June in China is the season for crayfish. People love spicy crayfish and garlic crayfish: most people like to choose this dish when they go to restaurants and party with friends. People buy fresh crayfish to cook at home, too. So, do you know how to handle and clean crayfish?
What parts of crayfish are safe to eat?
There are two views on the treatment of crayfish in China. Most people just eat the tails of the crayfish, but some people also like to eat the yellow roe from the heads. They think that the “yellow part” in the crayfish heads is nutritious. Another part of the population thinks that the “yellow part” is harmful. They eat only the tails when they eat crayfish.
Considering these differing opinions, I did some research. The head portion of the crayfish contains the main organs of the crayfish, and its internal organs are concentrated in the head area. When a female crayfish reaches maturity, its ovaries or roe are the “yellow part” of the head. This site is rich in protein. So some people like to eat the roe.
Heavy metals and water quality affect crayfish
So what kind of crayfish head can’t be eaten? First of all, we know that the crayfish is a very vigorous organism. But it is also a creature with a lot of heavy metal residues. If the water quality of the place where it lives is polluted, the crayfish will transfer the residue of these heavy metals to the shell and remove them as it grows and sheds its shell during molting. (In the first year of life, a crayfish molts 6 to 10 times, and 3 to 5 times in the second year as it reaches maturity.)
However, the heavy metal residue is not completely eliminated during molting. Some remains in the internal organs of the crayfish, and the liver, as an important organ of detoxification, will also contain a small amount of toxins in the long-term detoxification process. Therefore, it is important to choose crayfish with good water quality. However, since we cannot always know the water quality in which the crayfish was raised, it is not recommended to eat the offal in the head of crayfish.
Eating the roe or “tamale”
If you really like to eat the “yellow part” inside the head, then you need to know that under normal circumstances it is pale yellow or golden yellow. If the roe is brown, black or other colors, then please do not consume. Also, don’t eat crayfish that died before cooking, as they will smell bad when cooked. If you don’t like the “yellow part,” discard it when you separate the head from the tail.
Cleaning crayfish for cooking
The first step in handling crayfish is to clean them. Crayfish live in silt, so they may have bacteria on their bodies that cannot be washed clean by water. Soak the crayfish in water mixed with salt and vinegar for 30 minutes to kill any bacteria and remove silt. The salt and vinegar have bactericidal and disinfectant effects, which can remove part of the bacteria from the crayfish. Any remaining bacteria will be killed by cooking using high temperature.
This video shows the common way to clean crayfish. We remove the head, the feet, and the gills which are attached to the feet at the head end. Removing this part allows us to have cleaner and more hygienic crayfish, and we can also make the edible part of the crayfish to better absorb the flavor of the broth during cooking. If you think it’s too much trouble, you can skip this step and just wash it when using a brush. In any case, we don’t eat the gills of crayfish.
A few simple tools are needed
All you need to prepare crayfish are:
- a glove
- a sharp pair of kitchen scissors
- a chopstick or small wooden stick
- an old, clean toothbrush
The gloves protect your hand while catching and holding the live crayfish. Though a crayfish’s claws are not as powerful as a crab’s, it still hurts when they pinch your hand. You can use any glove that protects your hands, rubber, cloth, etc., as long as your fingers are flexible: you do not need heavy gloves.
Kitchen shears are larger and stronger than household scissors, and do a quick job of separating head from abdomen. The shell of the crayfish can is easily cut open with sharp kitchen shears: if you do not have kitchen scissors, then you can choose other sharp scissors, but please pay attention to safety.
A chopstick or wooden skewer is used to remove the organs and roe when we open the head of the crayfish. Of course, with a little practice with the scissors, you can complete this operation with a single cut.
Finally an old toothbrush is used to softly scrub any remaining silt and roe from the abdomen after removing the head and feet without damaging the flesh of the crayfish.
How to safely process and prepare crayfish
Equipment
- 1 stainless steel tub or large pan for soaking
- 1 pair of sharp kitchen scissors
- 1 pair of thin gloves cloth or rubber dish washing gloves
- 1 chopstick or wooden stick
- 1 old, soft toothbrush
Materials
- clean, cold water to cover the crayfish for soaking
- 50 ml salt
- 20 ml vinegar
Instructions
- Soak the crayfish in water with added salt and vinegar for 20-30 minutes.clean, cold water to cover the crayfish for soaking, 50 ml salt, 20 ml vinegar
- Put on gloves and hold the junction of the crayfish's head and abdomen with your left hand. When our hands grasp this part, the crayfish's claws will not be able to hurt our hands.
- Using kitchen scissors, cut along the triangle on the shell of the head and discard this part.
- Using the chopstick, remove all the internal organs from the head and discard them.
- As shown in the picture, hold the crayfish with your left hand and to immobilize its claws. Then grasp the middle part of the tail with your right hand, twist it from side to side, and finally pull out the "vein” (the intestine).
- Remove the foot (gills) of the crayfish directly by hand.
- Use a brush to clean the shell.
- Wash all the treated crayfish again with water.
- Repeat with the next crayfish.
Video
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