National Crawfish Day - Recipes

Today, I offer praise to the humble Mudbug, or Crawfish. Also known as Crayfish and Crawdads, there are even more colorful names depending on where you reside. I know Crawfish, and hopefully, you'll learn a few things about this delicious freshwater crustacean on National Crawfish Day.

     Click on any photo to see larger.

A Crawfish is like a miniature lobster. In Europe, they are known as Longastino. I can get them here is Los Angeles.

You can cook them the same way as a lobster, too. Normally, they are boiled in a spicy broth of water with a package of Crab Boil. There are spicy packages from Louisiana and milder types carried by most grocers.

And you feed on the Crawfish tail, just like a lobster. You can even get a sliver of claw meat if the Crawfish is large enough.

Peeling a Crawfish Tail

Due to their small size, Crawfish cook quickly like shrimp. They only take 10 minutes of boiling, and then you turn off the heat and let them stew in the spicy broth -- the longer they steep in the broth, the spicier the crawfish. 

Now it's time to eat the hot, tiny Crawfish tails. Just watch my video below to see how I do the deed. And a warning, I do suck the head of a Crawfish just like a real Cajun does - it's loaded with a whole lotta juicy flavor.

How to Eat a Crawfish - Video

I learned to peel a cooked Crawfish early on. When a bag of boiled Crawfish is dumped on the table, you'd better know how to make quick work to get the tail meat, or you will be left behind. Like with anything, the more you peel them, the speedier you will get.

     30-pound bags of live Crawfish

The meaty Crawfish tail is small like a bay shrimp, but milder in fishy flavor. Sometimes referred to as seafood, they are not from the salty water of the sea, but are from freshwater ponds, swamps, and bayous. These days, you are more likely to get them from Crawfish Farms that are just shallow freshwater ponds. 

In the wild, a mudbug, or crawfish, will burrow into mud and create a Crawfish Mound or Chimney. I have seen them in ditches or fields that flood. The burrows are for protection from predators. An adult crawfish digs deep, a foot or more.

I lived in Louisiana in my high school daze, where Crawfish culture has risen to edible art. Think of any recipe you would make with shrimp, and you can substitute Crawfish tail meat instead. 

During Crawfish Season, from about February to May, you can buy them at supermarkets and even gas stations with a deli counter. 

You can buy them live or already cooked. They cost anywhere from $3 per pound for live to $5 per pound for cooked whole Crawfish. My fave Louisiana local market, Rouse's Supermarkets, has good deals on freshly boiled crawfish sold in large coolers at the entrance and inside the store in the seafood section.

You can buy precooked and peeled Crawfish Tails in frozen 12-ounce or one-pound packages in the $10-$15 range. The cheapest packages come from China. The tail meat is usually smaller than locally raised crawfish. And they are somewhat controversial, as the low cost puts a financial strain on Louisiana-farmed crawfish. 

Crawfish are tasty any time of day, even in a breakfast Omelet with Cheese & Crawfish. A recipe by my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef.

While on the expensive side, they will provide an ample entree, enough to serve your family --especially if you follow Chef Tony's Crawfish Etouffee recipe, below. 

My family usually orders them cooked, but almost every local has attended or thrown a live Crawfish Boil in their backyard at one time or another. 

My niece Candyse (top center) and her family.

If you are feeding a party, budget about 3 pounds of whole Crawfish per person. A basic Crawfish Boil usually has lemon halves, corn, and potatoes that start in a spicy boil for an hour - the live Crawfish are added for about 10 more minutes or until they are bright orange/red and done. Turn off the heat and let it all soak up the spices for half an hour.  

I've yet to meet a local Louisiana adult or child who does not like cooked Crawfish. Now the exception is if Crawfish is extra-spicy, of course, so you may want to pull them early from the crab boil broth if you have kids or sensitive palates to contend with. Get out plenty of paper towels or napkins; it's a messy meal.

