Feasting on Agriculture: High Prices & Empty Traps -- Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Facing Historic Season
It’s finally crawfish season! It’s a time Louisianans start anticipating the moment they take their last bite of crawfish the previous season. But this year there’s a caveat: crawfish is in short supply, and if you are lucky enough to find a sack, the prices are through the roof.
For this month’s “Feasting on Agriculture” segment, we traveled back to Four Oaks Crawfish Farm in Morganza to visit the Frey family and find out why crawfish farmers across the state are facing such an unprecedented situation.
The Freys have a very diverse farming operation in Pointe Coupee Parish, where they grow rice, crawfish, cattle, sugarcane and soybeans. In addition to growing each of those crops, they also operate two locations of their Boiling Branch restaurants in Livonia and New Roads.
I brought along my friend Wesley Anderson and her dad, Jim Anderson, who happens to be one of the most talented and creative chefs in the Miss-Lou area. This was their first trip to a crawfish farm, so hopping on the boat and seeing how crawfish are grown and harvested in the field was truly an eye-opening experience.
When we loaded onto the boat, Matt Frey explained how last summer’s extreme heat and drought has created a historic challenge for crawfish farmers this season.
“The crawfish, they just couldn't find water,” Matt said. “And they had to bury deeper and then they had to come out. It's going to be twice as far, and hard for 'em to come out.”
Four Oaks Farm is located inside the Morganza Spillway, between the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya Basin. This year, the water table level was drastically low, which hurt the crawfish population.
Matt also added, “The ones that we are catching, they're immature because they’re delayed coming out the ground. So, they're immature, and immature crawfish will not live. They're too soft; they are vulnerable, and they get damaged. They won't live.”
Right now, farmers just need more time. As the season progresses and the crawfish have time to crawl out of their deeper holes and mature, Matt hopes that the crop will continue to improve, and farmers will start finding fuller traps.
Until then, be prepared to pay a pretty penny for your favorite crustacean. Currently, prices for boiled crawfish are as high as ten dollars a pound in some areas of the state. But as Matt noted, farmers are not cashing in on these high prices.
“Nobody is really making money in this situation. The farmer has to run traps for half a day to catch one sack,” Matt said.
In fact, the Frey family is hosting an event at their farm this weekend for about 150 people with crawfish on the menu, and they will have to purchase more crawfish from other farms to supplement their catch in order to feed the crowd. That’s how bad the current situation is for crawfish farmers across the state.
During the ride, Jim says he learned a wealth of knowledge about the industry. He says he was surprised to learn that crawfish aren’t sold based on their individual size, unlike the shrimp industry.
From the boat, we headed straight to the shop at Four Oaks Farm, to prepare one of the most unique and delicious crawfish dishes I’ve ever tasted: fried eggplant topped with a crawfish, sausage and smoked tomato cream sauce… it was sinfully good!
I met Jim several years ago in Natchez, MS, where he was cooking tacos in a food truck for an event in town. He always manages to surprise me with his creativity in the flavorful meals he prepares, and today was no exception.
Thank you to Jim for joining us and creating such a delicious meal! And thank you to the Frey family for your outstanding hospitality and welcoming us to your farm again!
Fried Eggplant with Crawfish, Sausage & Smoked Tomato Cream Sauce Recipe:
1/4 stick butter
1 rib celery diced
1 cup diced red & yellow bell peppers
1 white onion diced
1/4 cup green onion
1 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes
3 garlic pods
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
½ cup fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup Louisiana crawfish tail
1 lb. browned sausage of choice
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg
bread crumbs
1 eggplant (sliced)
Salt and pepper
Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Line two large sheet trays with paper towels and lay the slices on top in a single layer. Season with a light sprinkle of salt all over both sides of the eggplant. Set aside for 45 minutes, then pat each slice dry with a paper towel.
Whisk egg in a bowl and add breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.
Dip slices in the egg mixture, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet filled with about 1/4-inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Heat until very hot (about 350°). Working in batches, cook 4 to 5 slices of eggplant in a single layer until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes total. Remove from the oil and transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet tray (or a sheet tray lined with paper towels).
Brown sausage and save drippings. In the same pan, sauté all vegetables until tender crisp. Remove and set aside. Sauté cherry tomatoes until tender. Remove and set aside.Deglaze pan with white wine. Add vegetables back to pan & Add butter and melt
Add crawfish and sausage.
Add cream and cheese, reduce until thick, season to taste with hot sauce and creole seasoning.
Serve over fried eggplant.
