Summer brings to mind food festivals and backyard barbecues, lively events ripe with rich flavors and scents. Crawfish boils are one of the more fascinating gatherings, where recipes that have been handed down are used to spice up food pots before serving. Louisiana-style Cajun boils are perhaps the more traditional offerings. Follow these guidelines to make the most of a boil, and leave feeling satiated and satisfied.
Dress the Part
In a summer where festivals and other gatherings have been limited, if you want to experience a crawfish boil you can visit restaurants that specialize in Cajun seafood cooking, such as seafood restaurant Plano. Dress down; wear jeans and a dark shirt, to both fit the ambiance and hide potential stains. Consider bringing a bib, if you would prefer.
Choose Your Heat
Some places provide a range of spice levels, from mild to searing. If you are at a festival, go from booth to booth to inquire about what each offers. At a restaurant ask the waiter to clarify. In either case, be cautious about how much heat you can handle; typically, a novice to Cajun cooking should err on the side of caution.
Choose Your Accompaniment
You will waste your money ordering a light chardonnay to go with this spicy dish. A light- or medium-bodied beer will blend best with a plate of hot crustaceans. Order the traditional mix-ins: corn, potato and onion.
Eat Like a Pro
Eating a crawfish seems tricky, but that is not so. Grasp the tail with one hand, and snap the head with the other. Squeezing the body, sip as much of the fatty contents as you can in one pass, then discard the shell into an empty bowl.
Any kid who has ever tried to cup a hand over a backward streaming crawfish has probably wondered if it might taste good. A delightfully messy crawfish boil provides a definitive answer to that musing: The most delicious dishes can come from the most unlikely sources.
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