Every year after Mardi Gras, Louisiana residents begin to look forward to the next best thing, and that would be Crawfish Season!!! During Lent and especially on Good Friday, there are alot of crawfish boils taking place!
Thats right when Spring hits so do the Crawfish Boils. Where do you start?
- Pick up bags of live crawfish at your local seafood store
- Empty the bags into a tub, or large container to "purge" the crawfish (what you are doing is cleaning them.) You do this by sprinkling the crawfish with salt and then rinsing the crawfish.
- Fill your boiling pot with water and empty crab boil, cajun seasoning and sliced lemon to the pot for flavor.
- When the water is heated, add the live crawfish to the pot and bring to a boil. You can also add corn on the cob and red potatoes. The crawfish and veggies are going to soak up all that seasoning.
- When the crawfish are bright red and tails are curled up they are ready to eat!
There is nothing like sitting outside with your friends and your beverage of choice while those poor live crawfish get dumped in the pot along with some potatoes, corn and lots of Cajun seasoning!!! Entertaining is easy all you need are some newspapers, paper plates, a roll of paper towels, condiments and an ice chest of drinks! Unless you are eating in a restaurant where they serve those crawfish on a big platter, you will want to peel and eat those mudbugs outside. 
Cover your table with the newspaper and just dump the hot crawfish in the middle and start peeling. (Hint do not eat a crawfish if the tail is not curled up-it will not be good and usually means the crawfish was dead before boiling)
Now there is an art to peeling and eating crawfish you must have nimble fingers. Everyone will have a different technique. Its basically a pinch, pull and peel rhythm. Even when you get your fill You will want to keep peeling to save the leftovers for crawfish etouffee!
Cleanup is easy you just fold up the newspaper and throw it all away. Be sure you have some of that industrial "orange" soap they use in mechanic shops to wash your hands with. The orange cuts the crawfish smell and cleans your hands really well. (Ladies do not go to a crawfish boil after you get your nails done! Schedule that nail appt for afterwards!)
Crawfish season usually collides with the Lenten season. When Spring arrives people begin to talk about where to go to get the good crawfish! Its tradition for families to have a Good Friday Crawfish Boil. This year the price has gone up and those crawfish are kind of pricey.
For farmers who have crawfish to sell this year the mudbugs are commanding gourmet prices:
The Times-Picayune reports boiled crawfish is going for an extra $1 to $2 a pound. 
You may need to go to the ATM before buying your crawfish this year. Peel em and eat em while you can!
This Boudreaux is waiting for her invite to a Good Friday Crawfish Boil somewhere this weekend, C'est Bon!
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