Many people love visiting local restaurants with their family to share a platter of crawfish. There’s something about it that’s social, fun, and delicious. However, you may know that crawfish aren’t always easily available.
So how do restaurants deliver on a year round crawfish promise, and keep them fresh until they get to your table?
Crawfish Season
There isn’t a set season for crawfish harvest, as it varies year to year based on environmental factors such as the temperature and rainfall. The season for crawfish is defined slightly differently from other seafood like crab and shrimp because crawfish isn’t legally regulated in the same way. However, just because there is no defined season doesn’t mean there isn’t a right time to buy them.
There are three factors that dictate when crawfish season unofficially starts. First, the crawfish need to be readily available, secondly, they need to be cheap enough to afford and lastly, they need to be big enough to enjoy. Most years, these three factors come together and put the start of crawfish season at the beginning of March, and it usually lasts until the end of June. During these months, the crawfish population reaches its peak and they’re large enough to make them worth eating. This is when your favorite restaurant will be able to access crawfish most easily.
At other times of the year, restaurants can order their crawfish from farms in the Southern states. These farms can produce crawfish year round, which is how you can still enjoy your crawfish dishes after the official season is over.
Keeping Year Round Crawfish Fresh
It’s great news that your favorite restaurants can get year round crawfish, but they also need to be kept fresh so they keep the same flavor. Crawfish are best when they are cooked the day they are taken, but the taste won’t be affected if they’re kept for a couple of days after this. Restaurants know this, and plan their orders according to their schedule.
Crawfish need to be kept moist, otherwise they start to die. A good restaurant will cover the crawfish with ice, which provides the crawfish with a steady trickle of water as it melts. To stop the crawfish from dying, you need to allow the water to drain as they can’t be submerged in water. They should also be stored in a cool, dark place, away from the wind and light.
This is how a good crawfish restaurant will be able to deliver on their promise to offer you year round crawfish. By ordering from reputable farms and storing their crawfish in the right way, there’s no reason why you can’t eat the best tasting crawfish all year.
Sources:
How to Keep Crawfish Alive Before Boiling, Leaf.tv
We Love Crawfish, WeLoveCrawfish.com
