Seafood just happens to be everywhere in South Louisiana. Shrimp, crabs,
crawfish, oysters, frog legs, alligator, turtle are a few, and of
course, fish. A few are reptiles and amphibians but what the heck, they
live in water, they're seafood to me. Just scroll down to learn more.
Shrimp
Shrimp are harvested in the Louisiana saltwater bayous and in the Gulf
of Mexico. In general we have two seasons; the Brown Shrimp or May
season usually starting in May and lasting for about 45 days. The White
Shrimp Season usually begins in August and lasts until around December.
Fresh shrimp are usually de-headed and frozen with the shells on in a
little water in a zipper lock type bag (get all the air out). The water
is essential to prevent freezer burn. Some folks peal the shrimp first.
Leaving the shells on leaves me with more cooking options like baked
shrimp and making shrimp stock. Fresh shrimp should be kept covered with
ice (not ice water) for handling. If they get warm they'll spoil and
start smelling immediately. If you see any red on a fresh shrimp it
means it got too warm at some point. I won't buy em'!
I like a 31-35 count (number per pound, heads on) shrimp for gravies and 21-25
count for boiling, baking, grilling and frying. To me, any larger has
too much of an iodine taste.
With large shrimp you can even pull the leg sections from the heads and
fry them. "Oh yuk" you say, but, it's no different than frying a
soft-shell crab.
Shrimp dishes include boiled, gumbo, etouffee, stew, jambalaya, Creole,
baked, stuffed, dips, soup, grilled, boulettes, and of course, fried.
..... see "cooking shrimp".
Crabs
The Louisiana gulf coast crab (Blue Claw) is normally found in abundance
during the summer months but can be had at other times. Freshwater and
saltwater crabs are available, saltwater being the more popular. Crabs
are caught in the shrimp trawlers' nets but mostly by crab fishermen
using traps. You can also catch them yourself using string with a
chicken neck tied to it, a dip net and a little finesse (the kids love
this)! Hey, when the fish ain't bitin' the crabs probably are!
Fresh crabs will usually stay alive if kept moist and cool with a decent
air circulation. Icing crabs down with too much ice (we call this "iced
hard") will kill them as will excessive heat. If you put crabs in an ice
chest laying a small bag of ice on top of them will do just fine.
Another trick to keeping live crabs "Live" is never let them sit
up-side-down. If you have to, dump them into another container and place
them one-by-one back into the holding container. Once a crab dies the
meat gets mushy, same as crawfish. If you've ever eaten boiled crabs and
found that some of them had mushy meat it means they died before hitting
the boiling water. I'm sure there is a time period that must elapse
between death and the mush. I don't know what it is but it's not long.
That's why when it comes to boiled seafood in Louisiana you hear people
say "don't eat the dead ones", that's what it means. An experienced
boiled crab or crawfish eater can tell the difference right away. I
can't say that it will actually hurt you to eat it, but, boy the pallet
gets a nasty feeling! You can usually look at a fresh crabs' mouth and
if the mandibles are hanging loose, it's dead. This is not so prevalent
in crabs that have been iced hard. If they try to pinch you they're most
likely alive!
Fresh whole crabs can be prepared for the freezer by scalding them about
2 minutes and cleaning them. They can also be prepared live. Freeze them
as you would shrimp. If you boil the crabs you can pick the meat and
freeze it in a zipper bag with a little water (get the air out).
Soft-shelled crabs are a delicacy to me. A soft shell crab is just a
regular crab that is molting. The crab sheds its smaller shell to allow
for a new larger shell to grow. This crab is now being farmed, in that
the experienced crab farmer can actually look at the color changes on
certain parts of the crab and is able to tell when the molt will begin.
At the precise time the crab is pulled from the water and hard packed in
ice to stop the molt.
Some of the favorite dishes are boiled, stew, au'gratin, patties,
stuffed and is used in creamy soups. [Cooking Crab]
Crawfish
Mud-bugs (or "bugs" for short) are very popular here in Louisiana,
especially boiled. Crawfish can be purchased right from the fishermen,
if you know one, but normally they're available at seafood stores that
specialize in fresh and boiled seafood. Restaurants abound serving this
delicacy throughout South Louisiana.
Crawfish come from the Atchafalaya Basin, rice fields, and, are farmed
in dedicated crawfish ponds. They, as crabs, are caught in traps. If
you're willing to brave a snake or two you can go out and catch them
yourself in the right ditch.
Handling fresh crawfish is pretty much the same as crabs. Keep them cool
and moist. If they died before cooking the meat will get somewhat mushy.
You can tell when you pull the tail away from the body and the first
piece of meat breaks off. Most of the time the crawfish tail won't be
curled.
Great dishes with this rascal are boiled, Etouffee', bisque, stew and
fried soft-shell. They also make a great omelet. [Cooking Crawfish]
When Freezing your crawfish tails in water add a little lemon juice.
