Louisiana Crawfish Fettuccine

We are coming to the end of crawfish season here in Southwest Louisiana, so like good little squirrels we are having large crawfish boils, peeling, bagging, and freezing as many tails as we can. Considering imported frozen crawfish tails sell here for approx. $12/lb, it is worth the effort (and American crawfish are actually better--sweeter meat and less rubbery texture). But don't be afraid to buy frozen import in your grocery store; they are quite good in a dish like this.

For dinner tonight, I used a 1 & 1/2 lb. bag of frozen crawfish sauteed in a half stick of butter. Then, added 1 lb. cooked fettuccine and 1 cup of half & half [the natural fat from the crawfish mixed w/ the butter & half&half made a golden, saffron liquid...oooh, good]. Cooked on medium heat for ten minutes and sprinkled with parsley and Cajun seasoning. YUM & EASY.

Tasty-looking...but are those hot dogs? That's the first time I've seen dogs added to a boil. Is this a family tradition? Food experiment?

shakesister wrote:

Also...where'd you get the live crawfish? Just curious about where people are buying.

A lot of people do add things to their shrimp, crab, and/or crawfish boils down here. Potatoes (especially half dollar size, red potatoes) are most common and corn on the cob; however, hot dogs, smoked sausage, artichokes, garlic, onions, and many other more interesting (we have friends who boil squid in the seasoned water along with their shellfish) add-ins make the boils more fun. I like all-beef hot dogs (Hebrew National), but many people use the really cheap, red weinies.

My husband and father-in-law (my in-laws live in Bloomington and were down here for Easter vacation) went out with a friend who owns a crawfish pond in Kaplan, Louisiana, and pulled the traps themselves. The guys said the pond was way in the back and the traps hadn't been pulled for a while. Consequently, the crawfish were huge; some the size of small rock lobsters. Even the claw meat was substantial.

Thanks for responding. I love seafood. We lived in California for seven years, and just moved back to Louisiana last summer. It's good to be home (I'm originally from New Orleans), and we are loving the food.

Mmmmm... I do crawfish alfredo all the time... always tasty (and ya got to use the crawfish fat.... I cry when I see tail meat at the seafood counter, sitting in a bowl, all drained from the lovely fat). And it is a recipe where it doesn't make too much of a difference if you use the imported tails, with all the cream, butter and cheese, it makes up for what imported tails lack!

You are so right about the seafood counters...all the flavor down the drain. There's a saying, "Pinch the tails and suck the heads," all the flavor is located in the "head" (really the body cavity) of the crawfish. When you pinch the tail off, there is a cluster of thick, golden fat that you lick off the tip of the tail, and then you suck or scoop the rest of the fat out of the head.

Sorry if that's too graphic for non-seafood lovers

Crawfish season is waining, but we are heading into shrimp and blue crab seasons. Louisiana blue crabs are filled with scrumptious fat & sweet white meat, and the females have bright orange, rich eggs inside. Unlike New England crab boils, in South Louisiana we season the boiling water with spices containing red pepper and other savory seasonings and use onions & garlic & lemons in the water. So, a cold beer or a frozen daiquiri is a must to cool your stinging taste buds. I'll post photos from our first crab boil of the season--probably in a month or so, if anyone's interested.

And I am also sorry about the photos being sized too large--Newby & still learning the ropes. Will do better next time.

shakesister wrote:And I am also sorry about the photos being sized too large--Newby & still learning the ropes. Will do better next time.

Better? I'm hard pressed to see how a first post right out of the gate can be better.

Welcome to LTHForum!

Enjoy,
Gary

I second the welcome and thanks for the lovely pictures.

Well, shucks, guys, y'all made me blush. Thank you for the warm welcome. I may have found a new obsession with LTHForum. Thanks, Gary, just what I needed...another reason to avoid housework