How to eat crayfish correctly. Step-by-step instructions with photos.

The tail of the crayfish, the so-called “crawfish neck”, and sometimes the claws – this is what is usually considered edible in the crayfish. Although getting meat from there is not the easiest task. But this is not the only thing edible in crayfish. Strictly speaking, everything in crayfish is edible except the stomach and intestines - these things can even cause poisoning. But to get to the crayfish meat, you need to open its shell. Evgeniy Ivanov, concept chef of the Odoevsky restaurant and the Professor Puf kitchen, shows how to properly clean and eat crayfish

Eating crayfish is an art. And not everyone owns it. In the south of Russia, in Kuban and in the Rostov region, they know how to eat crayfish. I'm from Kuban, so I'll show you everything.

You need to understand that boiled crayfish must be infused for a long time in the brine where it was boiled. Therefore, this crayfish is already full of brine, which is very tasty. In order not to spill anything from there, we turn the crayfish upside down.

I will note that you need to eat crayfish with your hands, you will have to suck out a lot, and even doing it noisily, with squelching - this is normal.

Be sure to look at the crayfish’s tail, it should be curled like a snail. If the tail is straight, this means that the crayfish was cooked dead, and it can be poisoned. You can't eat this kind of cancer.

How to eat properly

Now the actual description of this pleasant process.

First of all, we tear off the claws and legs. Then you can act at your own discretion, namely, put them aside, as they say, for later, or immediately squeeze out what is in them with your teeth. Do not throw them away under any circumstances! In a large crayfish, the claws contain a lot of meat, about as much as the neck part.

We tear off the claws and legs
For large claws, the tips are gnawed or cut with scissors. Next, you need to open it like an oyster and a fairly large piece of meat will appear in front of you.

The tips are cut off and the claw opens
Now it’s time to separate the chest part from the abdomen (we’ll leave that for later). This is done carefully, otherwise the juice it contains may spill out. It should be drunk straight away, like from a glass. The juice contained in the shell is extremely tasty. At this stage, two options are possible, namely, the shell is lifted upward, torn off from the gills, which we leave on the belly with the inner part of the head, or we immediately separate the head and chest parts from the abdomen. In this case, the gills will remain inside. Both options will be correct.

Cephalothoracic compartment
Now you need to separate the crayfish head from the chest part where they grow together. To do this, you need to carefully pull the edges of the shell in different directions. If you do everything correctly, it should crack along the seam on both sides, then take it by the edge of the head and separate it completely from the shell.

Head separation
On the inside of the head there is a mass that has a pleasant orange color. On the inside of the shell there is white meat, it is extremely appetizing and can also be eaten.

The pulp is on the inner sides of the head and shell.
As a result, the following parts remain.

The parts that remain are unnecessary to eat.
Next, we separate the gills from the abdominal part. To do this, we pull them down, towards the bend of the abdomen. From the gills we suck out the juice containing an exceptionally delicious orange mass. Very often, in the inner part between the gills there is caviar, which is also extremely appetizing and even healthy.

Gills and abdomen
When all the previous parts are eaten, only the most important part remains, namely the abdomen, which, of course, contains the most meat.

Crayfish belly
The abdomen also needs to be able to open; to do this, first of all we tear off the feathers of the tail and suck out the juice from under the shell. Then we open it.
Next, you can proceed in two ways - or, as usual, simply break off the tips, which have a triangular shape on both sides of the abdomen, but for some this is difficult (especially if the specimen is large) and you can get scratched. Or just take scissors and cut them off.

Cleaned neck
We separate the upper part of the shell from the lower and the neck itself appears before us.
From the neck itself you need to remove a thin layer of meat, under which we find the rectum. It must be removed. Next, we simply eat pieces of delicious meat.

The most delicious pieces

So we learned how to eat crayfish correctly. You can move on to the next cancer!

Well, a lot of boiled crayfish!

How to cook deliciously live and dead crayfish?

To ensure the freshness of the product, crayfish are boiled alive . Dead arthropods that have been stored for a long time begin to secrete cadaveric poison, which threatens to poison the human body.

Therefore, the best cooking option is to boil live crayfish . Experts do not recommend eating the product until the end of summer, because seafood carries caviar. With the beginning of autumn, crayfish are at their most delicious.

We offer several recipes for boiling crayfish caught in a pond:

The easy way . If the kitchen does not have a variety of seasonings and spices, you can cook the product in the traditional way. To do this you will need 1 kilogram of seafood, 3 liters of water, 3 tablespoons of salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and dill. Live crayfish are thrown into boiling salted water with spices and boiled for 6 minutes. After this, remove the pan from the heat and leave the product for half an hour.
Using a bow . To add piquancy to the finished product, add onion cut into half rings to the broth. Cook the crayfish covered for 10 minutes over high heat.
Crayfish on beer . Not every lover of these two products will take such a step. After all, according to most, crayfish go perfectly with fresh beer. The recipe involves cooking seafood with the addition of this drink. For 10 live specimens you will need 500 milliliters of beer and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Pour a foamy drink into a large saucepan, add the same amount of water, add salt and bring to a boil. Throw in the crayfish and cook for 12 minutes.
Cucumber pickle . A method that has recently been gaining popularity due to the savory taste of the prepared crayfish. To do this, cook the product as usual until it turns red. Then the water is drained and cucumber pickle is poured in the same amount. The mass is brought to a boil and seasoned with 5 tbsp. sour cream, bringing the crayfish to readiness. This delicacy is served along with ready-made broth.

