8
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2014
I
t’s that time of year in south Louisiana — when friends who
are prone to work in large-format foodstuffs kick into action.
These dedicated souls break out their propane burners, clean
the cauldron out from its garage hiding space, and procure new
tanks from Rouses. These boilers kick their grocery shopping into
BULK mode buying red pepper and seafood boil by the 5-pound
bag. They rearrange picnic tables in long lines and ransack their
neighbor’s recycling bins for stacks of old newspaper.
For some ambitious hosts, it’s a marking of the season — an
Eastertime family tradition or a gathering that marks the quiet
weekdays between music-filled stretches at Jazz Fest. For others,
an impromptu backyard party and excuse to hear the rumble of a
high-BTU boiling rig and feel the nostril sting of airborne cayenne.
Whatever the reason, friends gather around the table after the
basket spills the steaming crawfish on the tabletop. They establish
their eating space with beer cup and solid stance, then commence
to eating. Ever. So. Slowly.
The traditional, near-universal crawfish peeling technique works
well enough, I guess. Twist the tail from the body, maybe suck the
aromatic fat from the head cavity, and then surgically dissect the tail
section to reveal the tasty meat beneath. Nimble fingers can work
around the tail’s protective armor, but it takes practice, persistence
and time to fill one’s belly, even for the most experienced among us.
But with this blessed season upon us, I’m here to preach a bit about
a different way to get your crawfish on. A peeling technique that
helps you make short work of the seafood mountain before you. A
magic method that helps you get your fill at any backyard boil.
Brothers and sisters, there IS a better way.
It’s a little dance step that allows you to peel crawfish faster than
the traditional peel. And when I say “faster,” I don’t mean “three
bites an hour” faster. I’m talking twice to three times faster than the
average. Fast enough to fill up on ACTUAL crawfish instead of
side dishes. Fast enough to where you’ll feel slight pangs of guilt as
A Method to the Mudbugs
by
Pableaux Johnson +
photo by
Denny Culbert
