Crayfish?

[hungry_pangolin]

I'm planning ahead a bit. Late August, I plan to do a Finnish crayfish boil. I honestly know nothing about their life cycle. SO... can I get them fresh in Toronto in late August, or will I be limited to frozen. And... where?

Thanks in advance, hounds.

[DockPotato]

Crayfish from larger Ontario bodies of water do get pretty large. I've never tried them but understand they are delicious.

However, all of you should know that because of the spread of the invasive Rusty Crayfish it is now illegal to sell or transport live crayfish anywhere within Ontario.

I can trap "mudbugs" off our pier and take them home for my dinner or use them for bait, but I can't sell them to my neighbour, take them outside of a tightly proscribed area, or take them in a live tank to a market stall or wholesaler.

[goodcookiedrift]

i know this is the expensive option, but there are a handful of fishshops in New Orelans or Louissianna area that will ship cases of fresh crayfish anywhere in North America. I had inquired about this, and if its a special occassion, the price (in my mind) is right especially for something that's next to impossible to find here in Ontario.

I would even hop on over to the NO board and ask those members if they have any preferred fish shops.

Honestly, nothing beats fresh crayfish. I made etouffee out of frozen crayfish and while it was good, it just wasn't the same as cooking them bugs fresh.

[graydyn]

It seems like they are always brought in from the southern states. Crayfish do live around here, I wonder if they could just be procured the old fashioned way. I mean by looking under rocks like a racoon. Maybe our local ones aren't human edible?

[tjr]

The rusty crayfish is edible, has more meat than the local variations, and has invaded Ontario and causes damaged to the aquatic environment. You'd probably have to check to make sure they're safe to eat, but I've never seen them in the sport fishing consumption guides for Ontario.

We could probably get fresh crayfish (especially of the rusty variety -- two birds, one stone), but I don't think there's very much economic viability in trapping them, so...

[jayt90]

Our native crayfish are edible. I caught a few as a teenager, and they were excellent, firm and sweet but very small, about the size of Matane shrimp. Add aggressive to the mix and you can see why kids would not bring home a sackful, back in the days when they plentiful. Like frogs, the population has been declining since the 60's in S.W. Ontario. Sadly.

[earthygoat]

A couple of years ago, I was on a short canoe trip on the Burnt river near Kinmount. We were portaging over some rapids and stopped at the bottom to have lunch. While eating, we noticed huge crayfish (the invasive kinid) in the water and crawling over land. We boiled a couple up and they were delicious. We decided to go back up a few weeks later (a short paddle from an access road) with our minnow trap (from Can. Tire), a can of cat food for bait, and within a few hours, we had enough for a large meal. These crayfish were about 7inches long! I was quite happy to find a very tasty use for an invasive species. I think that as long as you catch them in a non-polluted area, it doesn't matter whether they come from Louisianna or Ontario. As for fishing regulations, there are no limits, and as long as you don't catch them and release them in another body of water, you are good to go.

[immer essen]

10+ years ago while working for IKEA, the foodshop brought in frozen crayfish for a Swedish Crayfish festival - you might try there....

[sweetie]

I am not sure they are they same thing, but crawfish.com ships to Canada. I have not ordered from them myself.

[estufarian]

The following thread may have a couple of ideas.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/491327

HOWEVER, despite the recommendation, Cajun Corner has never had the crayfish in stock when I've been there. presumably they do have a source - but whether that is still active is another question.

The source at St Lawrence ONLY has crayfish meat (frozen) - not the crayfish. And their entire stock is past the 'best before' date.

[aser]

Don't even bother w/ anything frozen. It's like having a fresh live shrimp for the first time in your life, it's nothing like the frozen shrimp we've been accustomed to.

Not the same thing as crayfish, but if you're interested, try getting fresh live shrimps. Some asian markets will have them (T&T, Bill's Lobster). Generally it's about $18.99/lb but T&T had them on sale for $12.99 a few weeks ago.

Best way to enjoy them imo is just a simple boil for 2 mins in salted water. Eat them w/ a dipping sauce of hot veg oil + light soy sauce + thai chillis + scallions. Remember to suck the goo out of the heads, it's the best part!

[estufarian]

I've never compared crayfish frozen & unfrozen but, for example, King Crab are actually BETTER when flash frozen, because the so-called 'fresh' version develops an ammonia smell within hours.

[erly]

I found frozen crayfish at SLM a couple of years back.
They were terrible, as the flesh is not as firm as shrimp, and they simply "mushed" (also slight freezer burn).
I have never seen fresh crayfish in Toronto

[skylineR33]

I have a complete different opinion on this one. King Crab tastes much better with live fresh than flash frozen. I don't know how long you are talking about when you said "within hours". But if you cook the crab within a short period, it is way sweeter with much better seafood taste than frozen, texture is much more exquisite too. For the frozen one, I always notice a different texture with a stinky fridge taste which make me sick.

Agree fully with aser on this one.

[estufarian]

Where did you find 'fresh' King Crab? - I've never seen it in Toronto. Found it once in Chicago and was told that the fresh version is only available for 2 weeks each year.
Similarly I've never found fresh crayfish in Toronto - but haven't really looked for it.

[skylineR33]

I suppose you are talking about Alaska King Crab ? I have seen them in quite a few of chinese restaurants up North. You can find it in T&T too.

[estufarian]

Thanks - I should have thought of that.

[erly]

Check with T&T before you go.
The one on Warden sometimes have them live sitting in a gigantic tank, but not all of the time.
It would be very awkward to carry one of the "biggies" home, and then what?

[skylineR33]

T&T can cropped it up for you if you preferred. It is free. However, the biggest I see in there is not bigger than 8 pounds.

[graydyn]

I've never found them fresh in Toronto, but one of the seafood vendors at St. Lawrence market sells them frozen. Unfortunately they do seem to loose a lot of there charm when frozen.