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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A few crawdads

I cooked up a batch of crawdads not long ago... it's an easy way to feed a crowd and they are so tasty!

First I tried to clean and straighten up my little patio...then added a second table and more chairs..



Prepared the goodies...



made a strawberry triffle...



heated the water in my pot...



added crab boil, cayenne, kosher salt, garlic, onions and fresh squeezed lemon juice...



then the smoked sausage to flavor the pot and a few new potatoes....





when the potatoes were almost tender I added the corn....



then the crawdads....



and lastly some shrimp.
After adding the shrimp I turned the burner off, placed the lid on the pot and let everything sit for a few minutes to absorb the seasonings..



I grilled the garlic bread...



served with garlic lemon butter and coctail sauce...



also plenty of cold beer and napkins..



It was a fun evening! :)

30 comments:

LindaG said...

I've never seen it done that way, but I sure wish I had been there! :)

DocChuck said...

WOW! I have been following your blog for some time now because my wife and I have lived in "rural areas" in Arkansas, Texas, Upstate New York, and even in your neck of the woods, Oklahoma.

I guess I have become just a bit curious about how you can have so many "neighbors" in your "rural Oklahoma area" to successfully host such a HUGE low-country boil.

What, exactly, are you about Cowgirl?

DocChuck

Anonymous said...

Hia CG... Miss you much at S-M. Your vennie pastrami got kicked up by a noob...he was properly awed :{)

Hope all is well... Ciao, Bella!

Richtee

cowgirl said...

Thanks Linda! You would have been welcome here! :)

Larry Medina said...

OH GOOD GAWD!! I'm gonna burst with jealousy!!

Now you need to tell the uninitiated about what you go through to prepare the crawfish before you "simply add them to the pot".

The purging exercise is HIGHLY CRITICAL before adding in the crawfish and depending on the condition of the water they came from, they may need to go through multiple purges before they're clean enough to cook and eat.

It took me one failed cooking of 5# to learn this, after ruining everything else in the pot (potatoes, sausage, corn, shrimp) and not having access to anymore crawfish. =(

Good thing burgers were acceptable that day!

cowgirl said...

lol Thanks for looking at my blog DocChuck, I appreciate it! :)
This was over memorial weekend.. there were several people here for the weekend.
I think there were only 10 for this meal. When I do this for a normal party there are usually a lot more guests.
This is normal socializing for my area..not much in the way of entertainment out here so we enjoy gathering around good food and good friends as often as we can.

They take their turns too... I don't post pics of their cookouts out of respect for their privacy.

It's a rural area but there are definately a lot of hungry, fun loving people out here besides me. lol

cowgirl said...

RICH!!! I've missed ya. Dang it's good to see you. :)
Thanks for stopping by.. and for letting me know about the pastrami. I will check it out.
You need to come by more often.
Hope all is going will with you, I'm sure you are probably busy with competitions about now.
SOOO good to see ya.
Brace yourself.... (((HUG))) :)

cowgirl said...

lol Larry Thanks!! :)
I do take for granted that people know to purge fresh caught crawdads and you are right...not everyone knows about that step! :)
I soak live crawdads in salt water for several hours to purge their system. Luckily in my area the water is usually fresh...not stagnant, but I still purge them. Right now there are no crawdad holes due to the drought..so these came from the local grocery store. :)
Sorry to hear about the 5lb failed cook... I like to keep a back up plan on hand too just in case. lol

Thanks again Larry, I appreciate you stopping by!! :)

David P. Offutt - The Gastronomic Gardener said...

Absolutely spectacular! Crawdads are hard to find around here, need to mail-order in these parts.

cowgirl said...

Thanks David! Wish you could find fresh ones in your area.. it's actually kind of fun trapping them. lol
I know... I'm weird. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey there! Been awhile since I popped in...holy cow I see I missed alot...everything looks awesome..your pictures are great..esp the nature ones.and your cooking..my stomach is now growling like a bear. Good to see your as busy as always. Your talent is amazing!! Im sure everyone who follows your blog is thankful for the time that you put in to share your wonderful creations. well done! and thank you... Hope all is well.


PS: I usually try and recommend some new music when I stop in...but i cannot think of a single thing right now...next time I promise ;) oh and thank you..you got me into Joe Bonamassa..hope your still strumming away on yer guitar too!

LIFE IS GOOD...
Mike (NYC)

Mrs. JP said...

looks delicious,,,everyone can belly-up, elbow dripping and all!

Tripple T said...

Hi Cowgirl! That spread looks great! Remindes me of Louisiana where I grew up. We had some great times cooking crawfish. I can smell them cooking now. Hmm I wonder what smoked gater tail would tast like? Next time I go home I'll catch me one of those gators and when I get back to kentuckey I'll let you know. If I'm ever out in Oklahoma I'll keep my nose in the wind and if I smell crawfish cooking don't be suprised if you see a cajun at your door steps. Cant wait to see what you come up with next! Your friend Mark

cowgirl said...

Wow Mike it's great to see you! Thanks for the kind comments too. :)
So glad you are still enjoying Bonamassa.. I am too. He's one of my favorites. :)
Still playing my guitar too..
Hope all is going well for you! Hope you aren't working too hard. It's nice to hear from you Mike.
Thanks for stopping by. :)

cowgirl said...

Thanks Mrs JP! That's exactly what we did. :)

cowgirl said...

Hi Mark, Thanks! :)
I bet you have been to many crawdad boils..aren't they fun? A great way to feed a crowd and have a good time.
If you smoke any gator let me know! :)
You'd be welcome at my table Mark...Thanks again!

Tristan said...

What a spread!

Phil said...

Just how my Mother's family in Mississippi does it! Can't wait for the family reunion ;)

cowgirl said...

Thanks Tristan! It's good to see you, thanks for stopping by. :)

cowgirl said...

Phil maybe we are related! :) My relatives down south cook them this way too.
I bet your reunions are fun! Hope you take pics of the next crawdad boil you attend. Thanks Phil! :)

Ssteppe said...

Jeanie, you never fail to surprise me. An Oklahoma "crab boil"! Is there anything you can't make?
-Steve

Choppersgoodeats said...

That's just pure Awesomeness!

Frugal Canadian Hermit said...

I just gotta try that one soon. It will be a real small version though, just incase we manage to screw it up somehow. Sure looks good and simple Jeanie.

Rueben said...

Wow!! That is one good looking table. Just makes me want to dive into the middle of everything and eat my way out. EEhaa!!

cowgirl said...

Hey Steve, it's nice to see you. Hope you are still getting a lot of use out of your Pro! :)
Thanks friend...

cowgirl said...

Thanks so much D. Guth! I appreciate you stopping by too! :)

cowgirl said...

Hey Mark! You could do this for your quad friends. :)
It's easier than it looks.. and you only dirty one pot!
Thanks...

cowgirl said...

haha Rueben... You would have been welcome to dive in. :)
Thanks friend!

Faith said...

Oh get me a ziploc because I'd be putting leftovers in my PURSE. Those would be worth sneaking through airport security. That looks so good. Crawdads are hard to come by in AK.

cowgirl said...

lol Thanks Faith!! :)
Hope you are able to find a few for a boil. They are so tasty.
Thanks for stopping by!