I arrived in Abbeville just in time for Crawfish Mania...you know, the fresh-water Lilliputian version of the saltwater Lobster. Locals refer to them as "mud bugs." One can have Crawfish boil (spicy, extra spicy, where's-the-fire-extinguisher-spicy), Crawfish etouffee, Crawfish jambalaya, Crawfish gumbo, Crawfish fettucine, Crawfish dip, or Crawfish-and-whatever's-in-your-refrigerator!
As soon as the weather warms, Cajun Country rice fields are flooded, and Crawfish come out of hiding. Rice field-farmed Crawfish have plenty of space to grow and good food to nourish them until they're ready for the table. (By the way, crawfish can grow in the "wild" anywhere it's muddy, in Betty's back yard for example. Their little mud cones sprouted up all over her yard after some Spring rains. They look like mud dauber houses only on a much larger scale.)
Traps are set...
Then this home made "vessel" skims the ponds, pulls up the traps and empties those that contain marketable Crawfish.
Then the little buggers are purged of gunk and sent to market clean and mudless!
Crawfish Boil Tonight! YEEHAW! The choices were three pounds or five pounds, with or without corn, and no choice on the level of spiciness. SPICY is what you get! Individual names were neatly printed on the sacks so there was no confusion as to which mouthwatering repast belonged to whom.
Set the table -- newspapers work best -- and don't forget the paper towels!
All this for ME?!!
Out of the bag you little crustacean you -- come to mama!
After cracking, pinching, squeezing, pulling out the tail goodies, sucking and slurping three pounds of Crawfish, I probably ended up enjoying six ounces of meat!!!!
Notice that mouths are only moving to make way for mud bug morsels...
Conversation in abeyance!
Carcasses from just one paper sack! YUM!
1 comment:
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