This is for the Haters... hehe

I used to eat shellfish. When I was smaller I was never without a prawn in my hand if possible! And it must be a Louisiana thing. My dad lived there for a while and he developed the taste for crawfish and such.. Now adays though I can't eat them. But I want to try crab but I'm to afraid. Lol.. Lobster I love thou!  

I haven't had crawdads in a long time! But I love them. I never could get into sucking their heads, though. When I was kid and we visited my dad's folks on gulf coast in FL we'd have shrimp boils right on the beach. Yummers.

Paige 

Are they marine or freshwater? They look like what we call over here yabbies, or freshwater crayfish, or marrons if you're from the west. Yabbies taste like enormous prawns, but the meat is a bit softer. Someone at work brought 3 big ones in for our fish tank. The fish had to be evacuated, though, and the yabbies have been wreaking mass murder chaos on the aquatic plants in the tank. They make fun and interesting pets. They interact with you and each other and get up to some crazy shenanigans. Today one of them climbed to the top of the tank for some arboreal explorations of the aquatic plants she's been destroying. Someone else at work has a blue one and he says she waves her claws at him every time he comes home.

The blue ones I think have the very awesome scientific name "Cherax destructor". I think it's Cherax. I'm too lazy to check it on the web.

I assure you, though, they do feel pain and while they don't have a brain in the vertebrate sense, they still have ganglia and are quite charming when you get to know them. The 3 in our tank are even displaying different personalities. Some people I know freeze all their crustaceans before cooking them. Hypothermia is about as pleasant and relaxing a way to go as there is, and I've heard it said that they taste much better when they passed in a relaxed state. Animals dying of cold just get slow and sleepy and apparently euphoric, at least in humans.

Having said all that, I love to eat crustaceans! Yummy! Yabbies are good bush tucker and you can catch them in any river or stream. What's more, all you need to catch them is a bundle of twigs tied together. Yabbies love hiding out in sticks. 

The crawdads we have are fresh water. Down southern Louisiana, they are everywhere. There crawfish farms all over the place. Low-lying land that is allowed to fill with water like a marsh and you can see the trap sticks all over. But, you can find them in creeks and small waterways here, too. One time, after a lot of rain, Shadow and I found one in one of the drainage ditches of a corn field on the south end of town.

cakana

 I ate a raw oyster on the half shell once, but I'd had a couple margaritas first

Wow!  I'm impressed.  I can't even look at an oyster on the half shell. I like them fried and when I was a kid my dad used to make the most delicious oyster stew with real cream and butter.

Joyce

Well I am a big fan of lobster and crab...never had a crawfish though.  I have to say though, when I saw those pictures in the first post, all I could think of was "Alien".  They look like little mini Aliens.  I would definitely have to have had a few beers before breaking into one of those. 

My fiancee is from upstate NY, but when he was in bootcamp in Virgina he ate crawfish all the time at this little seedy bar/restraunt. He LOVED them. He also LOVES oysters on the half shell. Actually, he loves all seafood...lol.

My dad is a lobsterman (which I why I was brought up on the coast), and me & him are the only people in my family who hate ALL seafood...we won't even eat tuna. But, we can both cook it up like nobody's business. I used to lobster with him in the summer, but now I only go every once in awhile, too much hard work! LOL!

...wow, am I a stereotypical New Englander or what?

fuzzy_dogs_mom

cakana

 I ate a raw oyster on the half shell once, but I'd had a couple margaritas first

Wow!  I'm impressed.  I can't even look at an oyster on the half shell. I like them fried and when I was a kid my dad used to make the most delicious oyster stew with real cream and butter.

Joyce

It was definitely a one-time thing and I had to really do it fast and not think about it. They say just gulp it down fast and I did

We have a crawdad festival here too and I went one year with friends and everywhere you turned they were selling boiled crawdads - blech!!  Just the idea of "sucking the head" off anything is a turn-off for me.

cakana

Just the idea of "sucking the head" off anything is a turn-off for me.

LMAO

cakana

We have a crawdad festival here too and I went one year with friends and everywhere you turned they were selling boiled crawdads - blech!!  Just the idea of "sucking the head" off anything is a turn-off for me.

We have a couple of festivals down here too.... they are tonssssssss of fun!

Oh lordy, crawfish is a big deal here in south Louisiana. Personally, I can't stand the smell or texture of any seafood so I don't eat crawfish.  I hate the smell of shrimp worst of all. During Lent here, everyone on the face of the earth asks why I'm not eating seafood. I just lie and tell them I'm allergic. It's easier than going through the whole, "OMG, you don't eat seafood!" thing. lol

Seriously we sell T shirts on how to eat them...

"Peel 'em , eat 'em, suck the head."   The tail is wonderful , and easy to peel BUT a true Mudbugger know the seasoning and fats in the head are the best part.....

Aren't you glad she did not show you a plate of raw oysters...I Have eaten over 7 dozen by myself at our yearly Tekilya Party ummmm I could eat oysters all day!  Mudbigs I limit to a plate full. To cook them correctly you boil them , much like you would shrimp in a spicey cajun boil with potatoes and corn on the cob.... pleanty of beer and hopefully water close by , a river, lake or the Gulf will do !!

Bonita of Bwana on the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama

Liesje

We caught crabs in Florida and made a yummy dip and crap cakes (not enough crabs for an actual meal).  We were kind and chopped them in half to kill them before boiling.  I can't stand the thought of placing any live animal in boiling water. 

See this cracks me up...a Perfect day Crabbing  is having the kids run amuck around the peir at Fort Morgan an old fort down on the Gulf, you have music on and a picnic , drinks and sunshine watching the pelicans fly by ...then you throw EVERYTHING back 'cause it's too darn much work to cook and pick !!  I can buy crab dip or crab cheap and fast ...buy a day in the sunshine with some Trop Rock on and a cold drink...you have ta earn that !!

Bonita of Bwana

Bonita of Bwana

To cook them correctly you boil them , much like you would shrimp in a spicey cajun boil with potatoes and corn on the cob.... pleanty of beer and hopefully water close by , a river, lake or the Gulf will do !!

Bonita of Bwana on the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama

hell yea! lots of beer, spicy corn on the cob, potatos, and onions, and TONS of mudbugs! sounds like my kinda fun over here in TX!

I know this thread is getting old, but I just saw it.....

I used to LOVE crawdads, but I haven't had any in years.  When I lived in Mississippi we would go to crawfish feeds and there would be lines of picnic tables piled high w/ them, it was AWESOME.  Now back in MD I don't see them nearly as much and I halfway forget how to eat them or atleast how to peal them, but I DO remember sucking the head....

ah...memories :o)