The Great Crawfish Boil

Last weekend a couple of Mike's mission buddies and families got together for a Louisiana Crawfish Boil. Mike and I decided to go to visit some of his friends and so I could try this "Crawfish Boil" thing. I was a little weary about it.... pulling apart and eating tiny lobsters.... it didn't sound like the best time, but how could I say no to his sweet face?

He was SO excited for me! He has always talked about that being one of his favorite things on his mission. He said that crawfish was the best. I had to try it out, even though it didn't sound delicious..... at all. I like fish, I like all sorts of seafood.... when it doesn't look like seafood anymore. This was just sad.

So this is how it works: They order a ton of crawfish.... live.... and ship it here. They fill a tub full of water and dump the crawfish in it with lots of salt so the crawfish will.... wait for it.... throw up.... yummy! This purges their stomachs of all the stuff they ate.... gross.


Then they take them and throw them in a huge pot of boiling water... they die on impact (or so they tell me - I don't know if I believe it). The water has a ton of crab oil and seasonings to make them really yummy!

Inside the same pot, they have a mesh bag that has potatoes, sausage, and corn on the cob that they put in there. They all soak up the seasonings and are really flavorful (this was my favorite part).

After it is all cooked, they have a table set up covered with newspapers and they just dump out the entire pot of crawfish.....


This doesn't look appealing to me in any way or form.

Mike was thrilled! He was so excited to dig in and for me to try it out. He wanted me to like it so much! I tried so hard to smile and say that it looks good, but I couldn't.... I just couldn't..... he wanted me to grab a handful of them and put them on my plate..... are you kidding? They have antanaes.... I didn't even want to touch them....yeah- let me give you a closer look....these are still little creatures!..... with EYES!!!!

I watched as other people just dug in.... gross..... Mike's plate was already stacked full..... okay.... I have to do it.... I have to do it for Mike.... I picked one poor little fella.... I gently set him down on my plate..... Mike looks at me and smiles from a couple tables down, and glances at my plate.... "Get more" he says.... I smile politely and turn back to the pile of little sea crawlers.... I swallow hard....I pick up another little guy.... or was it a gal? Mothers day is tomorrow... I can't think about that, its too sad.... I carefully set her down next to the little fella.... careful not to set her on top of him, it looked so barbaric to pile them on top of each other.... then another.... right next to those ones and then one more.... all in a little circle around my plate.... The plate still didn't look full enough... everyone else had overflowing plates.... the veggies!! I grabbed a big potatoe, a sausage (I don't like sausage- but it filled up the plate) and a corn on the cob.... that looks better....

I slowly walk over to the table where my dashingly handsome crawfish killer was waiting patiently. He starts to laugh.... he can tell I'm nervous. He things it will ease my tension if he just starts showing me how to eat them.... it doesn't. It makes me sick.... He has so much excitement telling me how to do it.... it is impossible not to smile while he shows me.

I go for the corn.... not bad...


Fine! I'll eat the dang thing. I pick my first one up... it only had one front claw... the other was probably in a pile on the table still.... I felt the urge to get it to reunite it to its body.... I decided against it where that would involve digging through the pile to find it...
Pull out the tail...
Peel back the vertebrae and pull out the poop trail....gross!
Pull the meet out.... it it doesn't come, try it with your teeth...
If it still doesn't come.... tug harder.... that is such a disgusting picture!
Okay, whatever... all that work and I got a tiny piece of meat...

You want me to do what with the head? That doesn't look safe!
I refused to do it. They said that was the best part and ensured me nothing would come out except the juices and spices.... I don't care.... I don't want the juices... or the spices.... these two are fairly convincing.... fine! If I'm going to suck it out I want to make sure that doesn't come with it...
Then just suck? Gross.... really gross....nothing even came out.... I didn't do it right.... I couldn't even taste anything.... I was too scared an eyeball would come through.... I got some coaching and then I was convinced to try it again.... here I go:

Wowsers.... I did it! Mike couldn't believe it. I sucked out the head.... I had to... I had to make my hubby proud... and he was. He was laughing pretty hard.

Mike.....yeah.... that is disgusting...
Crawfish: Definitely not the best thing I have ever tasted in my life, but I must say that they did two batches and the second batch was the best. It was more flavorful and spicier... that helped. I didn't mind the tail.... it tasted like lobster.... but it was weird. I would rather have just the meat on my plate, not the actual animal. Sucking out the head? That is just wrong.

The pro Crawfish eaters:

It was fun.... fun to experience something that is so important to Mike. He gets so excited when he gets to share things like this with me, it just makes me smile. I told him that I love him very much, but I probably won't ever do that again.... until he takes me to Louisiana. I'll try it again there.... you have to try the real thing right? :)