How To Eat Boiled Crawfish

By Valerie Luesse
February 18, 2010
Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas
Here’s how to make quick work of the shell and get to those tasty morsels.
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Grasp

Credit: Illustration: Ryan Kelly

Hold crawfish on both sides of the tail joint, your thumbs on one side of the shell and your index fingers on the other.

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Twist and Snap

Credit: Illustration: Ryan Kelly

With a twisting motion, snap the head away from the tail. (Optional step for diehards: Suck the juice from the crawfish head.)

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Peel

Credit: Illustration: Ryan Kelly

Use your thumbs to peel away the shell from the widest part of the tail, pulling back from the center, just as you would peel a shrimp.

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Tug

Credit: Illustration: Ryan Kelly

Hold the tip of the tail and gently tug out the tender meat. Enjoy! (Don’t live on the bayou? Order online at lacrawfish.com.)

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Recipes

Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Crawfish Boil
Recipe: Crawfish Risotto
Recipe: Crawfish Étouffée
Recipe: Crawfish Jambalaya

Try out some of our favorite crawfish recipes.

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