The delicacy is often flavored with lemon juice . Boiled crayfish are served on a large flat dish so that each consumer has the opportunity to take the one they like.

The German method of cooking the product involves placing the crayfish in boiling salt water. After a few minutes, they are caught and cleaned, leaving only the necks.

They are sent back, herbs, onions and spices are added, bringing them to readiness.

Important ! Ready crayfish should have a characteristic red color. Their tail should bend towards their belly.

This delicacy is eaten immediately after preparation. It is recommended to store prepared crayfish in the freezer, both raw and cooked.

Shelf life - no more than a month. Live specimens can be stored at room temperature, covered with water, for up to a week.

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Serving dishes, rules of consumption

Boiled crayfish are not considered haute cuisine. This delicacy is suitable for a relaxed atmosphere in a close family or friendly circle. They often become the main event of a feast in nature. All this contributes to the fact that the rules of etiquette regarding the serving and consumption of crayfish are very democratic. They are usually presented in a wide dish, and placed into portioned plates by hand. In order to clean and eat crayfish, no cutlery is needed. Unless the catch includes a few very large specimens with massive claws. You may need to use pliers to open them.

Sliced lemon is often served along with crayfish. It is worth saying that the tradition of serving seafood, red fish and crustaceans with sour citrus has a controversial history. The best chefs believe that lemon or lime ruins the delicate taste of the main product. And it is only needed for wiping your fingers to remove a specific smell. But some people like the sourness, which emphasizes the expressive taste of crayfish. Therefore, in the company of a mountain of boiled river inhabitants, you can often find bright yellow citrus circles. They will also be useful for those who know how to clean crayfish, but don’t like their hands smelling like them. Fresh herbs are good for taste, aroma, and color. Dill is especially good with crayfish.

Important nuances of preparing and eating crayfish

Even big crayfish lovers admit that they don’t know everything about their favorite product. To bring the process of preparing arthropods to perfection, you need to remember at least the following points:

If crayfish need to be kept alive for several hours, they must not only be released into the water, but also fed from time to time, otherwise they will begin to attack each other.
Individuals will remain in a state of suspended animation for even longer. To introduce them into it, you must either cover them with ice cubes or place them in water with the addition of sea salt.
Finally, crayfish are not only boiled in water. Extraordinarily tasty dishes are obtained by using milk, vegetable broth, beer, and white wine as liquid.

In the case of crayfish, do not be afraid of experiments. It’s quite difficult to spoil a unique product, but the dishes made from it are truly amazing.

What parts of crayfish can you eat?

There are certain culinary differences in different countries of the world:

In some countries, the crayfish is consumed whole; even the shell itself is used, for example, in soups. It is boiled and blended in a blender, and then filtered, getting rid of the residue.
In our country, the crayfish shell is not used, preferring juicy meat.

The most delicious parts of crayfish are:

tail;
neck;
claws;
paws;
caviar.

Many eat almost everything, except for the shell, and some prefer only the neck and claws.

Useful tips

We bring to your attention some useful tips that will help you enjoy the incredible taste:

the meat will be much tastier when the crayfish are alive before cooking;
When cutting up crayfish, you should stock up on plenty of napkins or a towel. After all, during the separation of body parts, a lot of juice is released, which can get dirty;
open the shell very carefully, because it has sharp edges that can easily hurt you;
You should not lick the eggs from the inside of the shell, because its walls are rough and prickly, and you can injure your tongue;
It is better to cut crayfish with special scissors, it will be much more convenient and faster.

Learning to eat crayfish is very simple, it just takes a little practice and a diligent desire to get to the tasty meat. Follow these simple rules described in our article, you will definitely succeed. Go for it!

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Does crayfish hurt when they are boiled?

It is customary to boil crayfish alive, as it is believed that they do not feel pain. In fact, this claim is refuted by animal activists. Some people think that crustaceans feel pain just like many other living creatures. Experts believe that it is difficult to talk about a painful reaction, since the very concept of pain has not yet been fully defined. The reaction of a living organism to an influence under which a person may experience pain does not yet prove that the animal can also feel it.

Making crayfish appetizer is very easy to make and eating it will bring a lot of pleasure. Everyone decides for themselves whether it is worth subjecting the crustacean to torture, or whether it does not experience pain at all.