Also known as crayfish, crawdad, or crawdaddy, this southern treat is a miniature crustacean usually served Cajun style with potatoes and corn. But question is do you know how to reheat boiled crawfish?
If you find yourself with some leftovers of this delicious feast, it is necessary that you learn how to reheat boiled crawfish so you can enjoy it the same way the next day instead of letting hours of work go to waste.
How to Store Leftover Crawfish
Leftover crawfish should be stored away within two hours of cooking. Leaving it on room temperature will cause it to develop bacteria that can get you sick when you consume it later.
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover crawfish in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: Place the crawfish in an airtight container or a heavy-duty freezer bag, and it will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. It will remain safe to eat almost indefinitely if continuously kept at zero degrees, but the quality will start to deter after 3 months.
How to Reheat Boiled Crawfish
The best way to reheat boiled crawfish is to use the stove. There are several ways you can do so:
Re-boil the Crawfish
The best way to preserve the quality, taste and texture of leftover boiled crawfish is to toss them back in the pot. Just keep a close eye on the timing to prevent them from over boiling and drying out.
- Fill a large pot with water; about three-quarters way full.
- If you have leftover boil spices of the crawfish, add them to the water to enhance the flavor.
- Put the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil.
- Add the crawfish to the pot. You can also put the crawfish in a fryer basket before putting them in the pot.
- Boil the crawfish for about six minutes.
- Pick one out with a tong and peel to check if it is thoroughly heated.
- If not, put it back and keep checking every two minutes until it reaches desired temperature.
- Drain the crawfish in a colander and serve.
Steam the Crawfish
This method retains the flavors of the crawfish to their best quality without drying it out.
- Place a large pot on the stove.
- Add a thin layer of leftover boil spices to the pot. If you don’t have any leftover spices, you can make your own with pickling spices, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black peppercorns, ground ginger, dried hot red pepper flakes, dried chives, dried oregano, bay leaves and sea salt.
- Add a small amount of water to the pot.
- Place a steamer basket in the pot, making sure the liquid doesn’t touch the bottom of the basket.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Put the crawfish in the steamer basket and cover the pot with a lid.
- Allow it to steam for 5 minutes.
- Check one crawfish to ensure it is heated thoroughly. If not, keep reheating in 30 to 45 second intervals until it reaches the desired temperature.
- Remove from the pot and serve immediately.
Sauté The Crawfish
If you want to reheat boiled crawfish while enhancing the flavor a little bit, then this is the way to go.
- Place a deep skillet on the stove on medium heat.
- Add some olive oil to the skillet; a little more than what is enough to coat the bottom.
- Add some minced garlic and onion, or a generous amount of crawfish boil spices to the skillet.
- Let it heat until you can smell the scent of the oil and the spices.
- Add the crawfish to the skillet in single layers; make sure to not over crowd the skillet.
- Cook them for three to four minutes, turning them over a couple of times.
- Cover the skillet with a lid and remove from the stove.
- Allow the crawfish to sit in the covered skillet for five minutes to reheat thoroughly without drying out.
- Remove from the skillet and serve.
Never Use a Microwave
It may seem easy and convenient to just toss the leftovers in the microwave for a couple of minutes, but that would not work with crawfish. Generally speaking, it is not a good idea to reheat any kind of seafood in the microwave. So it is better to just skip this method and opt for the stove.