Posted: 5/10/2009 4:28:18 PM EDT
| Anyone know how to trap crawdads? I have the trap but don't know what to do with them once we catch them. |
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Quoted:
Anyone know how to trap crawdads? I have the trap but don't know what to do with them once we catch them. I'm confused. Are you asking for advice on how to catch them or on how to cook them? To catch them, I usually use mackerel or carp (bait fish I catch myself, much cheaper this way). If I don't have any extra bait fish, I'll buy some chicken. Doesn't really matter if its cooked or raw, fresh or rotten. Also, don't know what sort of trap you are using. Some traps secure them in the trap once they enter, those you need to check far less often since there is little chance of them escaping. The cheaper traps where they can exit, I try to check about once every 30 mins. |
| Last year I saw an AWESOME video on youtube by Chef Gordon Ramsey from his show "The F Word". He trapped HUGEEEEEE numbers of mudbugs and explained how to do it. The show was in England, but you tend to catch the little bastards the same way all around the world. You can probably search for the video and find it easily. |
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Equipment Needed:
One Large Boiling Pot, Basket Insert and Lid* Outdoor Propane Cooker* Large Tub or Two Ice Chests * Bayou Classic 30 Quart Outdoor Cooker is ideal for boiling crawfish. It comes with a 30 Quart Pot, a vented lid, perforated rack, grab hook, 12" stainless thermometer. All you need is the propane tank. It's really popular in these parts for cooking deep fried turkey. But it's equally at home at a Crawfish Boil. This versatile unit will cook about 10-15 lbs of crawfish per batch. If you're cooking 30 lbs, just make a couple of batches Ingredients Needed: 30 lbs of Live Crawfish (1 sack) 8 Small Onions 8 Small Potatoes 8 Ears of Corn Fresh Garlic Fresh Mushrooms 4 Lemons 3 lbs Fruge's Original Seafood Boil Six Pack of Cold Beer   
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Directions:
1. If you have not already done so, drink a cold beer. 2. After your beer, you would normally purge the crawfish. This is not necessary since our crawfish come pre-purged. Just rinse out the crawfish with fresh water and boil. If you want, use the time you saved by not purging the crawfish to have another beer. 3. Drink another beer. Give one to a friend. 4. Fill the large pot half full with fresh water, place on outdoor propane cooker, and start the fire. Place the lid on the pot and bring water to a boil. 5. Add about 1/3 lb of Fruge's Original Seafood Boil to water. Let the boiling water mix it well for a minute or so. 6. Time to drink another beer. Send sober friend to store for more beer. 7. Drop in the onions (halved), the potatoes and fresh garlic. Let this cook, keeping an eye on the potatoes. (Check for doneness by stabbing with a sharp knife or fork. If it goes in easy, it is cooked. Hint; Do not over cook potatoes, slightly under cook them because they will continue to steam and cook in ice chest. You don't want to end up with mashed potatoes.) When the potatoes are almost done, add the corn and mushrooms. After they have cooked, lower the fire on the burner and remove the basket. Place the vegetables in a small clean ice chest - don't close the lid - just place foil on top. Time to drink another beer. 8. Turn the heat up on the burner. Add more spice to the water. (About 1/2 lbs., save rest of spice for later.) Take the lemons (halved) and squeeze the juice in the water. Then add the lemons to the water. When the water comes to a boil place the crawfish into the basket and put the basket in the pot. (Be careful - it's very hot!) Put the lid on the pot and enjoy another beer. 9. When the water comes back to a boil - keep a very close eye on this part - let it boil for 4 minutes and turn off the fire. Let it soak for another 3 minutes and then remove. Kill the boil by adding cold water or ice, not much is needed maybe a gallon or so. Then let the crawfish soak. They will sink to the bottom and fill with spicy water (JUICES). 10. Get an old table and place old newspapers on top. Dump the basket of crawfish on top of the newspaper and sprinkle with leftover spice. 11. Dump the onions, potatoes, corn and garlic on top of the crawfish. Now it's time to really drink beer and eat. The vegetables are for those guests who cannot figure out how to peel the crawfish. At least they won't starve. |
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CRABS AND CRAWFISH
Live crabs and crawfish must be kept under conditions that will keep them alive until cooking. Upon death, they will decompose extremely rapidly. Always discard dead crabs and crawfish prior to cooking. The best way to prolong the life of these shellfish is to keep them cool, moist and with some fresh air. Under ideal conditions, crabs and crawfish may be kept alive for several days out of water. Never place them in closed containers full of water, such as an ice chest, as they will quickly suffocate and die. Crawfish are usually purchased in onion sacks and these are excellent for maintaining them alive. Live crabs are generally stored in wooden crates, covered with a damp burlap sack. Never place crabs or crawfish directly in the sun, but place them in a cool shaded area. Ice placed on top of the sack will help to cool the shellfish and the dripping melt water will keep them moist. Allow for some air circulation. Although, the shellfish are out of water, the internal gills are kept wet inside the shell but must have fresh air. Prior to cooking, always carefully examine the crawfish or crabs to be sure they are alive and thoroughly wash them to remove unwanted debris. Take care to avoid cross contamination between the live and cooked shellfish. For example, never placed cooked crawfish or crabs back into the same container in which the live shellfish were stored as this may cause a serious illness. |
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Quoted:
Anyone know how to trap crawdads? I have the trap but don't know what to do with them once we catch them. ^ easy......my grandad used to keep em for weeks. get an old bathub and an aerator and keep about 8 inches of water in the tub. mount aerator and drop tube in the water. damned things will eat about anything. even seen him toss some squirell guts in the tub for them to eat. if you have crawdad holes in your yard, use a small piece of bacon on a string and drop it in the hole. they'll latch on to it and you can pull em out, if you do it slow. have caught some huge ones(over 8") this way. very good eatin
ETA: if you want to catch a lot at one time, use a seine net and put a little chicken in the center tied down....leave net about 20 mins and pick it back up. remove crawdads and do it over and over till you have enough. my grandad had a rural mail route in Oklahoma, and would stop along his route and seine for crawdads in huge puddles at the side of the road. i didn't realize it at the time but my grandad was a survivalist(what we would call it today), but back then it was just a normal part of life. they hardly ever bought food. a loaf of bread here, and maybe some conflakes. they always had a huge garden, and the freezer was always full of squirells and deer and pork that he traded deer/catfish for, and ran trotlines on the river every few days. he traded/bartered for tons of stuff. i sure do miss him and my granny. ETA again: don't let algae build up in crawdad tub......scrape that crap out and keep it clean. |
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For about 20 pounds I boil about 6 gallons of water in a big pot w/gas burner (outside). We have Zatarain's crab boil here. I put in half of the 73 oz. container in water as it's boiling. Drop the little bastards in the pool once the water's boiling. Using a pot with a basket is the easiest way to insert and then remove. After 2-3 minutes of boiling turn off the burner and let them soak 15 minutes. Don't forget to add your hotdogs, potatoes, mushrooms and anything else in a small mesh laundry bag. Hope you like 'em spicy.
edit: I can put this on the EE if you can't find any you damn Yankee.
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