CRAWFISH Season is Here!

BY KIM CRIPPS

The mudbugs are back!

I never understood the significance of a crawfish boil until I attended college in Mississippi – a boiling pot, if you will, of southern cultures meeting and mingling over Mardi Gras, trips to the Gulf Coast, and of course, crawfish.

The crawfish boils were never just about crawfish. Yes, it’s important your crawfish taste good – the right mixture of crawdads, potatoes and corn with a flavor that keeps you coming back for more but doesn’t set your mouth on fire. I learned the hard way it’s good to have a healthy respect for any type of Cajun seasoning. But the thing is, no one eats crawfish alone. Crawfish

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 boils are equal parts food and camaraderie; a chance to catch up with neighbors, have a drink with friends and laugh with your family.

These local Hoover eateries offer plenty of opportunities to come together over crawfish with seasonal menu items you’ll want to try. Or go big and host your own crawfish boil. Just be sure you use Pappy’s Original Crawfish Boil Recipe. He’s a lifelong Louisiana man, so you know it’ll be good.

JUBILEE JOE’S CAJUN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, HIGHWAY 150

On a mission to emphasize authentic Cajun cooking based on fresh, goodquality seafood, they serve up hot, fresh crawfish for $8 a pound or $23 for a 3-pound tray. Located at 5190 Medford Drive, Ste. 114. Open Fri. and Sat. from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. and Sun., Tue.Thurs. from 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

CAJUN ROUX BAR AND GRILL, STADIUM TRACE

Owned and operated by a Louisiana native, this restaurant offers genuine Cajun flavor with crawfish, corn, potatoes and mushrooms for $9.99/ lb. Located at 5220 Peridot Place, Ste. 132. Open Fri. and Sat. from 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. and Sun., Tues. - Thurs. from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

CAJUN STEAMER BAR & GRILL, PATTON CREEK

A self-proclaimed funky joint celebrating a true love for all things New Orleans and dishing out 2 lb. and 4 lb. platters of hot crawfish, corn and potatoes prepared with their special seasoning. Prices start at $26.99. Located at 180 Main Street, Ste. 200. Open Mon. – Sat. from 11:00 a.m. –10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

CRAZY CAJUNS’ BOILING POT, INVERNESS PLAZA

Serving authentic Cajun food from Grandmother’s best recipes cooked to perfection! Boiled crawfish platters feature corn and potatoes starting at $16.99 for 1.5 lbs and $26.99 for 3 lbs. Don’t feel like peeling your crawdads? Try them fried or blackened! Located at 125 Inverness Plaza. Open Fri. – Sat. from 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. and Mon. – Thurs. 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

PAPPY’S CRAWFISH BOIL RECIPE

Serves 7

You’ll want to use a large, stainless stockpot with a perforated basket (around 62 quarts), a propane burner and a stainless mixing paddle. Set it up outside and in an open area to be safe.

35 lbs. of Live Crawfish

3 lbs. of Cajun Land Complete Boil (4 lb. containers are available at cajunland.com and on Amazon)

5 Lemons

5 Onions

5 Garlic Cloves

1 Bag of Small Red Potatoes

24 3-inch Ears of Corn on the Cob (the ones from the freezer section of the grocery store are fine)

3 lbs. of Sausage

Clean your crawfish by soaking them in a container of fresh water. You’ll want to drain the water and add new water a couple of times before your crawfish are ready to add to the boiling pot. Be sure to throw out any dead crawfish during this process too!

Cut your lemons and onions in half and slice the sausage into 3-inch pieces.

Fill your boiling pot with Cajun Land Complete, lemons, onions, garlic, potatoes, and water until it is ¾ of the way full.

Bring the water to a boil, then add your crawfish.

Turn off the heat and add sausage and frozen corn. Let everything soak for 25 minutes if it’s early in the season and 30 minutes if it’s later in the season. While the crawfish soak, you can push the ones at the top of the pot to the bottom to stir them up a bit.

Taste one or two before removing. If they need more flavor, soak for a little longer. But don’t soak too long or they will be hard to peel.

Finally, pinch the tails and suck the heads – unless the tails are straight. That means they were dead before cooking, so you’ll want to toss those. In other words, serve and enjoy!