Tag: Crawfish

Explore the Best Crawfish in the State with the Bayou Country Crawfish Trail

Simply put, Louisiana’s Bayou Country Crawfish Trail is the absolute best way to experience the culture behind eating Louisiana-boiled and raised crawfish first-hand. The Bayou Country Crawfish Trail curates an entire culinary and exploratory experience for you to fill up on the most delicious crawfish at over 30 carefully-selected trail stops. You’ll be supplied with a downloaded guide that lists the best spots for delicious crawfish dishes all year long.

While seeking out delicious plates of crawfish all across the Bayou Country is a rewarding experience all on its own in terms of culinary tastes and restaurant-exploring, there is another facet to the Bayou Country Crawfish Trail that is heralded. You see, if you trek along the trail and collect five receipts from the 38 available restaurants, mark your visits on your travel guide tracker, and send them into crawfishtrail.com or at the Houma Area Visitor Center, you’ll be able to exchange your proof of purchase for your very own Crawfish Trail T-shirt. This is the best way to show those in your life that you’ve conquered the best crawfish spots in the Houma area.

The Bayou Country Crawfish Trail absolutely proves that nowhere else in the state of Louisiana prepares and serves seafood than Houma, LA– especially when it comes to crawfish. The Trail’s culinary road map lists and lays out a total of 38 trail stops from downtown Houma to the Gulf of Mexico for you to enjoy the best crawfish in the state. The listed culinary stops will range from friendly Cajun restaurants to take-out seafood markets, drive-thru boilhouses, and everything in between.

The team behind the Bayou Country Crawfish Trail truly believes in the culinary experience of not only ingesting crawfish but the culture that surrounds it, and they also believe that there’s truly not a bad time of year to enjoy the Louisiana delicacy. They’ve divided the calendar year into two “seasons” in terms of crawfish eating: Heads season and Tails season. The main difference between these two times of year is the matter in which the crawfish is “present on your plate.”

For example, Heads season will begin just before Mardi Gras season, when it is “on the horizon,” and it signals that crawfish traps around the state will soon be filled to the brim with “mudbugs” and the crawfish boils are starting up again. This is the optimal time of the year to eat boiled crawfish wherever you can get it, and you should enjoy it along with all of the available sides like potatoes, corn, sausages, and many more. This time of year will typically wrap up early in the summer, but just because the crawfish boils stop doesn’t mean that you have to wait another year until you can enjoy crawfish dishes in their prime.

This is because Tails season is what follows when the summer is at its hottest and most severe. This is because live and boiled crawfish are much harder to come by in the state, so instead of “scraping the bottom of the barrel” with attending crawfish boils that aren’t necessarily up-to-par, you can check the Bayou Country Crawfish Trail Guide for the spots in Houma, LA where they serve delicious crawfish all year-round. These dishes will come in nearly every form you can imagine because in Houma, Louisiana they know how to best prepare crawfish– whether it’s in a warm bowl of gumbo, éttouffée, or bisque. Similarly, you can also bite into a crawfish stuffed poboy or even a crawfish pie.The options are nearly endless in this season when many think that just because crawfish boils are done, there’s no more fun to be had.

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Cajun Crawfish Cardinale Recipe

If it’s time to spice things up on your dinner table, consider doing so with this mouthwatering Crawfish Cardinale recipe from Louisiana Cookin that will leave your taste buds dancing. This delicious Cajun dish is packed full of flavor and is perfect for any occasion. Whether you’re cooking for your family or entertaining guests, this recipe is sure to impress. So grab your apron and get ready to cook up a storm because this dish is about to become a staple at your dinner table.

Crawfish Cardinale is a classic Louisiana dish that is sure to spice up your dinner table. This dish is made with fresh crawfish, tomatoes, and a variety of spices. The result is a delicious and hearty meal that will leave you wanting more. It is a popular dish throughout the south and is often served as an appetizer or main course. The perfect accompaniment to Crawfish Cardinale is a bowl of hot, steamed rice or delicious fried fish.

