# Crawfish Question for our southern Cooks



## letscook (Mar 11, 2013)

Here in New York State, crawfish isn't ready available here. I never can get them. 
My question is Would shrimp be a good replacement ? Any suggestions. 
I saw Paula Deen make these and want to try them.
Crawfish Rolls Recipe : : Recipes : Food Network


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## GLC (Mar 11, 2013)

No, not shrimp, generally. Crayfish (crawdads, etc.) is closer to lobster in flesh and flavor. They have that sweet flavor more like lobster. You should be able to find crayfish tails and tail meat frozen. (Won't be able to suck the heads, as Paula no doubt did.) And you can no doubt find them live in the City. The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market. Wild Edibles. Maybe in Chinatown, but try to stick to domestic farmed. 

Now, if you have rock shrimp or large prawns, you can use them much the same way as whole crayfish with a difference in flavor.


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## pacanis (Mar 11, 2013)

I'd order them. I already did when I did a crawfish boil a year or two ago. Order yourself some alligator nuggets while you're at it. Good stuff.
Louisiana Crawfish Company


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## CraigC (Mar 11, 2013)

I order a 40 lb sack once or twice a season. Make sure you get wild caught as pond raised suck. If you buy tail meat, make sure it comes from Breaux Bridge, LA. The Chinese produce some nasty crap they export. Stay away from that garbage.


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## Zhizara (Mar 11, 2013)

Can you get longostinos? I'm not sure of the spelling, but sometimes in a nice big store, you con find them in the freezer section or seafood counter.

Crayfish would definitely work, but I've never seen any in any store.

Living in New Orleans, a couple of stores nearby often have peeled crawdads, fresh frozen available for a price.  Those may be available online.


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## CraigC (Mar 11, 2013)

Zhizara said:


> Can you get longostinos? I'm not sure of the spelling, but sometimes in a nice big store, you con find them in the freezer section or seafood counter.
> 
> Crayfish would definitely work, but I've never seen any in any store.
> 
> Living in New Orleans, a couple of stores nearby often have peeled crawdads, fresh frozen available for a price. Those may be available online.


 
You need to go across the river! Gretna and Harvey.


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## Dawgluver (Mar 12, 2013)

A few years ago, a friend commented that crayfish were digging up her back yard here along the IL/IA banks of the Mississippi.  I also recall seeing crayfish in Lake of the Woods in Canada.  I looked it up, and apparently even Northern crawdads are edible.  Mudbugs is mudbugs, north or south.  Who knew?  I'm wondering if they might be closer than you think, Letscook.


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## no mayonnaise (Mar 12, 2013)

Order them online.  There's really nothing like eating a good crawdad boil and sucking the juice out of the heads which is arguably better than the tail meat.


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## letscook (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone,  
Im 40 miles west of Syracuse, so the NYC options are out. Yes were can get frozen langostinos,  Crayfish/mudbugs are avaiable in creeks around here, but wouldn't want to eat them.  I will order some . Thanks again to all


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## pacanis (Mar 12, 2013)

You can order just the tails from the link I provided, which should work perfectly in your recipe. Too bad you weren't closer, we could split an order of live ones.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 12, 2013)

In Michigan, you can only harvest Rusty Crayfish, one of the invasive species.  I've tried them, and they are pretty tasty.  Unfortunately, though there are crayfish, the water is cold, and there just aren't a many.  Catching enough for a feed is time intensive  We can get frozen, or thawed in our grocery stores, but they are pre-seasoned.  I like to season my own food.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of he North


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## letscook (Mar 12, 2013)

Pacanis would of loved to  thanks going to look into ordering them.  but am going to try the  langostinos that I can get frozen here. Think best to do that to try the recipe out first.


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## Zhizara (Mar 12, 2013)

CraigC said:


> You need to go across the river! Gretna and Harvey.




I live across the river actually, in Algiers.  I don't go to New Orleans proper at all.


