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**azflycaster** · 08-04-2007, 09:12 PM

Thanks for the Gumbo information. Jan wants to put something together for the folks who are not to crazy about boiled crayfish (crawdads). Last year I got into a race with this gal from New Orleans and I came in second. Maybe this year I will do better. We boil them up in this:

We also boil potatos, corn and artichokes.

markdoane · 08-05-2007, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Thanks for the Gumbo information. Jan wants to put something together for the folks who are not to crazy about boiled crayfish. .

People who don't care for crawfish might also be pickin' the okra outta the Gumbo. Better have some weinnies and beans for them folks.

Zatarains has some decent recipes for Gumbo on their website.

Jim Clark · 08-05-2007, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Thanks for the Gumbo information. Jan wants to put something together for the folks who are not to crazy about boiled crayfish (crawdads). Last year I got into a race with this gal from New Orleans and I came in second. Maybe this year I will do better. We boil them up in this:

We also boil potatos, corn and artichokes.

You don't see Crayfish Gumbo often so it is a treat, you do see a lot of Crayfish Pie,Crayfish Bread, and Sauce.

As a young man I worked in the rice fields of Louisiana and when we drained the water from the fields we would put nets in the levee cuts and catch hundred of pounds. Now we go to the seafood store and buy them boiled by the pound. We often have parties and consume 200 lbs are better. The preferred method is to layer out a picnic table with several layers of newspaper and dump the boil down the center, everyone sits around the table and eats the crayfish and drinks beer, Abita beer is my beer of choice. For none beer drinkers Barqs root beer is suggested.

I assume you boil the corn, potatoes, garlic toes, and hot dogs for the kids in the same boil. You should give the head a good squeeze and crush it as you suck it to get the entire flavor out. The more beer you drink the easer it is to suck the head. Some cooks will even boil a roast or brisket in the boil.

Remember Pinch the tail, and suck the head.

**azflycaster** · 08-24-2007, 09:48 AM

The Crawdad outing with my Flyfishing Club was great! Jan and I arrived a day early to checkout the site and to get an idea on how many and how big they would be this year.

We put 10 traps out that night to get a sample. The next morning we had about 75 which we cleaned to make Crawdad Jambalaya. The weather was cool and the nights were great. A few folks came up early and we had a great happy hour that night as well.

mello mike · 08-24-2007, 09:52 AM

Looks like you had a great time, Richard. Wish I was there.

BTW, that's a mightly fine looking Airstream you got there.

**azflycaster** · 08-24-2007, 09:56 AM

Friday night we put out the bulk of the traps. The chicken wings and hot dogs we used for bait worked very well. We pulled about 500 crawdads from the lake the next morning.

We cooked one turkey basket full the traditional way and the rest we cleaned and made a large platter of crawdad cocktails.

We had a total of 54 people show up for the feast and no one went home hungry! We even had the campground host from the year before show up. The campground host this year lent us his boys who were a great help pulling in the traps.

We also served corn, red potatoes and baby artichokes. Many of the others brought side dishes as well!

The photos show the pile waiting to be sucked and pinched, me pinching one and what the hosts (Jan and I) looked like when it was all over.

We will do it again next year!

Minnie's Mate · 08-24-2007, 10:03 AM

In Georgia we call the Crawdads, too. But generally they aren't big enough or plentiful enough to eat.

I never knew they were in Arizona. Is this a seasonal delicacy or can you get it pretty much year round? Are they available in restaurants in AZ? I have had them in the past and liked them, but they have to be imported to Atlanta so we don't find them very often.

**azflycaster** · 08-24-2007, 10:11 AM

Most lakes here in Arizona have them. They shouldn't, but fishermen use them as bait and the rest is history. You can get them in a few restaurants, but by catching them and eating them we are helping the lakes as well. They are small, but we did have several with 2 inch tails. Once you get good at sucking and pinching, you can go through a pile in a short time.

Alumatube · 08-24-2007, 11:37 AM

aiiiieeeeee, cher, you done passed a good time, yeah!

I am SO jealous! I spent 13 years in south Louisiana and my parents have lived in the same spot for about 27 years now, just west of New Orleans. (I have been gone since 1994.) The food, the people and the culture are AWESOME! The fellow who paints the Blue Dog, George Rodrigue, is a cousin of my ex-mother-in-law.

