An unofficial mascot of the state of Louisiana, crawfish are mainly farmed but sometimes can be caught in the wild. Curious about the proper way to eat crawfish? Keep reading on to learn how.

Shipping Crawfish to Your Home

Crawfish must remain cool to be fresh. Generally kept slightly above your standard fridge temperature (38-46 degrees Fahrenheit,) this will allow the crawfish to remain in optimal condition.

Crawfish is frequently sold frozen. If that’s the case, you want to ensure that your frozen treats aren’t packed too tightly, which can impact their freshness. You can use frozen crawfish for jambalaya or stews, but for a good old-fashioned crawfish boil - you’ll want the live ones.

Storing Crawfish

So you’ve got your crawfish home - but your big party isn’t until tomorrow. What do you do? Your meal came chilled but not frozen, so you want to warm them up. Keeping them out of direct sunlight, allow the container to return to room temperature and spray a little water on the crawfish to help bring them out of their stupor.

Discard any dead crawfish - you DO NOT want to cook them. Keep the temperature in their cooler between 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit and make sure the cooler has an opening so they can breathe. You should not completely submerge your crawfish in water.

You can keep your crawfish in their cooler for a few days as long as you maintain temperature by replacing the ice and rotating the sack they’re in daily.

Time to Boil! (How to Eat Crawfish)

So you’ve got your crawfish and you’re wondering, what’s next? Let’s learn about how to peel and eat crawfish. First, add your crawfish to the boiling basket and place it into the pot of water. Then bring the pot to a boil and allow it to cook for 15 minutes. 

Turn the heat off and continue to let the crawfish sit in the water for an additional 15 minutes. That’s it! Now you can serve your protein with whatever your favorite vegetables and starches are. We like to stick with the classic: corn and potatoes.

But how do you peel the crawfish? Here’s a good step-by-step guide:

• Separate the head from the tail by twisting back and forth
• Squeeze the tail until you can feel it pop - then peel away enough to see the meat.
• Try to pull the entire tail meat out in one yank. If you don’t, it’s no big deal! You can just remove parts of the shell individually.
• If you want the AUTHENTIC cajun experience: suck the juice out of the head before you discard it - it’s delicious and seasoned.

When you’re planning an annual crawfish boil, the packing and shipping of your main event may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But rest assured, Domestic Seafood is following strict measures behind the scenes to ensure you’re receiving the highest quality crawfish.