Crawfish Cardinale is a Louisiana dish that originated in the city of New Orleans. It is a popular dish during the Lenten season, and is made with crawfish, shrimp, and crabmeat. The dish is usually served over rice, and is often garnished with green onions and parsley. The origin of the dish is unclear, but it is believed to have been invented in the late 19th century. It was originally invented as a Lenten dish as it contains no meat, but rather seafood and vegetables. The traditional recipe consists of crawfish tails, shrimp, crabmeat, green onions and parsley cooked in butter and garlic until the ingredients are tender. The dish can be served over rice, pasta, or fish.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of frozen cooked crawfish tails, thawed
  • 1 (10-ounce) package of frozen puff pastry shells, cooked
  • ½ cup of minced shallots
  • ¼ cup of chopped green onion
  • ¼ cup of celery, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup of red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • ½ teaspoon of lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup of salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of cognac, plus more to serve
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

  1. To begin this delicious recipe, you’ll first want to take a large skillet and melt your butter over medium heat. Once the butter is fully melted, you’ll add your shallot, celery, bell pepper, and minced garlic. Cook these vegetables until they’re tender and translucent, which should take approximately 3 minutes.
  2. At this point, you’ll stir in your tomato paste and cook for one minute. Then, stir in the all-purpose flour and cook the contents of the skillet while stirring constantly. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes and then gradually whisk in your cream.
  3. Add in your green onions, cognac, lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, parsley, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook the contents of the skillet while continuing to stir constantly until everything has thickened, about 4 minutes. Add in your crawfish, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  4. Serve this dish over your prepared pastry shells that you’ve cooked according to the package’s directions, and consider garnishing with a drizzle of cognac and parsley, if desired.
  5. Enjoy!

 Note:

There are many ways to change up this recipe to suit your taste. For a spicier dish, add more cayenne pepper or chili powder to the roux. You can also add other seafood like shrimp or crab meat to the dish. If you want a heartier meal, serve it over rice instead of pasta. No matter how you make it, this Crawfish Cardinale recipe is sure to be a hit.

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Delicious Crawfish Cream Sauce to Heighten Any Dish

Especially in the south, it’s always a great idea to have one tangy, creamy, and seafood-based dip recipe in your back pocket, and with this outstanding recipe from Cristy Irene for Crawfish Cream Sauce, you’re always supplied with a delicious addition to any dish.

The culinary beauty of this classically cajun crawfish cream sauce is that it’s made with authentically fresh or thawed crawfish tails, delicious cream, melted butter, and the cajun combination of sautéed onion, garlic, and bell pepper. The key to knocking this recipe out of the park is to have all of your cooking utensils and ingredients on hard, in place, or“mise-en-place,” throughout the process. This is true of many cajun, creole, or seafood recipes, but it’s especially important for this crawfish cream sauce, which comes to fruition in only a matter of minutes. Be diligent and proactive in your cooking processes, as you will not want to add butter to the pan if you haven’t chopped all of your ingredients yet. For the best results, have everything chopped ahead of time and “at the ready” near the stovetop you’ll be cooking on.

This sauce is perfect for many different seafood-based dishes, such as blackened or fried catfish, especially in the Lenten season. Consider making this crawfish cream sauce alongside your next Friday afternoon fish dinner. For instance, if you blackened catfish filets in a skillet ahead of time, the remnants that are left in the pan afterward will add outrageously decadent flavor to the sautéing of the vegetables. Speaking of the vegetables, when you’re busy chopping them ahead of time, you’ll want to chop or mince the onion and bell peppers in a comparatively smaller size than the crawfish. The recipe’s author suggests that they were in big chunks that, while still distinguishable, don’t detract from the crawfish themselves.

Ingredients for Crawfish Cream Sauce:

Directions for Crawfish Cream Sauce:

  1. You’ll begin this recipe by heating your pan over medium heat and melting your butter in it.
  2. After the butter melts, add in your crushed garlic cloves, chopped onion pieces, and chopped trinity of bell peppers. Sauté these ingredients until your onions are translucent and fragrant. This will take approximately four to five minutes.
  3. Next, pour your two cups of half & half into the pan, and stir the sautéed ingredients into the creme until the creme mixture has thickened.
  4. After the half and half thickens, add in your freshly squeezed lemon juice, crawfish tails, and stir everything together until it’s well combined. You’ll want to gently porn your lemon juice over the crawfish tails in order to coat the tails in the tangy flavor. By adding the lemon juice to the cream sauce, you’re adding a nice and light balance to the heaviness of the cream. This adds a flavor and perks up the overall taste of the cream.
  5. Cook the skillet’s contents for an additional 2 minutes, and then remove this skillet from the heat.
  6. Serve & enjoy your meal!

