Even 20 years ago, beer with crayfish was considered a delicacy. Now, young people like to snack on a foamy drink with crackers, chips, salted peanuts and other fast food achievements. If this dubious food is not for you, I suggest cooking crayfish for beer according to a special recipe. Knowing a few nuances and spending about 30 minutes of your time, you will get a delicious natural snack.
Tips:
- Only alive. You cannot cook dead crayfish. Immediately after death, the process of decomposition begins in their bodies. A person who has eaten spoiled meat (even heat-treated) runs the risk of poisoning. Until they enter the pan, the crayfish must be active (mobile).
- The size. The meat of large individuals is much tastier.
- Catch season. The most delicious are crayfish caught before molting – in winter or early spring. But they are rarely sold at this time of the year.
- Storage. Live and cooked crayfish (no broth) can be stored in the freezer for up to a month. After thawing, live individuals will begin to move, they do not die from the cold, but only fall asleep.
Crayfish recipe for beer
Ingredients:
- live crayfish – 3 kg;
- water – 5 liters;
- bay leaf – 2-3 pieces;
- black pepper – 5-6 peas;
- dill – 1 bunch;
- salt – 7-8 tablespoons.
Preparation
1. Go through the purchased (caught) crayfish, leaving only actively stirring ones for cooking. I have seen how sellers of immobile crayfish assure that these individuals are alive, just sleeping. In fact, only frozen crayfish hibernate, the rest must move.
2. Wash the crayfish in running water. Pay special attention to shells and legs, it is there that silt and dirt accumulate, which subsequently give the meat an unpleasant river taste. The shells are well cleaned with a toothbrush, but the process takes a long time, not everyone has the patience.
3. Boil water, add salt, bay leaf, dill and black pepper. You can use other spices, and even chopped vegetables. I do not recommend giving up dill (green or dried), boiled crayfish are not so tasty without it.
4. Add crayfish to boiling water. For humane reasons, I recommend placing individuals in the pan upside down, holding the tail or back.
5. Boiling time of crayfish – 12-15 minutes, readiness is determined by color, finished crayfish turn bright red. Cover the pot with a lid and leave for 10-15 minutes, the meat will become soft, but not boiled.
6. Remove the crayfish from the pot, put on a plate and serve with beer.
