Crawfishing

[cajunboudreaux]

Here is a little snip on us about our conservation efforts to get crawfish (invasive bugs) out of our water ways to make Arizona a prettier place and better fishing for the fisherman.


http://youtu.be/tkmw_KUX0OI

[pokermeister]

So, the question begs to be asked- how do you smoke them??

[KyNola]

Man those look good!  I could eat several pounds right about now.

[beefmann]

very cool great way to have some fun

[Saber 4]

Now that's what I call conservation!

[devo]

OK that is really cool, now I have a question. Here in Ontario we have several species of crawfish. So what would I be looking for if I went out and tried to catch these creatures?

https://www.ontarionature.org/discover/resources/PDFs/id_guides/crayfish_apr08.pdf

[Saber 4]

I don't see the two popular Louisiana species listed but I would think that any that you can catch in good numbers that have a good sized body would boil up and eat good. I would imagine that some of our Cajun cousins will pop in and give you better info than I have.

[cajunboudreaux]

Good question, infact there are over 400 different species of crawfish. They all taste the same!! The lakes I actually trap here in Arizona have 3 different species. As you you can see in our video the Arizona crawfish have a brown/blueish color and the louisiana farm raised crawfish are Red in color. With the proper technique you can make them all very tasty.

Crawfish in Louisiana are in the rice fields,bayous and private farms.( they live in mud holes) Crawfish in Arizona are in every lake and stream and like to stay around the rocky areas and burro into the sand. When the water is cold the crawfish go dorment. So with this being said the summer months are usually best for trapping when the water is warm.
You can find crawfish traps online. i would by a cheap pack of chicken legs and place one leg per trap. throw it in the water and check it after a few hours. crawfish are knockturnil(sp?) so i leave traps over night from time to time.

Once you have your catch. rinse crawfish throughly. pour a salt over them during this process. this is called purging (rinses internals). get a large pot fill half with water, heat to a boil. add few sticks butter, a few squeezed lemons, onion, shot of vinegar,salt,and a bunch of seafood boil. once you have added everything and your water is to a boil. add your crawfish. let boil again. boil for 2 minutes cut fire and let crawfish soak for 15 minutes. take out and serve.Peel the Tail and suck the Head. you can also add corn,potatoes,carrots,mushrooms,sausage to your boil.

[cajunboudreaux]

I have been known to boil then smoke them for 1 hour in the bradley with hickory, peel the tail and add to gumbo and etoufee..

[devo]

Thanks for the answer. Now that winter is closing in this will have to wait till next summer.


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