Driving the backroads of Louisiana’s Cajun country parishes near Lafayette, you’ll see acres of these shallow pools, dotted with vertical cages that trap the crawfish.

Southern Louisiana produces over 80 million pounds of crawfish each year, most raised in shallow man-made ponds and harvested commercially.

Most crawfish are harvested between December and June, but March, April, and May are the peak months in Louisiana. The crawfish are smaller with less meat in the earlier and colder part of the season, but they are also most expensive then because they are in high demand by eager locals.They are either cooked whole in a spicy broth, or the meat is removed and used in a cooked soup or stew, like the popular Cajun dish, Crawfish Étouffée. Like their larger cousins, the lobster, they have a relatively small amount of meat in a larger shell. Crawfish are a small freshwater crustacean.Here are some things to know about crawfish: I remembered how Kevin’s dad had always raved about the Louisiana family’s legendary crawfish boil and his love for the so-called “mudbugs”. I didn’t know much else about this regional delicacy before we visited, but found their story and place in Cajun food and culture fascinating. It was our first visit to that part of the state, and we spent a week traveling from Lake Charles to Lafayette, Louisiana.Īs usual, learning about local foods was high on my list of things to do. When we visited Southern Louisiana last month for Kevin’s uncle’s 90th birthday party, we were lucky to land right within the first few weeks of of crawfish season. First rule of food in Louisiana: Crawfish are King, and a spicy hot “crawfish boil” is part of every spring celebration.

Clawfish season