They keep a while longer.
Make a "Fat" cube by separating the fat, simmer it a little with lemon
juice and freezing it in an ice cube tray adding a little water. Once
frozen remove from tray and put in zipper bags and back in the freezer.
Oysters
Here's one of my favorite sea creatures. Oysters from South La. are
harvested in saltwater bays and bayous by oyster fishermen year round.
The commoner can pick a few for himself which is another "fish ain't
bitin'" activity. I'm from South Louisiana and have picked, shucked and
eaten many an oyster. Down here the "R" month concept does not fully
work. The concept (I've heard) was developed up north in the colder
regions of the U.S. People have mistakenly adapted it down here. The
best months are normally Nov., Dec., and January. In February they start
to become milky and loose their firmness. If I’m going to eat raw
oysters I’m very selective about where the oysters are picked. For me
it’s Empire and Grand Isle Louisiana; these areas have good water flow
and salt content is high. I’ll also wait until the daily high
temperature is at least 45 degrees for several days. Eating raw oysters
can be very dangerous.
Oysters must naturally be shucked. My paternal Grandfather was an oyster
shucker in New Orleans way long ago. He showed my father not only how to
shuck them but how to make an oyster knife. This might seem simple but
the "pro shuckers technique" was complex and produced a perfectly
shucked oyster 99.9% of the time.
Handling oysters follows the basic rules, cool and moist. After you get
them out of the shell they must be refrigerated.
Oyster dishes include; on the half shell, fried, soups, jambalaya,
Rockefeller, dressing, grilled and gumbo... see "Cooking Oysters"
Frog Legs
Frog legs come from the chicken! Aw come on nah! Of course they're from
frogs and those frogs are usually the marsh bull frog. You ain't lived
unless you've been at the camp and heard those bad boys croak. Froggin'
(hunting frogs) is a night time activity usually done in small jo-boats
and pirogues. They're taken with a gig or with a looped-wire stick. The
frog is then skinned, gutted and head removed. If the frog is big enough
we eat the body too! Hey, don't waste nuttin round here. Frog actually
tastes a little like chicken but better.
Favorite dishes here are fried, sauce piquant and smothered.
Top of Page...
Alligator
Yea, usually if it moves we'll eat it! Alligator is farmed, and, caught
in the wild in South Louisiana freshwater marshes. Cultivation is not
for the meat but for the hide, but, as fate would have it, there's meat
beneath that hide and, well.... we're eating! If you're lucky enough to
know a farmer or hunter you can get a little alligator tail meat for
usually nothin'. The meat is now available via seafood outlets and
believe me, it's worth trying. The meat is off-white and has a taste
combination in the chicken, fish, frog area and has no "wild" flavor. It
kinda depends on the size of the animal, and to me, the younger the
better.
Favorite dishes are fried, and naturally, a good sauce piquant.
Turtle
Turtle is abundant in the fresh water swamps of Louisiana and of course
it moves, so what do we do?.... eat it! No, we don't eat "Ripley's
believe it or not" turtles. We got enough fresh water varieties.
Snapping turtle (cah-wan, somebody correct me on this) is probably the
most popular but there are other types that fit just fine in the pot.
Turtle meat is available in the local seafood place and if you're out
fishing and run up on one just grab em' and throw em' in a sack. Chances
are you'll find somebody who knows how to clean one around here. Turtle
is one of the animals that has meat that tastes different dependent upon
the part of the body it comes from.
Turtle is also a sauce piquant favorite. I've heard a gumbo is good too
but haven't tried that one yet.
Fish
As I'm sure everyone knows fish fits any plate and most people like it.
One of the nice things about South Louisiana is that fish is abundant in
both fresh and saltwater varieties. Personally I like perch (a.k.a. blue
gill), sac-a-lait (a.k.a. white perch or crappie), goggle-eye, catfish,
fresh specks (speckled trout), red fish, drum and flounder. I honestly
can't say I have one favorite when it comes to fish, I just love them
all. Each has it's own spot on my tongue. The Gulf waters give us
snapper, ling (cobia), amberjack and many others (too many to list
here).
Most of us know that fish must be kept iced down at all times (but I had
to say it).
Fried, grilled, with sauces, hey you can't hardly mess up fish. Favorite
dishes are sauce piquant, courtbullion, fried and stuffed (flounder).
See... "Cooking Fish"
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Well that's about it for the seafood section. I hope you've learned a
little and I didn't gross you out...haha! Seafood is a big part of South
Louisiana eating. We say," it's here - we eat it!". On to
Cooking
Seafood...
Oh by the way, if your visiting South Louisiana and want to partake in
any of the outdoor activities mentioned above, be sure to follow the
laws set forth by our state. Your link to the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries.
Have a good one.