Mudbug Chowder

Crawfish, or craw daddies, or crayfish, or mudbugs…these freshwater crustaceans have many names. The guy at the fish market called them miniature lobsters. They don’t go by that name. He was being pretentious or maybe flirting, I don’t know. I said, “Yeah, whatever. Give me two pounds of mudbugs.” We used to find these in the ditch behind our house. Their lowly station cannot be improved by calling them lobsters. However, their wonderful flavor cannot be improved upon because mudbug or not, these things are good.


Serves: 4-6

Time: prep: 15 minutes cook: 30

Hardware: measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a can opener, a large stock pot, sauce pan, a whisk, a wooden spoon

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 small onion (about 1 cup)
• ½ small green pepper (¼ cup)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 pounds of potatoes
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I like Zatarain’s)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1-15 oz can whole kernel corn-drained
• ½ stick of butter
• 1 pound cooked crayfish tails (you can buy these already boiled from the butcher)
• S&P to taste

1. Dice the bacon.
2. Wash and dice the onion and pepper.
3. Peel and cube the potatoes. Try to make the cubes the same size. This will allow them to cook evenly.
4. Sauté the bacon, onions, and pepper in the pot on medium high. Cook for about 5 minutes. Every thing should be bubbling, but not browning.
5. Stir in the stock, the potatoes, and the Cajun seasoning. Boil until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
6. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil over medium in the sauce pan until it begins to sizzle. Add the flour and stir constantly until there are no lumps and the flour is a nice buttery color. This should take about 2 minutes. (This is called a roux.)
7. Slowly whisk the roux into the stock.
8. Add the half-and-half, butter, drained corn, and crayfish tails. Cook until everything is heated through (about 5 minutes.)
9. DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.
10. Season with S&P.

Offer your guests oyster crackers and hot sauce.