Cajuns in Louisiana have come up with tasty local Crawfish entree or appetizer recipes, everything from a spin on Fettuccine Alfredo with Crawfish to an Omelet stuffed with Crawfish, and even a flaky Crawfish Pie or Turnover.

My brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, has decadent Cajun Nachos made with, you guessed it, Crawfish. And it's built on a bed of tortilla chips topped with a can of red beans, cheese, Crawfish tails, and more cheese, oh, and don't forget the hot sauce!

 Be sure to hang in there past the wacky video intro with my nephew Zak and the Swamp Chef, followed by the Cajun Nachos recipe.

Cajun Nachos - Video

Crawfish for Thanksgiving? If you have had oysters in your Turkey Stuffing, then it's not too much of a stretch to make a Crawfish Stuffing!

A fave Louisiana potato chip purveyor, Zapp's, does a crawfish-flavored version. How do they taste? They are very salty, of course, and have a mild shrimp taste.

I'll leave you with a selection from the deli case of Rouses Market in Gonzales, Louisiana - a great local grocer with a fine selection of frozen Crawfish Entrees.

Marble Rye Bread from Ralph's Grocery - Deal of the Day

My fave late-night snack is a fresh, toasted thick slice of bread with a smear of real Butter, especially if the bread is Marble Rye Bread. Hey, I'll eat this almost anytime of day, when a small pang of hunger hits. Gluten + carbs = heaven!

Marble Rye & Butter - Video             Play it here, video runs 53 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

I've been getting bread lately in the discount bin at my local Ralph's grocery store. Every week or so, I pick up a big, cheap container of plain yogurt and a can of coffee, and I always make sure to see what kind of breads are in the discount bin. I like to try out different types of bread when they're on sale.

When I saw a large round loaf of Marbled Rye, discounted for less than two dollars, I had to give it a try. "Day-old" bread may not be at its best right out of the bag, but when I toast bread from the discount bin, the outside is crisp, but the inside becomes soft, almost like fresh-baked bread. 

Marble Rye Bread is a mix of light and dark rye dough. The raw dough is braided together to give a swirl of black and white bread. Marbled Rye creates a visually stunning sandwich. Serve it to impress a date or guests.

If I have toasted Bread & Butter, then I will use real butter, either with or without salt.

The flavor of rye is stronger than wheat and even sourdough, with an earthy, herbal flavor of caraway and fennel seeds. When baked, Marble Rye Bread is slightly chewy and dense. Regular Rye Bread is uniform in color, often with pungent Caraway Seeds sprinkled throughout.

I've eaten many Pastrami and Corned Beef Sandwiches here in L.A., and always order them on plain rye bread. The pungent rye goes great with rich and smoky Jewish deli thick-sliced pastrami.

Canter's Delicatessen, one of the oldest Jewish delis in L.A., had an anniversary celebration, practically giving away the sandwiches, and you can see the video below.

You can get all the tasty text and yummy photos for  my Corned Beef and Homemade Pastrami recipes by clicking on the names.

There is nothing wrong with "Day-Old" fresh-baked bread, especially if you toast it and add a smear of butter -- that's the way I do it.

National Carbonara Day - Recipe Video

I love Spaghetti alla Carbonara. And on National Carbonara Day, I offer up my quick and easy take on this classic Italian pasta dish.

And my outre entree will never be taught in culinary colleges -- you can only learn it in The 99 Cent Chef's kitchen of hard knocks!

Watch my 99-cent creative take on Spaghetti alla Carbonara in my cooking video for the simple step-by-step directions. It doesn't come cheaper than this, and my new pièce de résistance is outrageous enough to fit into my blog of cheap$kate recipes, perfectly!

Typical Carbonara's main ingredients are eggs, pasta, black pepper, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Italian bacon (pancetta or guanciale).

I use cheap Parmesan from a plastic container that I get from my local Dollar Tree. It is described as a "grated topping" with real Parmesan. I guess that means it is not 100% Parmesan. Of course, use real Parmigiano-Reggiano if you can afford it.

I prefer fresh ground Black Pepper, but any type is fine. A lot of Black Pepper is used in this recipe.

