Unusually large crawdad

Crawdads, prawns, shrimp, crabs and lobsters are all in the Phylum Arthropoda, so yes, they are related to insects. However, these sea dwelling arthropods are in the subphylum Crustacea, so they aren't exactly the same as insects.

THR

Meh I've seen that pic of that guy holding up the huge crayfish. Gigantic crayfish don't shock me anymore, in fact they never did to me they are just lobsters.

loool sorry guys but i had to ask, y r u all talking about lobsters???

Originally posted by Xeros
Check out this mofo

That guy looks pretty scared too.

[edit on 27-2-2007 by Xeros]

mmm, anybody who has been down in the south drool at the sight of that. i'd say it makes for a nice dinner, and a lovely chance to grow another arm because of the chemicals in the water!

[edit on 14/5/07 by wisefoolishness]

Ok, Kacen and whoever was almost directly below you...CRAWFISH ARE NOT LOBSTERS. IF YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE, YOU ARE STUPID, PLEASE LEAVE THE FORUM.

Originally posted by uberarcanist
Ok, Kacen and whoever was almost directly below you...CRAWFISH ARE NOT LOBSTERS. IF YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE, YOU ARE STUPID, PLEASE LEAVE THE FORUM.

Woah someones uptight.. dude don't get so angry over lobster

lobster withdrawal maybe?

Whoa, wisefoolishness........that's the crawDADDY of them all ! ( is that actually of the same species that lived in my Grandad's creek?? ) Granma always warned us that we could lose a toe to one, but we never would have dreamed they could get soooo big!

You just brought back a flood of memories to me. Me and my pals would turn over every rock in the 'rocky river' to churn up crawdads. We used them for fishing.
Call out the dancing lobsters! Fabulous, and yummy.

[edit on 8/26/2008 by jpm1602]

I found A signal Crawdad About the same exact size in the bertranda creek watershed in Lynden Washington. So contrary to what most people say, they do get that large. However The reason why most people don't see them that big is because the ones who have lived long enough to be that large,Have avoided being found........Needless to say I ate the one i found. No sense in letting a lobster dinner go.

The warmer the year round water temperature is the bigger the CDaddys grow.

South Texas and Louisiana get them three to four time that size.

I put 5 CDaddys in the concrete tank under a cooling tower at a power plant i worked at years ago and now there are 100s and they can not get rid of them.
Many are bigger then that.

They do a good job of keeping algae in tanks and ponds under control.
then to keep the CDaddy under control you put catfish and bass in to eat the CDaddys

Then you go fishing to keep the catfish and bass under control.

at what point does it become as big as a lobster?

To all with a common misconception crayfish are related to lobsters however are not lobsters.

To everyone here who had questions about cooking crayfish.

This recipe for Crayfish soup is similar to mine so I'll post it. Remember if you want good tasty crayfish make sure they are smaller than 6 inches (15cm) and best at 4 inches (10cm)

The soup is freaking amazing!

Crayfish Soup (10)

Ingredients
8 c Chicken stock
2 tsp Louisiana hot sauce
1 c Green onions, chopped
1/2 c Celery, chopped
1 x Salt, to taste
1 tb Garlic, diced
1 tb Lea & Perrins
1 c Parsley, chopped
1 c White wine, dry
2 lb Crayfish tails, chopped

Instructions: Put ingredients, except crayfish, in chicken stock. Bring to boil and then lower heat. Cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Add crayfish and simmer for 30 minutes more.

These are good too!

Crayfish Fritters (6)
Ingredients
1/2 c chopped onion
1 minced clove of garlic
2 tb vegetable oil
8 oz chopped stewed tomatoes
4 oz green chile pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 dash pepper
3 large eggs, separated
2 tb Flour
4 oz chopped crayfish
frying oil (about 8 oz)

Instructions

Green Chile Peppers should be rinsed, seeded, and chopped. In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in the vegetable oil until the onion is tender. Stir in the UNDRAINED tomatoes, chile peppers, 1/2 Tsp of the salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes and set aside keeping it warm. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside. Beat the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 tsp of salt for about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Fold the reserved whites into the yolks and sprinkle the flour on top of the mixture. Fold in and then fold in the crayfish. In a deep skillet or saucepan heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 365 degrees F. Spoon the crayfish mixture into the hot oil using 2 Tbls for small fritters or 1/4 cup for large fritters. Fry about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper toweling. Serve hot with the tomato sauce.

Source with Plenty more where that came from

See now this thread is worth something!

If anyone outside the US wants to try some crayfish in all their glory, I'm pretty sure there are places online to have them shipped international. I don't know if they would be as good as fresh caught tho.

edit: Apparently there are European species according to wiki, but I don't know the laws re: catching them. However these Cajun recipes are sure to delight!

Astacus astacus, the European crayfish, noble crayfish or broad-fingered crayfish, is the most common species of crayfish in Europe, and a traditional foodstuff. Like other crayfish, the European crayfish is restricted to fresh water, living only in unpolluted streams, rivers and lakes. It is found from France throughout central Europe, to the Balkan peninsula, and north as far as parts of the British Isles, Scandinavia, and the western parts of the former Soviet Union. Males may grow up to 16 cm long, and females up to 12 cm.[2

[edit on 17-7-2009 by DaMod]

[edit on 17-7-2009 by DaMod]