Crawfish Feast

What better way to describe Louisiana than to talk about boiling crawfish? Louisiana is well known throughout the United States for its famous Cajun cuisine. Hosting a crawfish boil has been a great tradition of our state for many years, and it continues today. For my 20th birthday, my older brother was going to teach me how to boil crawfish for the first time. Since boiling crawfish is not just an occasion for two people, I invited my friends and the rest of my family to join us.
Boiling a large quantity of crawfish require a lot of physical material. As shown in the picture above, you will need a long table and chairs for people to sit in. If you don’t have enough seats, some people will have to stand like my friends on the left of the photo. It is very common to cover the table with old newspapers in order to soak up the juices from the crawfish; this is part of the reason why Louisiana residents do not throw away their papers after reading them. In the center underneath the first batch of crawfish, there are several plastic trays. These trays hold a large amount of the juice and also can be used to distribute the crawfish. The trays located behind me on the counter contain the ingredients for second batch of crawfish.
It is clear to see that when you boil crawfish, you do not just boil crawfish. You need to add seasonings (all of which I will not reveal); the one necessity is Zatarain’s Crawfish Boil mix. Each batch has various vegetables and meats that are included to add flavor and consume flavor. The flavor adding items are lemons, celery, onions, and garlic. While some people eat the celery and garlic, the items that consume most of the flavor are the red potatoes. Other well seasoned foods include corn on a cob, small mushrooms, hot dogs, and sausages. It is good to have butter handy when serving crawfish with corn and potatoes, preferably squeeze butter as we used. This makes it easier to apply when your hands are full of messy crawfish. On the right side of the photograph, someone is holding an aluminum can that has no label. The can is either green beans or asparagus; we kept these two in hole-punched cans so they would not get mashed up by the larger substances in the pot while boiling. All this scrumptious and spicy food needs something to washed it down. The beverage of choice for the adults is usually beer. Younger eaters and adults who do not drink beer often decide between water and coke.
Crawfish boils like this are a great custom that is tied with Louisiana’s culture. This is a popular social event which brings friends and families together, whether it takes place while tailgating for a sporting event or at a friend/family member’s house. Everyone gathers to spend a day with one another and enjoy a feast of succulent crawfish.