Notes:

This crawfish cream sauce recipe pairs extremely nicely with either fried or blackened fish, especially catfish, but it’s also a good addition to any meal consisting of a seafood entree and vegetable side dish, such as asparagus. If you find yourself preparing this dip on a whim, consider serving it alongside a rice, pasta, or other grain-reliant dish. Alternatively, it’s great with grits or biscuits, as the creamy flavor is complementary to many types of food.

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2022 Crawfish Season Gears Up

Despite the annual challenges that Louisianians face, you can always expect them to remain loyal to the best season of all, crawfish season; and according to this business article from The Advocate, 2022 is looking to be no different in terms of excitement.

It might be accurate to say that Louisiana’s pride has been bruised over the past two years given the unexpectedly exhausting challenges that the pandemic and numerous devastating hurricanes have brought with them. But despite these challenges, Advocate staff writers report that restaurateurs, retailers, farmers, and consumers are as enthusiastic as ever to dive head-first into the 2022 crawfish season as a means to embrace tradition.

Citizens of the gulf coast can attest that a crawfish boil is a singular event that has the ability to bring many different people together towards a common goal, to enjoy a communal meal that is more of an activity than a solitary experience. All throughout the winter, as Louisianians begin to look forward to temperatures rising and venturing outside once again without the threat of wind chill, they begin to anticipate that late winter and early spring emergence of crawfish season more and more.

The enthusiasm this year is palpable, as November and December 2021 saw temperatures that were warmer than expected, which kept local crawfish active. Because the water temperatures in some ponds had reached 75 degrees, the crawfish were able to stay active longer than they had in previous years. This led to the crawfish spending the extra time feeding, gathering, and growing, which has only resulted in heightened catches in early January.

Mark Shirley, an aquaculture agent for the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and Louisiana Sea Grantsaid of that optimal, extended period for crawfish activity, “when the water temperature is jumping between 60 and 70 degrees, that’s optimum for crawfish growth.”

Agricultural experts and industry professionals envision a bountiful crawfish harvest this year despite the prolonged January cold snap that has placed a dent in crawfish production. Laney King, a co-founder of The Crawfish App, software that tracks the prices of the southern delicacy statewide, said that the farmers and vendors she’s spoken to remain optimistic about crawfish production in 2022 despite the frigid January temperatures.

King said, “they can already see the growth that the crawfish have had, even if they’re kind of hiding out a little bit in this cold weather right now.” This statewide resilience is sure to be mirrored by the Louisiana consumer come the peak months of the season in March, April, and May.

As a crawfish specialist, Mark Shirley reported to The Advocate that crawfish supply should remain strong this season, and he’s already seen the production season begin to take shape as well. The sheer amount of land that has been devoted to crawfish production across the state has been measured at about 250,000 acres, and that number is still rising. It’s expected that nearly 150 million pounds of crawfish will be produced in these acres of crawfish ponds across Louisiana this season.

Shirley noted that there are market concerns to be aware of going into the season such as the possibility of a labor shortage when it comes to local crawfish processing plants struggling to find enough workers to assist with the peeling and packaging of crawfish for tail distribution.

However, Shirley advised that Louisiana consumers should plan to start their crawfish boils sooner rather than later in the season so that local farmers can reap the economic benefits and provide for a healthier season throughout the spring. He said, “don’t wait to eat crawfish until April or May. Don’t wait until Easter. Don’t wait until Mardi Gras. Start eating crawfish now. They’re available,” and as anyone who’s attended an early-season crawfish boil can tell you, many Louisianians don’t need to be told to jump on crawfish season early.

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A Guide to Louisiana’s Crawfish Festivals

It’s crawfish season in Louisiana, and festival season also. That can only mean one thing, crawfish festivals!

Crawfish are an important part of Louisiana State’s identity, economy, and cuisine. This red crustacean is found in both Creole and Cajun dishes throughout Louisiana and is cooked in every possible way imaginable.

In fact, the most commonly asked question in Louisiana from visitors is “When is crawfish season?”

The importance of the crawfish is first seen in the Houma Indian tribe, where the crawfish was used as its emblem for hundreds of years. In the 1800s, lobster recipes brought by Cajun settlers from their Canadian roots were substituted with crawfish. Then, Creole restaurant entrepreneurs realized how delicious and accessible crawfish was, and it’s been an important part of Louisiana culture and cuisine ever since!

What makes crawfish an even bigger commodity is the fact that it’s seasonal. Prime time for crawfish falls from February to mid-May. For many Louisiana residents, crawfish is the marker for an upcoming spring.

