Crawfish Facts & Recipes

Here in Jefferson Parish, we are always in the mood for crawfish! From spicy to fried, we've got you covered! Learn a little bit more about these delicious "mudbugs" and check out some of our favorite recipes from Nola.com and Louisiana Cookin' below!

Crawfish are freshwater crustaceans found in the swamps and marshes of south Louisiana. Now, crawfish season can start in January, but you might not find larger crawfish until later on in the season, March-June. Did you know that crawfish are actually pretty healthy to eat? They are low in calories and high in protein. And, boiled crawfish is low in fat. So grab a plate of south Louisiana's "red-gold" and dig right in! 
 

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Classic Crawfish Boil

Ingredients:

1 sack of crawfish
8 gallons water (at least 6 gallons per sack, plus more water for add-ins)
4-1/2 pound jar dried crab boil
2 to 3 ounces liquid crab boil
6 to 8 whole lemons, cut in half
6 to 8 whole onions, cut in half
10 whole garlic bulbs
12 frozen corn on the cob
12 new potatoes (in a mesh bag)

Instructions:

Place boiling pot of water and seasonings, lemon, onions, garlic on the boiling rig; turn it up to high until the water is boiling. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add crawfish and potatoes and stir with large paddle. Cover pot and wait until it comes back to a boil, again another 15 minutes. Fish out potatoes and taste test them for flavor and softness. If not spicy enough, let potatoes soak a bit longer. Then, turn the fire off and allow the crawfish to poach in the spicy water. Add the corn.

After about 10 to 15 minutes, pull a crawfish out. Suck the head, if you like, and taste the tail for spiciness and texture. Corn can likely come out at this point. Continue to allow crawfish to soak until tail meat reaches desired spiciness.

One pro tip: When the crawfish begin to sink, they've likely absorbed the seasoning.

Lift basket of crawfish out of boiling pot. Allow to drain. Dump crawfish and vegetables out on table and enjoy.

Recipe from Nola.com.

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Crawfish Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

16 ounces elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 (16-ounce) package crawfish tails
1 (8-ounce) jar pimientos, drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
1 cup shredded gouda cheese
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 cup milk
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup crushed butter crackers, such as Ritz Original

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 15 (1-cup) gratin dishes with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain.

In a large bowl, combine butter and pasta, stirring until butter melts. Add crawfish tails, pimiento, cheeses, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne.

Divide macaroni mixture between prepared dishes and smooth tops with a spoon. Transfer to oven, and bake 10 minutes. Top each portion with crushed crackers. Return to oven and bake until edges are bubbly, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Classic Crawfish Etoufee

Ingredients:

¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup chopped sweet onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup dry sherry
1 cup seafood stock
2 tablespoons extra-concentrated tomato paste
2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound crawfish tail meat
4 cups white rice, cooked according to package directions
Garnish: chopped green onion

Instructions:

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 1 minute. Add flour, stirring constantly until combined, about 2 minutes.

Stir in sherry, and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add seafood stock, tomato paste, hot sauce, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add crawfish; reduce heat, and simmer about 8 minutes. Serve immediately with rice, and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Fried Crawfish Poboy

Ingredients:

½ cup Spicy Tartar Sauce, recipe below.
4 (6-inch) french bread loaves, split
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 small red onion, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
Tempura Beer Battered Crawfish, recipe below.

Instructions:

Spread Spicy Tartar Sauce evenly on bread, top with tomato, onion, lettuce, and Tempura Beer Battered Crawfish. Serve immediately.

Tempura Beer Battered Crawfish

Ingredients:

Canola oil for frying
1 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup pale ale
½ pound crawfish tail meat

Instructions:

In a large Dutch oven, pour canola oil to a depth of 4 inches. Heat over medium-high heat until a candy or deep-fry thermometer registers 350°.

In a large bowl, combine rice flour, paprika, cayenne, salt, and garlic powder. Gently whisk in ale until combined. Submerge crawfish in batter, shaking off any excess. Add crawfish to oil in batches, and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from oil, and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a paper towel.

Spicy Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons chopped capers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, relish, hot sauce, capers, lemon juice, chives, and parsley. Cover, and refrigerate until serving.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'

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Crawfish Pie

Ingredients:

½ cup salted butter
1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
½ bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup cold water
2 pounds crawfish tail meat
½ cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 (14.1-ounce) package ready-made pie crust (2 crusts)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until softened. Add soup, evaporated milk, salt, and peppers. Add cornstarch mixture.
Reduce heat to low, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Fold in crawfish, green onion, and parsley; cook 5 minutes.

Place bottom crust in a deep-dish pie plate, and bake, using pie weights, until lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Fill with crawfish mixture, and place top crust on pie. Bake until browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Crawfish & Corn Beignets

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere’s
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked crawfish tails, coarsely chopped
1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, drained
¼ cup minced parsley
¼ cup chopped green onion

Instructions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until temperature reaches 350° on a deep-fry thermometer.

In a large bowl stir together flour, milk, baking powder, Creole seasoning, garlic, thyme, hot sauce, and salt until a batter is formed. Stir in crawfish, corn, parsley, and green onion

In batches, carefully drop batter by ¼ cupfuls into oil. Cook until balls float to top of oil; turn and cook an additional 5 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels, and serve warm.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Crawfish Fettuccini

Ingredients:

1½ cups butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 bunch green onions, sliced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
½ pound American cheese, cubed
½ pound Monterey Jack cheese with peppers, shredded
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound cooked crawfish tail meat
1 pound hot cooked fettuccini
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook about 7 minutes or until translucent. Stir in celery, bell peppers, garlic, parsley, and green onion; cook about 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

Stir in flour until well incorporated; cook 5 minutes or until a nutty fragrance develops. Lower heat to medium-low, and slowly stir in half-and-half. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook about 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Slowly stir in American cheese, about ¼ cup at a time, letting each addition melt before the next; stir in Monterey Jack cheese in the same manner until incorporated. Stir in salt and black and cayenne peppers.

Add crawfish, and cook 5 minutes or until heated through. Combine fettuccine with crawfish sauce, and top with Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Crawfish Rangoon

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces cooked crawfish tails, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
24 wonton wrappers
Pepper jelly, to serve

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, crawfish, mayonnaise, and chives. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water.

Working in small batches, place wontons on a work surface. Brush egg mixture on all four edges of wontons.

Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon cream cheese mixture in center of each wonton.

Lift and press 2 opposing corners together over filling. Lift and press remaining 2 opposing corners, and bring them to the middle to form a pouch. Press seams together, and fold over top where all four corners meet. Place 1 filled wonton in each prepared muffin cup.

Bake until edges are golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Heat pepper jelly in microwave on high until just melted, about 30 seconds. Serve with rangoons.

Recipe from Louisiana Cookin'.

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Now that you know a little bit more about one of Louisiana's favorite foods, you can start planning your crawfish boil today!
 

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Don't miss the Crawfish Boils & Cook-offs in Jefferson Parish!