Crawfish

Beschrijving

Freshwater crawfish are a relative to clawed lobsters. Crawfishing has a long history in the U.S., dating back to the Native Americans and the first European settlers. They are known by a wide variety of other names such as crayfish, crawdad, crawdaddy, and mud bug.

Farmed crawfish in the U.S. consist of primarily of the red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarkii.  In the U.S., most crawfish is produced in Louisiana, although a few other southern states produce some commercial volumes. The U.S. currently supplies approximately 70% of the world’s commercial supply.  In the 1930s the red swamp crawfish was introduced into China and they quickly established themselves in the wild.  Chinese production of crayfish is primarily based on this wild fishery that takes place in the lakes, ponds, and river systems of the provinces

Crawfish are sold whole; live or cooked, and may be purged to empty the intestinal tract of ingested matter. This step eliminates the dark tract but is not necessary. Whole crawfish are generally sold in the following count sizes per pound: under 15, 16-20, and 21-or-more. Live crawfish are packed tightly in onion bags for shipment. Bags are usually 40 to 80 pounds each. Crawfish will survive for three or four days in these bags if they are kept chilled with reasonable air circulation.

Cooked crawfish tail meats are fresh or frozen and offered with the fat on or off. Crawfish have quantities of fat in the head, similar to the tamale of a lobster. This fat is used as a basis for the rich sauces that are traditional with crawfish. Meat is generally graded as under 80, 80-100, 100-150, and 150-200 count per pound. Tail meat is used in many preparations, including gumbo, etouffe, and jambalaya.