Mai yeah, cher, dem crawdads de best! I never would suck the head but I understand that the fat and organs (not really the brains, ha ha) are delicious. I have put on many large crawfish boils and have my setup in the attic waiting on a nice spring day...

One thing you can do is boil lots of different stuff in with the crawfish. Corn on the cob (broken in half) and small red potatoes are standard, but like Richard you can add yummy stuff like baby artichokes. I always add whole mushrooms (they soak up the seasoning, so watch out - they're hot but delicious!) and you can also use any other veggie that cooks by boiling. Also don't forget to squeeze and add half lemons into the boil water. I usually use 4 or 5 per pot.

If you have guests who aren't used to the seasoning heat (which you can tune by adding cayenne pepper), be sure to have some bread around. Drinking a beverage will spread the heat around your mouth while something bread-y will absorb it instead.

Richard, your party looks WONDERFUL!! I am so glad you all had such a good time. I was kinda boggled by crawfish in AZ, too.

We used to find little clear ones under the rocks in the creeks when I lived in West Virginia. Maybe AZ will become the next big crawfish farming state...

Lassaiz les bon temps roulez!

Susan

**azflycaster** · 08-24-2007, 10:19 PM

I forgot to mention a fun thing we did Friday night. After happy hour we brought out our pie iron and made apple and cherry treats for everyone.

A little butter flavored Pam, two slices of bread with a scoop or two of cherry or apple cobler filling in between. Seal it up and let it bake in the fire for a few minutes. Serve with wipped cream (optional) on top. We used almost a whole loaf of bread. I'm not sure who ate more, the children or their parents. If you haven't done pie irons before, you sould!

codybear · 08-24-2007, 10:21 PM

Richard, how 'bout coming to the Rivernook rally at Kernville and rustling up some of that?..sounds really yummy!

AIR-Quarius · 12-31-2007, 05:56 PM

I helped start jump the first anual Mauriceville Crawfish Festival about the same time Crawfish were being considered a cash crop...lol They say you would 'Bite the tail...and suck the head' what a riot..Cajuns can eat anything, we had fun.

buzzkat · 01-02-2008, 07:55 PM

I was born and raised in Lafayette Louisiana and I've never eaten crawfish gumbo. The thing about crawfish meat is that it gets real tough if its cooked too much. I think a good crawfish etouffee (ay-too-fay) would be a better choice to prepare. Here's a link to a good crawfish etouffee recipie by Mark Savoy from Eunice, La. He makes accordians in the cajun style, in fact they're named "Cajun". Have fun with the recipie...it's real good cher!
Marc Savoy's Crawfish Étouffée

buzzkat

Ahab · 01-05-2008, 08:24 PM

Count us in. Started suckin heads in Arizona back in the '70's using chicken parts on twine.

joe3957 · 01-05-2008, 10:11 PM

but actually prefer to lose the heads, just like shrimp. When I go to Jazz Fest in NO I always want to eat the crawfish bread.

http://www.wwltv.com/frankdavis/gsre...wfishbread.htm
Holds up well as you are wondering around the fest drinking beer. think of a really sweet rich calzone

SharonIvey · 02-17-2008, 07:39 PM

Love, Love, Love, Crawfish.....my husband isn't a big fan but uses the opportunity to have more beer....trying to see if I can adjust my schedule to attend.

Thanks for the invite,
Sharon

68 Overlander · 02-17-2008, 07:54 PM

Richard, I missed this first time around. Hell yeah! Suck the head, the best juice in the world. Miss the south for that and oysters on the half.

thecatsandi · 02-17-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 68 Overlander

Richard, I missed this first time around. Hell yeah! Suck the head, the best juice in the world. Miss the south for that and oysters on the half.

Well come on over! I have three pounds in the freezer imported directly from Louisiana!

68 Overlander · 02-17-2008, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

Well come on over! I have three pounds in the freezer imported directly from Louisiana!

Give me an address but remember three pounds of crawdads is just one trip to the buffet in Lafeyette. Would need lots of beer and hot sauce to compensate, lol.