Question....preperation of crayfish

[Chuckles]

Depending on where you trap your crayfish........type of water ect. should you put the crayfish in clean water for a few hours/days before cooking?

[Esox]

I may be wrong, but I think they (down south) put them in a brine which will cause then to "evacuate" thier digestive system.

[Fishingking]

2 yrs ago i tried eating some crayfish adn they tasted like fish     so this year im going to purge them   purging is the process of putting them in clean water and not feeding them for 2 weeks     they do this alot with hatchery trout that are being sold for food       im not sure if i wannta keep nearly 500 crayfish in tanks in my basement for 2 weeks so this year im trying  a 1 week purge    if you have the space/ ability to purge i would deffiently try that if you dont want  to taste  what the crayfish has been eating for the past month 

[missfishylicious]

you better have a top on that tank there escape artists
aren't you worried about them dieing? anytime I've tried to keep one in my aquarium it dies from lack of oxygen

[OTIS]

In New Orleans they sell them in 50LB sacks like onion's or potatoes.  We just dumped them into a large cooler with the drain plug open,  and ran the garden hose through it for a half an hour or so.  I have seen people use a cooler full of water and salt, but mostly we're just looking to clean them off before cooking them.  The way we cooked them gave them flavor.  If they come out of the pot and their tails are straight not curled, don't eat them!  There are many different kinds of crab boil to use, and you have to turn off the heat and let them soak for 15 to 20 minutes after they have cooked.  Now that we live in New York, we use the same technique with shrimp and scallops.  I use a turkey frying pot with a strainer and add the following whole and cleaned: 2-3 lbs of small red potatoes, 3 onions, 4 garlic bunches (whole bunches not cloves), 6 ears of corn broken in half, and a package or two of little smoked cocktail weenies.  Cook all that with the crab boil until the potatoes are almost done, then add the seafood.  Cook everything together until the seafood is done, then turn off the burner and let it soak.  Put some newspaper on a table, and dump the strainer of goodies onto the newspaper.  I have about 12 neighbors who now pitch in and I do one of these every Memorial Day.

[TroutFishingBear]

This has been an informative post and I will definitely let them sit somewhere for at least 3 days. It seems much longer would kill them.

[MarcusJ]

Purgeing is 3 days not 2 weeks.  I did a science experiment with Y. Perch this winter and I was told that was a long enough purge for them to get everything out of thier stomachs and excretory system.

[Chuckles]

Thanks for the info on purging crayfish........since crayfish are "bottom feeders" what they eat
could cause them to taste odd.  The cooking instructions were also helpful....but what's with not eating the straight tailed ones?

[OTIS]

For some reason, that usually means that they are bad.  If you are cooking large amounts at once, this is a good way to spot the crayfish that were dead before the cooking process. 

[missfishylicious]

In New Orleans they sell them in 50LB sacks like onion's or potatoes.  We just dumped them into a large cooler with the drain plug open,  and ran the garden hose through it for a half an hour or so.  I have seen people use a cooler full of water and salt, but mostly we're just looking to clean them off before cooking them.  The way we cooked them gave them flavor.  If they come out of the pot and their tails are straight not curled, don't eat them!  There are many different kinds of crab boil to use, and you have to turn off the heat and let them soak for 15 to 20 minutes after they have cooked.  Now that we live in New York, we use the same technique with shrimp and scallops.  I use a turkey frying pot with a strainer and add the following whole and cleaned: 2-3 lbs of small red potatoes, 3 onions, 4 garlic bunches (whole bunches not cloves), 6 ears of corn broken in half, and a package or two of little smoked cocktail weenies.  Cook all that with the crab boil until the potatoes are almost done, then add the seafood.  Cook everything together until the seafood is done, then turn off the burner and let it soak.  Put some newspaper on a table, and dump the strainer of goodies onto the newspaper.  I have about 12 neighbors who now pitch in and I do one of these every Memorial Day.

were did you say you live again mmmmmm

[OTIS]

We currently live in Oneida, New York where I was born.  My wife was born and raised in New Orleans.  I met her while I was on vacation, and it didn't take much convincing to get me to move.  Once we had kids, we decided to move back here, New York schools are a zillion times better than Louisiana schools.

[OTIS]

If you think it sounds good you'll have to give it a try, it tastes a 1000000 times better!

[missfishylicious]

I think I will if it ever stops raining.