Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Food, Drink and Cooking What's for dinner?

Pretty much everyone has accepted the deliciousness of boiled crawfish steeped in Cajun spices and butter, but one controversial question remains: Should you suck the heads?

The tiny morsel of edible meat that a crawfish produces is located in its tail. When you’re attending a crawfish boil or eating a pile of mudbugs at a restaurant, many people just pinch off the tail, squeeze out the meat, and eat it, leaving the crawfish head behind. Most people also don’t eat shrimp or lobster heads, for example, which puts crawfish in the same boat as their similarly-shaped cousins.

But those in the know, who really want to get the most out of their mudbugs, put the newly-dismembered crustacean’s head to their lips and take a long slow suck. When you suck on the crawfish head after eating the tail, the crawfish experience becomes truly transcendent. “The moisture and the flavor is all in the head,” says Underbelly and One Fifth chef Chris Shepherd. “Yes, the tail is the meat, but the head is the essence of life.”

Seven rules for eating crayfish safely

With June to September being the crayfish season in China, there are occasional news reports about diners falling ill after consuming the delicacy at this time of year. In 2010 dozens of people in Nanjing contracted a rare muscular condition called rhabdomyolysis, also known as Haff disease, which can cause acute renal failure.

To avoid illness, those who crave crayfish should observe the following rules:

1. Do not eat raw crayfish or buy dead ones as histidine, an amino acid, in the creature’s protein cells turns poisonous after they die.

2. Do not eat the heads, as they are a hotbed for parasites; it is best to remove the heads before cooking.

3. Consume the high-protein food with restraint. People prone to allergic conditions, and those with gout, should avoid eating crayfish.
Crayfish must be thoroughly cleaned and well cooked. Photo: Simon Song
Crayfish must be thoroughly cleaned and well cooked. Photo: Simon Song

4. Wash them thoroughly, especially the gills where bacteria gather. Avoid crayfish with gills that are grey or look dirty. Use a brush to clean the shell. The intestines must be removed.

5. The stomach (found near the head) must be removed using scissors after cutting the head.

6. Crayfish must be boiled thoroughly to kill bacteria and germs. Thoroughly cooked crayfish flesh has a crunchy texture.

7. The orange-yellow gloop on the crayfish’s head may look like roe, but is best avoided – this is the crayfish’s digestive gland, containing its liver and pancreas.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: claws Célèbre: The invasive species that won over china