Here in the UK, our rivers and waterways are plagued by the illegal introduction of American signal Crayfish, and so this how I do my little bit in helping to control their numbers.
You have got to be careful, regarding the amount of freshly caught crayfish that you eat.
They do carry some nasty bacteria in their gut which can be dangerous to humans.
I take between 40 and 50 live Crayfish a week for the table. A tip that I picked up a few years back, was to keep the live crayfish in a well aerated aquarium for a week. Feeding them only potato peelings. The peelings contain a chemical that flushes their gut out and kills the bacteria.
Another tip that I picked up, was to add a flavouring to the water that they are kept in. This has the effect of marinating them while they are still alive. I know that last sentence is going open me up to ridicule, disbelief, and other such things.
So here goes; For the 5 days that we have the Crayfish in the aquarium before we kill, cook and eat them.
Each day, I add a level teaspoon of either Schwartz Sizzling steak, or Garlic bread seasoning to the aquarium water. This has the effect of flavouring both the water that they are in, and the potato peelings that they are eating. No doubt, being the scavengers that the are, they are also picking up the small pieces of the seasoning and eating that to. It would not surprise me at all, if the seasoned water that is passing over their gills is also helping to flavour them up.
To kill them, I drop them into boiling water, and when I am certain they are dead. I wrap them singularly in tin foil and cook them under the grill or on the BBQ for about 15 minutes each.
To eat them just separate the tails from the body and shell them like you would a prawn, but be careful the shells are rock hard and sharp. Don't forget to ***** the claws with a nut cracker and eat that flesh too.
Here is the way I do it.
My second favorite weir pool in the whole world.
The weir step (also made famous by my feral sturgeon fishing adventure).
In goes my new Crayfish trap, baited with a small dead fish.
It doesn't have to be in deep to do the business.
An hour and a half later and it has 20 of the buggers in it.
into the bucket with them.
About to do the business.
15 minutes later, and I'm halfway there.
Look what I had for dinner this evening!
Well, this picture will give you some idea of the average size of the Signal Crayfish that I caught and cooked. tiles on the work top are 8 X 8. (I still have marine wood glue on my finger nails from building my friend Fish a boat )
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That's the way to do it. Bit of salad, a few new potatoes, and a glass of Scrumpy.............................Yum, Yum.
Don't forget to use all the left over bits of Crayfish to make a stock. Boil them up with a couple of carrots, a parsnip, an onion, a couple of sticks of celery and a few bits of bell peppers.
Tidal_wear
EXCELLENT set of pics,and good tips,i will have to set up an aquarium,wondered why they taste odd sometimes.
kent taxidermist
i can take as pritty much as many as i want from the hadlow hatchery (just have to ask first) as there always being trapped on the bourne on practicals
they are tastey
also your suppose to remove the gut or somthing but i didnt bother and im still alive
wabbiter
i just eat claws and tails so i don't have to purge them, eat em the day i catch em
)
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