Crawfish Boil

A few posts ago, I said to "stay tuned" for picture from the Crawfish Boil we went to last weekend. My friend hasn't emailed me the group photo or other pictures I have been waiting on, so I decided to go ahead and post the ones I took.

I can't remember if it was 25 or 35 lbs of LIVE crawfish that they ordered, but here is a picture of what was left when we got there. These crawfish were flown in, live, from Lousiana, Seriously! Here they are crawling around in there box. I was told there was dry ice in the box with them to keep them "alive and healthy". They didn't stink or anything.


Jason, the cook, would scoop out some of the crawfish with his hands. He had construction gloves on and still the crawfish would pinch through the gloves! He would put some in a bowl and then dump the bowl into this boiling cannister, thing. I'm not sure what it's called. You can use it to deep-fry turkeys or chickens as well. The crawfish are supposed to boil for 2-3 minutes, sit out to cool about 5 minutes, and then they're ready to eat. Jason boiled ours for about 5 minutes. He was afraid to get them out too soon and the meat not be completely cooked through. I'm glad he did. :)

A bag of hot sauce and flavoring were sent in with the crawfish. I know that hot sauce and other spicy flavors were also added.

Not only did they boil crawfish, but shrimp, red potatoes, small regular potatoes, and corn on the cob. Yum! I did not try the corn. I like corn, but as you can see...it's very red tinted (from the spices)! Everyone that ate the corn was grabbing for a drink, so I passed. The crawfish wasn't bad. I didn't "fix" it myself though. Something about twisting the bodies in half and then pulling it apart to get the meat out of the tail turned me off, haha. Go figure. So while I fed Aidyn his bottle, I asked Ben to fix me a plate. It tasted pretty good, but mostly like fishy shrimp. I love shrimp! But not "fishy" shrimp. The shrimp and potatoes were delicious! Gary (the host) had also made jumbayla. It was also good. :)

Ben made a peanut butter pie to take, and later in the evening, Jason grilled some scallops. Everyone came to the conclusion that the crawfish was good, but too much work...so just shrimp next time. :)

Here's a picture of the finished product. Most people didn't use a plate unless they were eating the jumbalaya. Instead, everyone just stood around the long table were the food was spread out and ate while throwing the body shells into a trash can.

Aidyn and Ben enjoying the music out on the porch. Aidyn was headed towards a nap here. He was soooo good that night! I was very proud of him! He only got a little fussy once, when he was ready to take a nap or hungry.

Finally asleep. All wore out from all the fun and new friends that he met.

Some of the people hanging out on the porch listening to some "live" music. Everyone else was inside. Gary (our host) is in a band with Jason (the cook) and their friend Mark. Gary's brother, Corey, used to play with them. In this picture you'll see Gary and Corey playing.

Their band used to be called the Swinging Pachyderms. The Pachyderms actually played at our wedding reception. They were great!

Now they have new people and a new name...South Mouth. If you are from this area, you can listen to them at the Halo and several other places in Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol. I can't wait until September when they will be playing in Bristol at the Rythm and Roots Festival. We'll definately have to take Aidyn to his first "show" that night (if it isn't too late)! :)