Cold Bayou

My husband loves all things Cajun. So for his birthday he wanted a real southern shrimp and crawdad boil. Doesn't sound too strange right? Well, what if I told you he is Polish and we live in Indiana. Or as we like to refer to it- the cold bayou (the area we are from has a lot of marshland and swamps). And, while any true Cajun would be able to point out all of our inaccuracies, I hope they will at least let us pretend.  So, here is how to have a Louisiana supper on Midwestern soil:

1. Order/Purchase frozen shrimp or crawfish(a.k.a crayfish, crawdaddies, crawdads, mudbugs etc.) . When your little guys arrive they should be all nice and frozen.  Keep them in your freezer until its time to cook them. Don't let them thaw. We ordered from these guys-

2. Eating crawdads is messy and fun. Don't worry about cleaning your house. Set up some tables and chairs outside. Cover the table with newspaper or butcher block paper. Not everyone who was invited to our little get together wanted to dine on mudbugs. So, the smaller table in the foreground was for our squeemish guests, that they may dine in peace, far from our crawdaddy carnage.

3.  You will need a some friends and a large pot. The pot is for cooking in and the friends are for eating the stuff you just cooked. A pot with a basket for lifting out the food is nice. My husband took an old deepfry basket and a metal hook and rigged it up so he could lift the basket out of the boiling liquid. Fill the pot with water and add the boil bag which is full of your seasoning(if you order online it comes with the shipment but, if you are buying from the grocery store they should sell shrimp and crab boil right by the fish counter). 

4.You can prepare a few side dishes ahead of time. Or, just get some corn on the cob, onions, and a few potatoes and add them to the pot. Just be sure to add the shrimp/crawdads later because they cook up a lot faster than the veggies will.  Cook times will very depending on whether or not your little guys are precooked or raw. So, after veggies are done bring the water to a boil. Crawdads will turn red like little lobsters when they are done and shrimp will turn pink. It will not take long.

5. Pull the bugs out of the water and serve.  If you don't know what to do with that ugly critter  that is now staring up at you take a look at this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNtzDsOlTQs&NR=1 And if you've tried them before, then you, know they are so very ugly but, so very good. 

 

With all the issues the people of the gulf are having this summer, I think it only fair we lend some support to them. Consider buying seafood from the gulf. Watch at your local grocery store. They usually list were their fish and seafood are caught. If your store doesn't carry products from the gulf consider ordering some online and having it shipped to you.

 -I'm living with a warm hearted man on a cold bayou-