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## taxlady (Mar 12, 2013)

I have only had crayfish once. We were on vacation at Lake Tahoe. We met some Swedes. They had caught a bunch of crayfish and cooked them up at the beach and shared with my family. OMG, those were tasty.


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## salt and pepper (Mar 12, 2013)

I live in Montana, and we buy the tail meat at Walmart. In the frozen fish dept.. They use to sell them whole, but no more.


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## pacanis (Mar 12, 2013)

taxlady said:


> I have only had crayfish once. We were on vacation at Lake Tahoe. We met some Swedes. They had caught a bunch of crayfish and cooked them up at the beach and shared with my family. OMG, those were tasty.


 
When I used to go camping we could always find enough crayfish for a snack. That's back when I used to "catch" my own frog legs, too 
There's something to be said for harvesting your own food in certain situations. I still remember walking into a poker game at a beach house where there were fresh mussels steaming in a beat up aluminum pan on a rickety stove. Some of the best mussels I ever ate


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## Addie (Mar 13, 2013)

pacanis said:


> When I used to go camping we could always find enough crayfish for a snack. That's back when I used to "catch" my own frog legs, too
> There's something to be said for harvesting your own food in certain situations. I still remember walking into a poker game at a beach house where there were fresh mussels steaming in a beat up aluminum pan on a rickety stove. Some of the best mussels I ever ate


 
You are so right. Those clams we brought home as kids from a day at the beach always tasted so good. There is something to be said about catching your food yourself. And going down to the beach after a storm and finding lobsters there for the picking, then bringing them home for supper just made the day. Even though the clams and lobsters I eat today come from the same waters, they just don't taste the same.


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## vitauta (Mar 14, 2013)

pacanis said:


> When I used to go camping we could always find enough crayfish for a snack. That's back when I used to "catch" my own frog legs, too
> There's something to be said for harvesting your own food in certain situations. I still remember walking into a poker game at a beach house where there were fresh mussels steaming in a beat up aluminum pan on a rickety stove. Some of the best mussels I ever ate



ooh pac, i just love stories like that!and, i know that dented, banged up pot, too--you never get a rare and wonderful seafood meal like what you had at your poker game with cuisinart cookware.... 

man, i am so hungry for a pile of shellfish now!


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## Addie (Mar 14, 2013)

vitauta said:


> ooh pac, i just love stories like that!and, i know that dented, banged up pot, too--you never get a rare and wonderful seafood meal like what you had at your poker game with cuisinart cookware....
> 
> man, i am so hungry for a pile of shellfish now!


 
Sometimes the best meals are made under adverse and emergency situations. Like when the power goes out in a storm and you have to cook in the fireplace. Or you bring in the camping burner and cook with a fuel candle. Somehow you manage to make a complete meal with one pan and one burner and feed everyone. The kids will talk about that meal for years. They will ask what that thing is you used to open the cans. (a manual can opener)


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## CraigC (Jan 24, 2015)

CraigC said:


> I order a 40 lb sack once or twice a season. Make sure you get wild caught as pond raised suck. *If you buy tail meat, make sure it comes from Breaux Bridge, LA. The Chinese produce some nasty crap they export. Stay away from that garbage.*



Brought this thread back up on purpose. We were in Restaurant Depot and Karen spotted a package of frozen crawfish tails which had Breaux Bridge, LA on the package label. After further inspection, she found, in very small print, on the back of the package, "Product of China"! Apparently, the Chinese garbage is being shipped to Breaux Bridge and being repackaged and misrepresented as coming from there.


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## salt and pepper (Jan 24, 2015)

letscook said:


> Here in New York State, crawfish isn't ready available here. I never can get them.
> My question is Would shrimp be a good replacement ? Any suggestions.
> I saw Paula Deen make these and want to try them.
> Crawfish Rolls Recipe : : Recipes : Food Network



              You can sub with shrimp. You should be able to trap craw fish in NY state. I get them in wallmart, check them out.


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