Thread: Is cray fish overrated or am I cooking it wrong?

You have to let it thaw in the fridge - it can take a day or more.. Can't cook it from frozen.
Crayfish is one of those 'your mileage may vary' foods. Personally, not in my top 10.

Learnt a few good tips from this thread. Don’t get cray very often these days but the only cooking issues I’ve had are with the bigger ones, getting the cooking times right. My taste is simple when it comes to eating them and that’s, warm, between slices of fresh white bread and butter with a nice creamy mayo.

Also, I’ve always found that if you’re freezing fish, break it down to serving size, tight wrap in gladwrap, and store in containers. Seems to keep the freshness of it better than any other technique I’ve tried.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

ohh lord blue cod not going there except to say as a North Island fisherman just cannot understand the souths fasisination with blue cod - mushy - snapper every day or better blue nose

It's all the poor buggers can catch Barry.

Originally Posted by matto1234

Boil them for a minute then split and pull the still raw meat out of the shell. Flour, egg , crumb then fry up with garlic butter. Delish

Have you tried it raw?
I do that with any loose legs. Drop them in hot water for thirty seconds so the meat comes away from the shell. Then eat raw. Very nice

How could anyone not like crayfish? That is like saying you don’t like breathing. Steam until they turn orange. Job done. I question the need to freeze as I have an unlimited ability to consume.

Cary is one of the most or should I say probably the most overrated shellfish besides paua

Depends, Packhorse crays are most certainly overated, great for giving away though as they're huge.

Red crays taste much better, but are probably still overated.

I normally try and swap them for fish or scallops.

I love diving for them, but not the biggest fan of eating them.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Have you tried it raw?
I do that with any loose legs. Drop them in hot water for thirty seconds so the meat comes away from the shell. Then eat raw. Very nice

10 seconds in microwave works a treat

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I made a mistake once. I mentioned to my then-girlfriend (now wife) that apparently the eyeballs are the sweetest part of the crayfish. I turned back in time to see her chewing the eyes off a recently cooked cray, WT actual F? Is the rest of it no good or something????? But apparently, yes, the eyeballs are in fact the sweetest part of the crayfish...

Originally Posted by No good names left

I read about a method of freezing crays that I tried on fish fillets and it worked nicely. Freeze the fish, once frozen dip the fillet in water & refreeze it. Repeat it a few times and it's a an airtight pack.
I don't know if this would work long term as I only kept them frozen a few months.

In tetra pack carton filled with water is another way.

Oh how I miss catching a bucket full of freshwater Cray's then boiling billy of water.back then it was accepted practise to add boiling water directly to pot of Cray's. When they had a few minutes in boiling water used to scoff them as fast as could get them out of pot.beautiful grub.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Have you tried it raw?
I do that with any loose legs. Drop them in hot water for thirty seconds so the meat comes away from the shell. Then eat raw. Very nice

Legs are best. Tail is certainly second place.

I can't say a time for cooking, I just go by color change and bubbles on the surface.
6 mins seems to long, but would depend on pot and size of cray. Under cooked is way better than over cooked.
In fact a quick blance to get the shell off is enough....

My favourite way of doing Cray's,

Just cut in half raw (if cooked just be easy on the length of time in next step) make a nice herbed butter and paste it over each side and grill in the oven, the butter will soak through the meat and poach it in the shell. Absolutely brilliant

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Has to be cooked in salt water. From the sea not fresh water with salt added.

That’s a piss off, being in Kinloch with a frozen cray! They’re great fresh, but watery from frozen. It’s a bugger cause I keep getting them given to me. Her daughters boy friend thinks she likes them, she cannot disappoint him

Originally Posted by Maca49

That’s a piss off, being in Kinloch with a frozen cray! They’re great fresh, but watery from frozen. It’s a bugger cause I keep getting them given to me. Her daughters boy friend thinks she likes them, she cannot disappoint him

Don't you live by the sea?
Tell her to get the lazy bugger to cook them before he gives them to her. But give her definite cooking instructions to pass on.