Crayfish

If you say crayfish in the South, where everyone says “crawfish,” you will be labeled a Yankee. Regardless, crayfish are sold whole and live, or just their tail meat is sold. The advantage of buying them live is that you are sure of their freshness and you can use the shells and heads to make sauces and soups or to add flavor to seafood stews. To make a crawfish soup, follow the recipe for Blue Crab Soup, substituting 40 live crayfish for the crabs, removing the tail meat before cooking the soup and adding it at the end.