Seafood can be amazing for anything, from regular homemade meals to small family gatherings. That’s why it’s a good idea to learn about the various options that there are and the different methods of preparation. From jumbo sea scallops to a number of other domestic seafood options, you can have a nice variety if you do some research and planning.
If you have experience in preparing seafood, you can get creative and come up with new, delicious methods. When you do this, you have the liberty of naming the meals as you see fit. You can even give the entire occasion a theme based on this, along the lines of something like “if it smells like fish it’s a dish.” To make things easier, you can supplement what you prepare yourself with ready-to-eat seafood from the nearest sellers in your area.
Make sure to buy fresh and quality supplies so that you can get the best results from your time and effort. To do this, shop from reputable suppliers and outlets like Smart Source Seafood and such. This way, you can be sure that you’re only using the best and so the outcome is likely to match the ingredients.
Your daughter has definitely entered an entirely different part of the country. Her phone calls home are about crawfish boils, creole dishes, and other kinds of cajun specialties. Her first three years at college have been south in the state of Louisiana and after she completes her Bachelors Degree this year she may be staying down there when she world on her nursing certification.
The first time that you were with her for a crawfish boil, you could not imagine why in the world the list of things that were needed was a small wading pool. Little did you know that the crawfish that you would be eating later in the evening would arrive live!
The fact of the matter is, however, the boil takes nearly as long to prepare as it does the eat the tiny morsels once they are cooked. While the tiny little mud bugs await their fate in the wading pool, their is a lot preparation that goes into preparing the water that will be used for the boil. Once the corn, sausage, and crawdads are thrown in, it is only a matter of time before the meal is ready. The person who is in charge of the boil is the one who is obviously in charge of how much spice is included in the efforts. From so spicy that your eyes walk just when you walk in the room to a much milder version that is a perfect for someone who is just visiting from 12 hours north. A crawfish boil can be the perfect way to make any Cajun feel at home and anyone from the North feel welcome as well.
Cajun Seafood Boils Are Popular Regional Attractions
When it comes to eating down south there are many cajun specialties that are pretty popular. There are few that are as well known, however, as crawfish. Although jambalaya and gumbo have made their way outside of the southern states where they originated, crawfish, or mud bus as some call them, are somewhat of an acquired taste. Knowing that the require quite a bit work for just a very little bit of meat means that they can actually be a pretty time consuming, and messy, meal. Down south where time is measured just a little differently, however, the decision to have friends and family over for a crawfish boil is often a nice long, leisurely event.
Consider some of these facts and figures about southern seafood cuisine and the tasty meals that many love:
- 1880 was the first year that there is a record of a commercial crawfish harvest in the U.S. That year, a harvest of 23,400 pounds was recorded, with a value of $2,140.
- Americans ate an average of 14.9 pounds of seafood in 2016.
- Only 82 calories are contained in an entire quarter pound of crawfish.
- The U.S. ranks as the third largest consumer of seafood in the world falling behind China and Japan.
- 33% of restaurant operators say their seafood sales have increased over the past year.
- Developed about 70 miles apart, Cajun and Creole are more than just cuisine, they are also two different cultures.
Cajun cuisine is a style of cooking that developed in the southern U.S. after Acadian immigrants fled Canada in the 18th century. Known for its spicy flavor and hardiness, there are many dishes that are now very popular in all parts of the country.
If you have family members who live down south though they will surely want to share their regional cuisine with you whenever you go for a visit. Just do not be surprised if some of those boils start out with cold water in a kids swimming pool!