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Cooking crayfish
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In England recipes for cooking crayfish are few and far between since they are a comparatively unknown delicacy. It is to France that one has to go seek out the finer points since in that country the crayfish is considered a great subject for culinary art. Madam Prunier (1967) lists some 16 methods of cooking the creature and it is to her that the real bon-viveur should turn. Lesley Morrisey (1978) has produced an interesting book of West Australian recipes, mainly concerned with the large Marron crayfish but some of which should be tried
The recipes which appear below will suffice for most people. The crayfish should be killed by immersing in fast boiling water when it will die instantly. to prepare it for cooking rinse well and remove the intestinal tract by pulling out the middle tail fin (telson) which should come out whole. Crayfish are a greenish brown colour but turn bright red when cooked.
Cooking
Boiled crayfish
Ecrevisses a la Bordelaise
Fried crayfish
Smoking
Hot & Hotter
Boiled crayfish
This recipe and the slightly more complicated one which follows can be used to cook and serve the crayfish either hot or cold. If the latter, the crayfish should be allowed to cool in the liquid in which it is cooked. The crayfish should be boiled for 2 minutes in a well flavoured fish stock and then simmered for about 10 minutes. Variants of this are the methods used extensively throughout England for cooking the native crayfish. Instead of a simple fish stock, what is known as a court bouillon may be used.
Ingredients:
4-6 whole crayfish A bouquet garni
2 onions
1 teaspoon of salt
1 carrot
6 peppercorns
20gm butter
The juice of half a lemon
1 cup of dry white wine
Water to cover
Method:
Slice the carrot and the onions. Fry gently in butter until golden brown. Add the wine and the water slowly. Add all the remainder and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Put in the crayfish. Boil for 2 minutes and then simmer for 10 minutes. If to be served cold allow to cool in liquid.
Ecrevisses a la Bordelaise
This is the traditional French recipe for cooking crayfish which are served whole and unshelled. The dish can be prepared the day before and re-heated gently. To serve 4 people
Ingredients:
12-16 whole crayfish
3 cup of dry white wine
4-6 carrots
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
4 onions
8 tablespoons of cream
300gm butter
Salt & pepper
8 sprigs parsley
Cayenne pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
Method:
Chop vegetables into thin strips ( julienne). Melt butter in a large pan and simmer the vegetables and herbs until the former are soft. Add the crayfish and cook over high heat, stirring continually until the shells are red. Add the win and tomato paste and boil gently for a further 15 minutes. Add the cream. Take off the stove and season to taste.
Fried crayfish
Crayfish may be fried or grilled using butter as the medium. The following recipe will improve them immensely.
Ingredients:
4-6 whole crayfish
1 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 onion
3 full wineglasses of dry white wine
1 small carrots
60gm butter
2 sprigs parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
1 bay leaves
A pinch of powdered thyme
A bouquet garni
Method:
Cook all the ingredients together in half the wine and butter until the vegetables are quite cooked. Add the rest of the butter and then fry the crayfish until the shells turn red. Add another glass of wine, the tomato paste or puree, a bouquet garni and seasoning to taste. Cover the pan and cook for a further 15 minutes. Arrange the crayfish on the plates, thicken the sauce and pour over the crayfish. Garnish with parsley.
Smoking
For those interested and who have the necessary equipment it is possible to smoke crayfish. This can be carried out in a small home smoker. For those with more sophisticated equipment the following method should be adopted.
Method:
In either case the crayfish should be peeled and put into a basic fish brine. The time will vary, according to size, from 15-45 minutes. Remove from the brine, rinse lightly in fresh water and put on racks or perforated aluminum foil to dry. Begin smoking at about 30C. After 15 minutes increase the temperature gradually to 55C. After60-90 minutes the crayfish should have taken on a rich golden colour. Taste one of medium size to see if it is cooked. Remove them or leave a little longer as may be required and note the size / temperature for future use. The may be served hot or cold. After smoking the crayfish may be oiled which gives them a richer flavour. Put them into a container with a screw top lid. A pickle or coffee jar is ideal. Add some olive or cooking oil and screw down the lid. Lay the jar on its side and keep rotating it from time to time until all the crayfish are coated with oil. This oil will be absorbed into the flesh. Rotate the jar again redistribute the oil and continue turning at intervals until the crayfish will absorb no more oil. This may take an hour of intermittent attention. Crayfish which are smoked and oiled in this fashion will keep in a refrigerator for several days or maybe bottled or canned.
Hot & Hotter
Ingredients:
1 Lb. Hot Sausage
1/2 C. Onion
1/2 C. Green Onion
1/2 C. Bell Pepper
1 Can Beef Boullion
1 Can French Onion Soup
1 Sm. Can Tomato Sauce
1 Stick Butter Or Margarine, Cut Into Tablespoons
1 Lb. Crawfish Tails
2 C. Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice
Method:
Brown sausage in a pan. Saute onion, green onion, and bell pepper in a separate pan until onions are soft. Add sausage to onions and saute together for a minute or two. Add bouillon, onion soup, and tomato sauce. Pour mixture into a Dutch oven; add butter, crawfish tails and rice. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve immediately.
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