In honor of crawfish season and the fact that Louisianians have a festival for everything, here’s a guide to the best Louisiana Crawfish festivals you don’t want to miss.

Louisiana Crawfish Festival

This festival is from March 26th to the 29th in Chalmette. St. Bernard Parish is one of the most seafood-centric regions in Louisiana. Most of this is due to a commercial fishing industry that has been thriving for decades. Head to this fest for every imaginable recipe of crawfish, good Cajun music, arts and crafts, and pageants.

The Original Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival

This three say party occurs on April 17-18 in Lake Charles. Although it’s called a crawfish festival, expect a celebration that focuses on all the awesome things St. Charles has to offer. You’ll find pageants, live music, local crafts, and carnival rides.

Slidell’s Annual Crawfish Cook-Off

The largest one day event on the Northshore, this festival is on April 18 in Slidell. This festival hosts a healthy competition that has more than 60 teams cooking for the title of Best Crawfish in St. Tammany Parish. Plan for large crowds, great music from well known artists, and a special kids zone for kids 12 and under.

Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival

The first weekend of May each year (May 1-3 this year), this huge festival is hosted in Breaux Bridge. With over 30,000 visitors flocking to Cajun Country, Breaux Bridge was named the Crawfish Capital of the World in 1959, and the festival followed suit in 1960. The festival embodies Cajun culture with authentic music and food.

Curious about other festivals in Louisiana? Click herefor a complete list.

Want to find crawfish without the crowds? Head to one of these restaurants for a delicious crawfish meal:

If you’re interested in the history of crawfish, Jeff Davis Parish offers crawfish farm toursthat show visitors a glimpse into crawfish ecology and the business.

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Louisiana Favorite’s: Extra Crawfish Tail Recipes

It is officially spring, feeling like summer. We all know that means one thing; it’s Crawfish time. All of the big pots have started boiling those mud-bugs. Crawfish boils usually end with no leftovers, but sometimes you will get lucky and have some extra. This means endless possibilities for Crawfish recipes. Louisiana Cookin’ recently published a blog with 9 recipes that you can use for those left of tails, here are three of them!

Tomato Crawfish Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 (16-ounce) package of cooked crawfish tails, make sure to rise them and drain them

⅓ cup powdered Tomato Mix

½ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon hot sauce

½ cup thinly sliced celery

1-pint grape tomatoes, they need to be halved

12 pickled okra pods, these need to be halved also

¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon of horseradish, make sure it is already prepared

2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the fresher the better

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons dry mustard

Grab a medium mixing bowl and mix together the juice, powdered Tomato mix, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and horseradish. You then want to slowly add the oil, while constantly whisking the mixture to make sure it combines nicely. This is what will be used for the dressing.

In a different mixing bowl, combine the onion, okra, tomato, celery, and of course the crawfish. Take ¼ of your dressing and mix it into this bowl. Serve the extra dressing on the side so guest can add more if needed.

Crawfish Dip

INGREDIENTS

Crawfish

1 cup water

1-pound cooked crawfish tail meat

2 cups sour cream

1 (1-ounce) package dried porcini mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Take a microwave safe bowl and heat up 1 cup of water on high. You want the water to be really hot, add the mushrooms until they soften. Strain the mushrooms but make sure to keep the liquid. Cut the mushrooms into fine pieces.

Take a medium saucepan, melt the butter, add the green onion, and then mix in the floor, letting it cook for 5 minutes

Take the mushroom liquid, the mushrooms, and the garlic, and add it to the saucepan. This needs to be brought to a boil.

Add the salt, pepper, and Crawfish; once adding the Crawfish continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Then reduce to low heat; add the parsley and sour cream.

Cajun Crawfish Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread and halved it lengthwise

1 pound cooked crawfish tails

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons butter

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, it needs to be softened

¾ cup sweet onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, make sure they are minced

¾ cup green onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, fresh

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning*

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (with peppers)

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Take the bread halves and spread the mayonnaise on both halves.

Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the sweet onion and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. The parsley, green onion, and crawfish should be add next, cook for about 5 minutes. The cream cheese and Cajun seasoning will come next. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir to make sure the

cheese is fully mixed.

Take the mixture and spread it on both halves of the bread, garnish with the cheeses and paprika. Bake the bread until the cheese looks melted then turn on the broil, you want the cheese to be slightly browned.
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