Best Time To Buy Crawfish
Crawfish can run you anywhere from less than $2.00 per pound to almost $7.00 per pound, depending on the season and size of the crawfish. When a season is bad, that means quality crawfish is hard to find, which can mean higher prices and incredibly limited availability.
best time to buy crawfish
As we say goodbye to one year and say hello to the next, there's always one pressing question on the lips of all Texans: When does crawfish season start? The mudbugs are a delicacy on the Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana and here in Houston. Here's what you need to know about this year's crawfish season.
Crawfish are kind of like us: They get chilly. If the weather is cold at the beginning of the season, they bury themselves in the ground, making it difficult to harvest them. Farmers who go out into the ponds early are only able to scoop up a small amount of tiny crawfish, meaning that if you're looking for it at restaurants around November, December and January, you will pay more for lesser crawfish. It's great for people who are eager for a taste before the real season ramps up, but good things happen to those who wait.
There is a lot of fluctuation at the beginning of a crawfish season. If Louisiana experiences a warm week in the winter, it will be a decent week for crawfish, too. But if a cold front comes through the next, you'll have a hard time getting your hands on them. Typically, by the time March hits, the crawfish is optimal, prices go down, and the catch stays relatively consistent through the end of the season.
Crawfish is king in Louisiana's Cajun country, but it runs deep in Houston too. Check out our complete guide of 21 restaurants for crawfish in Houston. Plenty of spots offer the traditional Cajun crawfish boil seasonings, while others specialize in Viet-Cajun crawfish, a cross between Vietnamese and Cajun cuisines that was born right here in Houston.
Ragin' Cajun, Houston's oldest crawfish restaurant, has a storied history and is a great place to get mudbugs. Diners looking for a taste of Louisiana in Texas will also be satisfied with LA Crawfish, BB's Tex-Orleans, and the Boil House when it opens for the season. For Viet-Cajun crawfish boils, head to Cajun Kitchen, Crawfish & Noodles or Crawfish Cafe. Nowadays, you can even get crawfish boils delivered to your door.
Cajun crawfish is the traditional style found in Louisiana, and there are plenty of joints on this side of the border to get your fix of the cuisine. Viet-Cajun crawfish is uniquely Houstonian. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, many Vietnamese refugees emigrated to Texas, blending their culinary flavors into the Gulf Coast shellfish.
While Cajun crawfish is seasoned within via the boiling water, Viet-Cajun is seasoned inside and out. On top of the Louisiana flavors, the cuisine adds ingredients like ginger, lemongrass and a ton of garlic.
If you're up for a road trip, head to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in Louisiana, happening May 5 to 7 this year. The small, mudbug-proud town has been dubbed the Crawfish Capital of the World, and makes good on its promise at this annual weekend event that brings the best crawfish cooks to Parc Hardy.
There are plenty of crawfish festivals in Texas if you prefer to stay closer to home. In 2017, the Big Ass Crawfish Bash in La Marque broke the Guinness World Record for most boiled crawfish prepared in eight hours, with more than 58,000 pounds served in that timeframe (65,000 pounds throughout the entire event). The bash is happening again on April 1. There's also the Heights Crawfish Festival right here in Houston (March 4), the Crawfish and Zydeco Festival on the Kemah Boardwalk (April 15-16), the Annual Mauriceville Crawfish Festival (May 5-6) and the Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival (May 26-28).
As mentioned previously, you will pay more if you're eating crawfish early in the season. In January, prices can hover around $10 per pound. If you wait until later in the season, when quality crawfish are more plentiful, you'll be able to find boils for as low as $7 per pound (buying live crawfish and boiling it yourself at home is cheaper, but more work).
Due to inflation, many groceries including eggs are more expensive this year. Will that be the case for crawfish? Mudbug costs had already been rising in recent years, and a crawfish supplier in Shreveport told KSLA on Jan. 6 that he was paying almost a dollar more per pound for crawfish for his restaurant this year. Inflation is not only to blame: The hard freezes in Texas and Louisiana have made it difficult for farmers to harvest a great catch.
You can eat the entire crawfish, except the shell of course. To remove it, hold the tail in one hand and the head in the other, and gently twist to separate the two. Suck the juices out of the head if you're so inclined. To get the meat out of the tail, remove the first ring, then gently pinch the base between two fingers and use your teeth to secure the bit of meat that's sticking out. Straighten the tail and slide it out, without biting down too much or you'll just break off the top.
