How to Reheat Leftover Boiled Crawfish: Your Questions Answered

Crawfish is such a tasty food, it has the perfect mixture of flavors, and it is not too overpowering. If you are looking to try a new seafood, it is a great place to start.When it comes to cooking crawfish, as they are typically purchased in bulk, you may find that you have cooked too much in one go. If this is the case, you can save the crawfish to eat later.

While leftover crawfish is great, you will need to know how to reheat it correctly. Not only is this important when it comes to how the boiled crawfish tastes when reheated, it is important to ensure that it is being reheated correctly.To help you reheat crawfish correctly, we have compiled some super easy steps for you to follow. We hope you find them helpful. 

What Is Boiled Crawfish? If you have never tried boiled crawfish before, you are missing out on such a treat! Crawfish is a crustacean that is not overly large. They resemble both a lobster and a shrimp in their appearance. In the United States, the majority of our crawfish is from Louisiana. It is typically harvested from rivers, swamps, and lakes.

Louisiana made the crawfish boil famous with a pressure cooker and crawfish tails. Once you've tried it, you'll wonder how to reheat crawfish leftovers. Live crawfish (or fresh crawfish) is always preferred for etouffee and crawfish pie recipe. Crawfish etouffee is my husband's favorite food with some creole seasoning and sausage, you'd think he was a New Orleans native. No frozen crawfish or frozen crawfish tails for him.

When thinking about the taste of crawfish, it resembles the taste of crab, shrimp and lobster, it is a great combination of all these flavors, and it is not too overpowering. It is a great option for those who prefer a sweeter taste, to the saltiness of most crustaceans.

To eat crawfish, they are typically steamed or boiled to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly before consuming. They are a versatile food that can be eaten alone, or as part of a larger meal. Boiled crawfish is great added to pies, and salads.

Crawfish does not take long to boil, typically only around 15 minutes. You can add different flavors and spices to the crawfish when boiling, but they can also be boiled plain too. Once boiled they are juicy and edible.

How To Reheat Boiled Crawfish Correctly

When you are reheating boiled crawfish, it is important that you reheat it correctly. While it is a fairly simple process to follow, if you do not reheat it enough, this can potentially lead to a stomach upset. You will always want to ensure that the food is piping hot throughout before eating.

In addition to ensuring that it is reheated thoroughly, you will also want to ensure that you have reheated the crawfish in the correct way. This is because there are certain ways of reheating boiled crawfish that allow it to taste as great as possible. Some methods of reheating can cause the crawfish to potentially become dry or rubbery. 

Before you begin to reheat your boiled crawfish, there are a few different items you will need:

• Steamer basket
• Pot
• Lid for the pot
• Spices (optional)
• Tongs or cooking spoon

There are not many items you need, and the process is fairly simple. We always recommend reboiling the crawfish to reheat them. If you use a microwave or an oven, the crawfish will not taste great.

Method

Step 1 - The first thing you will want to do is place a reasonable amount of water into your pot. You can choose to use some spices to add to the water if you want to enhance the flavor of the crawfish, but this is not necessary.

Step 2 - Next you will want to place the steamer onto the pot and place the pan over the heat. The water should sit below the steamer, and you will want the water to boil.

Step 3 - Once the water has boiled, you can add the crawfish to the steamer section, and cover with the pot lid. You will want to steam the crawfish for around 5-6 minutes.

Step 4 - After this time, the crawfish should be reheated thoroughly. If they are not piping hot, keep reheating them for up to another minute until ready. After you have done this, the crawfish will be ready to serve. While they will not taste quite as good as they did when they were originally cooked, steaming them is the best way to reheat them, and they will still be very appetizing. 

How To Store Boiled Crawfish

Once your crawfish have cooked initially, it is important to allow them to cool and then cover them up and place them into the refrigerator. If you leave them out on the counter for too long, this will cause a build up of bacteria that can be potentially harmful. Once placed in the refrigerator, they will last for up to four days before they will need to be thrown away.

When reheating, always ensure they are piping hot before eating. Alternatively, you can choose to freeze them once cooled if you want them to have a longer expiry date. You will want to freeze them as soon as possible to ensure that there is not a build up of potential bacteria present.

Always ensure to place them into a freezer bag or an airtight container before freezing, this will help to prevent freezer burn. In addition to this, we always recommend placing the date you froze them onto the box. This will enable you to be aware of when you need to consume them.

Frozen cooked crawfish will last for up to 3 months before it is no longer safe to defrost and eat. To defrost the crawfish, simply place it onto a plate and defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat the crawfish thoroughly following the method provided, and do not reheat after this. 

Summary

We hope you found this useful. It is simple and easy to reheat boiled crawfish. It will only take a few minutes to do, and it tastes great when steamed too! Steaming the crawfish allows it to still taste fresh and juicy, rather than dry.

Always ensure you are reheating the crawfish thoroughly before eating to ensure it is safe for consumption.