Crawfish Daze

Crawfish season is one of my favorite times of year. I can’t get enough of the spicy little mudbugs and will accept any invitation (and sometimes invite myself) to eat them. However, this year, we’re all a little dazed and concerned about the availability and price of crawfish. Earlier in the year the Louisiana State University AgCenter said that the crawfish burrows had been dried out by the previous summer drought. That sent the price of boiled crawfish up to anywhere between $12 and $15 a pound. Live crawfish prices were also high. The unfortunate effect of the weather will likely impact many areas of this industry, but thankfully, it looks as though things are leveling out a bit.

There’s more hope on the horizon in the form of festivals like the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival that takes place May. This lively festival has grown exponentially since the early days.

Happening from May 3-5, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival includes music on three different stages, a crawfish eating contest and Cajun dance lessons, to name a few of the fun activities. There’s a three-day pass as well as individual tickets. Though the festival has gotten big, it’s still a fun affair and a good time.

Though it dates back to 1960, I remember going some thirty years ago when it was a small-to-medium size festival, at least from my young perspective. What else I remember is eating my body weight in crawfish that day — the crawfish were too good not to.

If I’m not at a festival like that, I’m happiest going to a crawfish boil in someone’s backyard. My brother’s crawfish boils are my favorite — he does them just right. I love to see what he will throw in a pot of crawfish: Mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potatoes (my new favorite) and more. Anything goes really, as long as it doesn’t mess up the taste of the main attraction, the crawfish.

There’s nothing better than gathering around with family or friends for a boil. When you see tables covered with newspaper, you know it’s about to go down. Ice chests of cold drinks or beer, a few loaves of crusty French bread and if you’re lucky, someone brings the special garlic butter, and that’s really all you need. Anything else is lagniappe. When that first batch is spread out across the table, the bright red crawfish steaming from the heat, corn and potatoes tumbling down the mound, it has to be one of the best sights in Louisiana’s culinary world. I do feel lucky to live here on days like that — to be able to enjoy such delicious food with the people I care about most.

In this issue, you’ll be able to read more about the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and if crawfish aren’t your thing, read on for some amazing steak recipes. If you aren’t doing a boil this month, you’re likely grilling outside before the shimmering summer heat sets in, but either way, it’s all a sign of good times.

Reine Dugas
Editor
Reine@Louisianalife.com