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It's crawfish season!

Jennifer Chandler

You don’t have to head to the Big Easy to enjoy these Louisianan crustaceans. 

They are available throughout the Memphis area from now until May or June, depending on the weather. You can get them boiled and ready to eat with all the fixin's or pick up a bag of live mudbugs to cook yourself.

I asked Zach Jenkins, the owner of Southbound Seafood’s Crawfish Cabin, for tips on cooking crawfish.  Zach brings crawfish up from the Belle River in southeast Louisiana each week to sell at his food truck.

First and foremost. If looking for live crawfish to cook at your own boil, it’s best to order ahead.

Zach said before cooking it is important to run cold water over the crawfish in a cooler until the water becomes clear. Also, pull out any dead crawfish, grass, or other debris and discard.

Once your water is boiling, it’s important to add the ingredients in order of cooking time.  Put the potatoes in first and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Then, add the crawfish to the pot. Zach said usually the boil stops momentarily, but once it returns to a boil, cook them for 2 to 3 minutes. Then shut off the burner, add the sausage, frozen corn and maybe a little ice to cool the water down and prevent the crawfish from continuing to cook. Let the ingredients soak for at least 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Zach usually puts orange juice, lemon juice, onions, Creole seasoning, liquid crab boil, garlic and a couple sticks of butter in for seasoning.

And, just remember the proper way to eat crawfish is to peel 'em, eat the tails and suck the heads!

This is Jennifer Chandler with The Weekly Dish. Bon Appetit.

Southbound Seafood’s Crawfish Cabin food truck is open Friday through Sunday. Check social media for exact locations and times. Owner Zach Jenkins sells both cooked and live crawfish. Text (901) 491-0642 for live crawfish orders.

Jennifer Chandler graduated at the top of her class from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She is a full-time mom to two daughters in Memphis, Tennessee, and is a freelance food writer, restaurant consultant, and author of four cookbooks The Southern Pantry Cookbook, Simply Salads, Simply Suppers, and Simply Grilling.