Viet-Cajun How the cuisine became the most Houston food of allChef Nikki Tran is bringing Viet-Cajun 'back' to VietnamHit list The best places to get crawfish in HoustonTrouble Will this invasive crawfish species really ruin our boils?On trend How a viral Houston seafood chain got its cult followingGone fishin' What it's really like to be a crawfish farmer in TexasStatewide Viet-Cajun crawfish is now everywhere in TexasBeyond Viet-Texan cuisine is so much more than just crawfish
There are too many vendors to list, but here are a few to start your crawfish search. We highly recommend you check out each supplier carefully, and contact them personally, to determine their current services, pricing, policies, availability and guarantees before placing orders.
A large number of crawfish outlets, farms and suppliers are located in nearby Louisiana, both for local pickup and online ordering. Listed below is a sample of long-standing dealers offering online crawfish ordering:
Nearly all of the live crawfish sold in the U.S. come from Louisiana or Texas, and begin life in the wild waters of the state, or on a farm. Commercial sales of crawfish in Louisiana date back to the late 1800s, and today's crawfish industry includes millions of pounds harvested from farms and natural waterways in the Bayou State.
There is stiff competition from "foreign" importers, but we steadfastly do not purchase imported crawfish: read the label carefully for the "Country of Origin" and see where they are from!
The harvesting of wild crawfish from natural habitats such as bayous, swamps and marshes provides a significant number of jobs for Louisiana and Texas residents. In addition, crawfish farming is a major industry in Louisiana and Texas.
Just wanted to thank you guys for a successful crawfish boil, and to let you know that I'm pretty sure my boil would not have been this much of a success without you. Living in South Carolina is a challenge all in itself, but the good news is that I was able to introduce crawfish to a group of about 20 people that have only had Chinese restaurant crawfish or had never tried them before. I only had about 10 crawfish total that didn't make it, which places you guys at the top of my very short list from which I will order from again (You are the only one on the list, BTW). Thanks again for a wonderful product and helping me to have such a great success.
Sorry it has taken me over a week to follow up. But I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my order a few weeks ago. UPS somehow split my shipment up and only half came the day they were supposed to. Ya'll were on top of the issue the whole time and kept me updated. Once you knew that I'd receive the remainder of my order in time for our boil you also sent and extra thirty pounds to cover any loss due to the delay in shipping. So, thank you for being on top of the problem and taking care of it. In fact, you did such a good job packing them that there really wasn't much loss at all. Out of 120 lbs I only culled out about 6-7 lbs of dead ones before boiling. Not bad for mid June! The overall sized and quality of the bugs was great to boot. Anyway. Thank you for great crawfish and outstanding customer service, as usual. This is why I always order from LA Crawfish Company.
Received your shipment yesterday and everything was perfect. We had a wonderful Crawfish Boil. Found only 5 dead crawfish in 60# ... Unbelievable! The spice recommendation and product you provided was wonderful as well. Thanks you for a wonderful evening. I will be ordering more! Cheers, Stu
It has been a long time coming for me to order the crawlfish. I hadn't ordered these things in about 10-12 years so my youngest didn't remember them. Worst of all is he absolutely loves them. Well our order came 7-3-13 and I couldn't wait. He has never had them that fresh and he went to town eating them. I forgot how great they tasted fresh. We had a great time and for the quality, shipping, fun and price you cant beat it. Oh did I mention the alligator. Yeah 4lbs of alligator gone in minutes. Thanks again for the service, AWESOME customer service, and the great time. I cant wait to order again and do it right. I got the rust off now the fun begins. I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend
Just want to send you a HUGE thank you!! This was the first time we have done a crawfish boil, and it was fantastic! You made it so easy that we are looking forward to making this a yearly tradition. The Mardi Gras beads and bibs were such a thrill for the children (and adults) in our group. THANK YOU so much from your new fans in Connecticut.
I just wanted to contact you guys and tell you how happy I am with the crawfish that I ordered from your company. This was my first time and you guys made it so easy for me to enjoy the "Mudbugs". From the shipping to the directions this experience was Absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!! Can't wait to order more next season. 041b061a72