Liu Xiang, the great scholar during the Han Dynasty wrote: “You can’t deny the change in seasons.” And so it is when we move from frigid days of Winter, we make a necessary sojourn to the intermediate period of Spring, before continuing apace toward the heat drenched days Summer. For me nothing shouts Spring better than a crayfish boil! The little beasts are in season now and I have found a terrific source for provisioning out the necessary fare for staging the feast. Cajun Grocer in Louisiana will ship you 10lbs of live “mud bugs” (premium select jumbo purged) overnight for $67.50, special seasonings included! And they arrive in perfect condition – almost ready for the stock pot (instructions included advise additional purging before cooking – this is a bit of a pain in the ass, and time consuming… and as you would suspect, adds delay to digging in!).
Although this type of chow down is best done outdoors… on the back deck, table covered with newspaper and with the cooked crayfish plopped in a substantial heap center stage. Connecticut weather did not cooperate this past Friday, so I moved the venue to our kitchen table.
Regardless of where you set the feast, the perfect wine to enjoy is a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc. And due to the protracted nature of the experience, you must have several bottles at the ready! Eating crayfish is a labor intensive activity. A lot of effort is expended to extract a small amount of tail meat (a tiny amount relative to a Maine lobster!). But on the positive side, time slows, the enjoyment is extended as you eat, drink and talk your way thru a splendid repast. It doesn’t get any better! Eat a couple of tails, a sip of Sauv Blanc, tell a story… repeat numerous times. Yes, numerous. The stories, too! (My favorite line from Ellen: “Jim could talk a blue bird out of a tree.”)
Two alternate suggestions on the wine side… Rosé from Provence or Albariño from Spain.
Maison Idiart Touraine Sauvignon Blanc ’15 (Loire,France)
Touraine is the “smart buy” for Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire… located just west of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé, producing wine with the same scent and flavor profile but without the higher ticket price! The wine displays an array of aromas gooseberry, lime, lemongrass, apricot and Passion fruit. Alive and fresh on the palate with excellent ripe fruit with a clean, clear finish. It has superb crystalline aciditybalanced by the richness of the superb 2015 vintage. Flavor with freshness and restraint – it is what makes Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs so good, and it is what makes the Idiart Touraine “sing.”
THE WOODBURY CRAYFISH BOIL
Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
3 Blue Cheese stuffed Olives
10lbs live crayfish
½ pack seasonings (provided from Cajun Grocer)
1 sack small red potatoes
2 stalks celery
3 ears of corn (cut into thirds)
6 assorted sausages
Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
2. Follow directions about purging the live crayfish. Put enough water in a stock pot to cover the crayfish, add seasonings and bring water to a boil.
3. Add the corn, potatoes, celery and sausages to the stock pot, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Remove contents to a platter and tent with foil.
4. Bring stock pot back to a boil and chuck in the live crayfish. Cook 5 minutes. Take off heat, let sit for 10 minutes. Add to the platter… bring to the table.
5. Take a sip of wine, tell a joke… tuck in!
n.b.
If there is more than one person eating, multiply the ingredients accordingly (just kidding!). Given the “sides” included to the boil this recipe should do well for 4 folks. I used andouille, chorizo and bratwurst sausages. But anything goes.
Here is the link to the Cajun Grocer:
http://www.cajungrocer.com/fresh-foods-crawfish-live-c-1_15_19.html
Oh, one more thing… Liu Xiang is indeed a great scholar from the Han Dynasty; but I made up the quote.