If you’ve enjoyed buckets of shrimps, prawns, crabs, and lobsters, but you’ve never had crawfish before, you may be wondering if they’re any different from the shellfish you’ve feasted on before. While they look like tiny lobsters, these tasty treats are prepared differently, bringing a world of flavor with each bite.
Crawfish are surprisingly low in carbohydrates, making them an excellent option for those trying to cut back without sacrificing delicious food. They’re also full of nutrients, which is why they’re a guilt-free option. Here’s what you need to know about crawfish:
All About Crawfish
A crawfish is a crustacean resembling a tiny lobster, usually measuring between three and six inches long. Like their bigger siblings, they have a protective exoskeleton. However, they have ten walking legs, with the front two acting as larger claws. They scuttle on the floor of nearly every ocean in the world, but they usually hang out by the shoreline. When they’re left to roam the seas, they can live as long as 50 years!
What Crawfish Tastes Like
While crawfish is a type of seafood, it doesn’t have the same intense flavor as the other delicacies found underwater. It certainly offers more zest than crab, and it is much meatier, with people often describing the taste as a cross between shrimp and crab. They’re a bit sweet and salty with a hint of a mineral flavor, given their marine nature. However, what ultimately determines the taste of crawfish depends on the parts you’re eating and how you prepare them.
The tasty, edible parts of a crawfish are the claws, tails, roe, tomalley, legs, and outer shell. The most desirable features are easily the tails, legs, and claws, containing the most meat. The claw meat has a mild, sweet taste with a smooth texture, while the tails are tougher to chew due to their thickness. Still, a quarter pound of tails contains only 82 calories, making them an excellent choice for those on diets.
How to Cook Crawfish
Crawfish can be prepared and cooked in many different ways. The most popular methods are steaming and boiling, like lobster, but you can also bake, grill, pan sear, and broil them. Crawfish tails are popular in Cajun recipes that use various spices and ingredients to complement the sea creature’s flavor.
Most people go straight for the tail when eating crawfish, squeeze out the meat, and discard the head. The same approach is usually applied to shrimp and lobster heads. However, the head contains the most flavor, and when you suck on this after eating the tail, you’ll experience an array of flavors that will take your experience to the next level.
The head contains what looks like a big glob of fat or crawfish brain, but it is the hepatopancreas, which work similarly to the human liver. Its flavor is amplified when you use a spicy combination of cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, and other herbs that often go into a traditional crawfish boil.
Conclusion
Crawfish may be small and unassuming, but they’re delicious regardless of the many ways you can cook them. By using our guide, you’ll be prepared to enjoy crawfish in the best way possible when looking for the best places to get crawfish in Houston!
Crawfish Cafe has the best crawfish in Houston, offering the tasty sea creature in nine tantalizing flavors. We also serve gulf blue crabs, littleneck clams, black mussels, snow crab legs, and many more. Check out our menu today!
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