Crawfish Boil St. Louis Style

fresh crawfish

Two of the employees at my husband's firm are from Louisiana, and one of them decided at the urging of co-workers and friends to have a crawfish boil at his house last weekend. Everyone chipped in, and the fresh crawfish and shrimp were flown from Louisiana into St. Louis last Saturday morning. I have only had crawfish once, and that was down in New Orleans many years ago. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed my meal. As I recall, a big pot of the crawfish was placed in front of you, and you ate to your heart's content.

This crawfish boil was totally different. Onions, potatoes, corn on the cob, lemons and mushrooms were first boiled with some cajon spices. Then the crawfish and

shrimp were added. I'm not gonna lie, it was sad to see the crawfish moving around in the ice chest, not knowing what their fate was shortly going to be.

Newspapers were laid out on the tables, and when the fish were ready the whole pot of goodies was dumped out onto the papers. There were no plates and no utensils - everyone just dug right in. It was quite something! The flavors were wonderful, but personally I preferred the shrimp over the crawfish. They were easier to peel, had little waste (unlike the crawfish), and had a better texture and flavor in my opinion.

crawfish boil

emptying the basket

It was fun to see the entire process and experience a different food culture than one we normally see in St. Louis. Good times!