# How to remove raw crawfish tail meat?



## texherp (Jun 19, 2010)

I have been trying out crawfish trapping lately and am starting to have some success. I have never caught enough crawfish at once to make a meal so I'd like to freeze the tail meat and build up a stock of it in the freezer for cooking later. I have never bought one of those packs of frozen tail meat in the grocery store so I don't know if they are pre-cooked or raw. My question is, do I remove the tail meat raw or cooked, and if raw, do I need to do anything different? Thanks!


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## Wyogal (Jun 19, 2010)

freezing crawfish - Google Search


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## BigAL (Jun 19, 2010)

I've never seen frozen raw tails on the net.  They are always cooked w/the fat included in the bag.

If it were me, I'd cook then clean.  Don't store whole crawfish, just what I've read, and often.

How many are you get'n/day?  Sounds like fun.


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## texherp (Jun 19, 2010)

OK, I figured you had to cook 'em first to get the meat out.  

This morning I got about 2 dozen between two traps.  My traps are homemade and small, so I only leave them out a night at a time.  I have been setting them out in all sorts of places and it seems I can get the most from the little tupelo swamps around here, even though the crawfish are smaller than what I've gotten in the bigger ponds.


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## Selkie (Jun 19, 2010)

You cook them just like you do shrimp - steam them for about 3 minutes (very hot steam!), pull off the tail, cut an abdominal slit along the tail with a small pair of scissors and pull out the tail meat. Steaming for more than 3 minutes will make them tough (bad eats).

Gently reheat when serving later. Don't steam to reheat. Reheat in a basket over hot but not boiling or even simmering water. And don't put them in water... you'll lose most of their flavor.


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## BigAL (Jun 19, 2010)

Not how I'd cook'em.  I'd save 2 days worth and boil w/garlic, lemon, zatarans, onion, etc.  My problem would be eat'n them all and not save'n any.  I vote to boil them how they are supposed to be boiled.  Save what you and your family can't eat.  

Just my $.02, keep the change.


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## texherp (Jun 21, 2010)

I cooked 'em up yesterday.  I think from now on I will keep them for a few days in the fridge to purge themselves because their little guts were full of grit.

I've always boiled them for 3 minutes and let them sit for 10 minutes.  The meat usually comes out without having to tear apart the shell which is nice because I hate it when I get shell in my food.


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## Wyogal (Jun 21, 2010)

There were instructions on some of those sites as to how to purge them of their grit.


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## BigAL (Jun 21, 2010)

I actually think the salt trick works.  I've done them only 3 times, but the one time I used salt to purge.  They were actually cleaner.  Fluke?  I don't know, but you do run the risk of kill'n more than normal.  Worth buy'n a couple bags to find out, eh?  I'll help w/the "experiment".


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