Wild Crayfish

Photo: flickr user cygnus921

About

The wild crayfish is crustacean, and is closely related to lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. They are about 3 to 6 inches long and live in streams, rivers, swamps, ponds and other freshwater habitat.

98%% of the crayfish in the United States come from Louisiana and they can be cooked or prepared in most manners similar to crabs or lobsters. Wild Crayfish also turns bright red when cooked.

Information

Other names: Mudbugs, Crawfish, crawdads, Crawdad, Yabbies, Crayfish

Translations: Savvaļas Vēži, Laukiniai Vėžiai, Wild Raci, Wild Rak, Wild tôm càng xanh, Dzikich raków, Wild Rivierkreeftjes, जंगली क्रेफ़िश, Wild lagostas, Дикие раков, Άγρια Ποταμοκαραβίδες, جراد البحر البرية, 와일드 대하, Divoké rak, Wild ulang, 野生小龙虾, Silvestre del cranc de riu, Wild Kuhani, Divoké rak, Wild gamberi di fiume, הפרוע סרטן הנהרות, Wild Kräftor, Дивља рак, ワイルドザリガニ, Wild écrevisses, Wild krebs, Wild kreps, Silvestre del cangrejo de río, Дикі раків, Wild ravut, Диви Раци

Physical Description

Wild Crayfish resemble little lobsters. They are a freshwater fish and are actually more of a crustacean. They have 2 large pinchers and a few smaller pinchers. They also swim backwards, which can be fun to watch.

Colors: Brown and dark until cooked.They turn pink when cooked

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Sweet, Umami, Fish

Mouthfeel: When cooked correctly the meat will be extremely soft and have a seafood texture

Food complements: Crayfish can make a great linguine or can be made into lovely soups

Wine complements: Red wine or a good pinot

Beverage complements: Beer, Brandy, Cognac

Substitutes: Shrimp, Lobster, Crab

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: march, april, may, june

Peak: april, may

Choosing: Crayfish are by nature a very small specimen. The bigger the Crayfish the more the meat.

Buying: Crayfish can be bought at specialty high end fish markets.

Procuring: Crayfish can be caught by using a simple bait trap. Place some chum in a bait trap and leave it out in shallow water by rocks over night. By the morning you should have a good amount of crayfish.