Feasting on Agriculture: Cajun Boiled Crawfish at Fluid Farming
This was my second Feasting on Agriculture shoot, and I’m starting to see a pattern here: cold and wet weather… again!
The temperature was 68 degrees when we left home that day, and by the time we reached Vidrine, LA, the temperature dropped to 39 degrees with 30mph winds gusting in. In short, it was a pretty miserable day to hop on a boat to check crawfish traps. Despite the weather, I could not have asked for a more enjoyable day with some old friends and even better crawfish!
I have known Brad Benson since 2009, when he started dating and eventually married one of my best friends from college, Katy Golson. Brad’s family has been farming rice and crawfish for nearly 40 years. In fact, in 2011, I shot my very first crawfish story for TWILA with Brad’s uncle, Mitch. He was such a joy to interview: he has a wealth of knowledge on the crawfish industry and his personality makes him television gold! When I found out I would be taking over the cooking segment, I immediately knew I wanted to kick off crawfish season in Vidrine with the Benson family.
When I contacted Brad about setting up the segment with his Uncle Mitch, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Brad had recently purchased the farm from his uncle. As long as I’ve known Brad, I’ve known his passion for agriculture and his desire to one day take over his family’s farm, so this was a joy to finally see his dreams come to fruition!
They say you learn something new everyday, and this day was no exception. Just when I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about crawfish farming, Brad and Mitch proved me wrong! I learned so many new facts on that 15 minute boat ride. For instance, did you know that changes in temperature and barometric pressure are what cause crawfish to “molt?” This process helps them to grow and develop. When crawfish grow to a certain extent, it creates a soft tissue inside the hard shell and becomes ready for shedding. Young crawfish need to molt about 11 times to mature. It decreases to 4 to 5 times when they reach adulthood. Depending on the variables, they molt almost every 15 to 25 days. In short, the more times a crawfish molts, the larger the size. This process can be affected by several factors, such as water temperature and quality, food quality, and oxygen levels in the water. That’s why the weather, both temperature and precipitation, has such an impact on the size and quantity of crawfish.
So what does all that mean for this year’s crawfish season? The fact that we had a dry fall and winter combined with long periods of warmer temperatures with little fluctuation, mean that crawfish season is off to a slow start. While the crawfish were small and the traps weren’t as full as we hoped, we still managed to catch about 30 pounds of crawfish that morning, which provided the perfect amount to boil up for a delicious lunch!
If you watched last month’s Feasting on Agriculture segment featuring Ross “Roux” Lafleur, Brad actually introduced me to Roux, as the two of them grew up together in Ville Platte. And Brad is in the same category of exceptional chefs from the Evangeline Parish area. I have attended dozens of Brad’s crawfish boils, and his finished product NEVER disappoints!
Brad was gracious enough to share his secret crawfish boil recipe with us, so I hope you enjoy!
Brad’s Crawfish Boil Recipe:
30lb. Sack of live crawfish
3 lbs. Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil Dry Seasoning
16 oz. Liquid concentrated seafood boil
1 quart of lemon juice
Red potatoes
Whole Mushrooms
Corn on the cob
Post Boil Seasoning:
16 oz. Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil Dry Seasoning
1 quart of lemon juice
12 oz. Margarine Squeeze
Fill a pot with about 20 quarts of water and add
3 lbs. of dry Louisiana Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil Dry Seasoning
16 oz. Liquid concentrated seafood boil
1 quart of lemon juice
Bring water to a boil
Add live crawfish.
Boil on high temperature for 10-12 minutes.
Remove crawfish from pot, and add to an empty ice chest.
Add 16 oz. Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil Dry Seasoning
1 quart of lemon juice
12 oz. Margarine Squeeze
Close ice chest & shake vigorously.
Add vegetables to the pot with seasoned water. Boil until potatoes are tender.
Bon appetit!
