed crayfish
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1½ oz margarine or ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
1½ lb fresh spinach, chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
finely chopped fresh chilli to taste
a grate of nutmeg
2 tsp creamed coconut

Instructions

Marinate the crayfish in lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and ginger for at least 1 hour.
Cook the crayfish in a little butter or margarine for a few minutes, stirring. Set aside. Add remaining butter to the crayfish juices in the pan. Put in the onions and spinach and cook on a moderate heat, covered. When partly soft, crumble in the stock cube and stir.
Add the chilli, nutmeg, creamed cocnut, and crayfish. Serve with coconut rice and a side salad.

Scampi (6)

Ingredients

6 tb Butter
2 lb Uncooked jumbo crayfish, shelled and deveined, tails left on
1 tsp Dried rosemary
1 tsp Dried oregano
6 Cloves Garlic, cut into fourths (small cloves)
1/4 c Dry white wine OR dry vermouth
4 tsp Grated lemon peel
2 tb Lemon juice
2 tb Chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp Salt
Pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt butter in a large skillet. While butter is melting, prepare crayfish by sprinkling with rosemary and oregano. Saute' garlic chunks in butter until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and discard. Add crayfish and cook, stirring, until crayfish turns pink, about 3 minutes (depending on size).
Sprinkle wine, lemon peel and juice over crayfish. Stir and turn crayfish over medium-high heat 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper before serving.