I normally use a couple of slices of browned and crumbled bacon because it's convenient, and bacon fat enriches any pasta dish. However, those are a lot of calories, and real Bacon Bits are already cooked, so most of the fat is rendered out, thus making my Carbonara lighter.

I can get two servings out of an .8-ounce package of Bacon Bits. I used to get Bacon Bits and eggs from my local Dollar Tree, but this year, they are a no-show. 

With the Bird Flu decimating the chicken egg-laying industry, egg prices are hitting $10 per dozen, with no price reduction in sight. When I first made the recipe, eggs were one dollar per dozen.

I've been eying Imitation Bacon Bits but have not had the guts to use them yet - The 99 Cent Chef has standards, too!

Real Bacon Bits are a bit dry and slightly powdery. The Bits are quite small, so I do miss the larger, crunchy pieces from broken, crispy, cooked bacon slices. While mostly bacon meat with little bacon fat, Bacon Bits are a light version for all you calorie counters. As with a lot of diets that spin on fatty meals, you do lose that luscious taste.

This is a rich-tasting dish when you add a raw egg blended with Parmesan and black pepper to hot pasta. The trick is to assemble it all in one pan and bring it right to the table before the egg scrambles.

The egg mixture thickens into a decadent sauce, coating the spaghetti, studded with crunchy bacon pieces. 

Worried about using raw eggs? I have an alternative method at the end of this post.

If you have an Italian deli nearby or a well-stocked meat market, you should try Italian pancetta at least once; you only need a couple of slices for this dish. It cooks like bacon, but it's drier, leaner, and with flavorful curing spices.

So, check out my latest recipe video and get cooking! It is a simple and delicious dish.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits - Video

Play it here. The video runs 4 minutes, 31 seconds.

Ingredients (one serving)  

• 1/3 package of spaghetti - cook per package directions. I usually shave off a couple of minutes of cooking time for pasta al dente.

• 1/2 package of Bacon Bits - real bacon, not imitation. Okay to use a couple of slices of cooked bacon.
• 1/2 tsp. of black pepper - fresh ground if you have it. 
• 1 egg per serving - for a richer sauce, use 2 egg yolks.
• 4 tablespoons of grated parmesan - I used real parmesan from the jar, but if you have a block of parmesan to shave, all the better.
• Water for boiling pasta - reserve 1/4 cup of hot pasta water for the sauce.

Directions
Bring one pot of water to a boil for pasta. In a small bowl, mix one raw egg with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and about one teaspoon of black pepper. Whisk together until well blended. Set aside until final assembly.

Add pasta to boiling, salted water. Cook pasta while preparing the rest of the carbonara -- I usually shave off a couple of minutes of the package directions' boiling time for pasta al dente.

(If you like real big pieces of bacon, then saute up a couple of slices instead of bacon bits. You can drain off the grease, or leave a tablespoon or two for flavor.)

 
In a large pan over low/medium heat, add bacon bits to heat through. When spaghetti is done, drain (reserving some of the pasta water) and add to the bacon bits.

Add 2 tablespoons of hot pasta water to the spaghetti and bacon bits.

Finally, pour in the egg and Parmesan mixture. Mix well and allow to heat through for about 30 seconds - careful not to make scrambled eggs. The egg mixture will thicken with the addition of hot pasta water.

It is ready to eat with a final tablespoon sprinkle (or more) of grated parmesan per serving. (If you are using freshly shaved parmesan, then add it as a topping when ready to serve.)

For 2 servings, just double everything - maybe go with a whole package of spaghetti and one whole egg and two egg yolks, for a richer sauce?

* If you are wary of raw egg, it's okay to drop a separated whole egg yolk into boiling water for 30 seconds (or longer). When the pasta is done, and parmesan is added, finish the dish by adding the poached egg yolks on top.

Click here to view or embed from YouTube.

I also made an animated stop-motion version of Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits. It's a shorter video, which you can check out below.

Play it here. The video runs for 2 minutes and 58 seconds.