re: Louisiana vs Zatarans vs any other

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Thats why I put it on here... I can't relate to the 5 star chefs over there.

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LOL, the vast majority of F&D poster are YDFOC's comparing notes on the latest at Taco Bell, or "who has the best pizza in BR".

Zatarains, easily, to me at least.

Sprinkle & steam is an alternative if you have no idea of what you are doing and don't care if the end product tastes like.

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Louisiana is the best, but the most important contraversy is soak vs shake/steam.

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I've had shake/steam many times and it was very freakin good. I like how it basically encrusts the crawfish with the seasoning, but I can't explain how the seasoning permeates the meat so well.

But I still do traditional boil/soak.

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yankees

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I've known some pretty old school South La people use this method.

My impression is that some restaurants use it as well because you don't have to use as much seasoning.

The shake and steam just seasons your fingers while you eat.IMO

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It is done for one reason, it saves a lot of $$$.

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Not by the people I know. Seasoning on the outside has been done for years, and it saves money/sucks. The steam method is done by hardcore crawfish cookers who want a more tender meat. They swear by boiling the crawfish at all that you damage the delicate meat. I've seen people boil them and use an icechest to steam/keep warm with seasoning. Again, this is different. The real shake steam method is done without ever boiling the crawfish.

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I've seen people boil them and use an icechest to steam/keep warm with while adding seasoning to the outside

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This is what I was calling the shake and steam...

Some seasoning mixtures will break down in the steam so you dont have the crust. Many commercial places use this method but customers do not know since it breaks down almost completly.

I have done both. And if you steam them correctly the basic person wont tell the difference. It all depends how much i have to cook to which method i choose. Steaming i can put out way more in a certain amount of time.

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If you do it right then you should boil for a very short time then KILL the cooking by throwing ice in the water then you let the crawfish soak. Many people skip the ice step and even though they stopped the fire the crawfish are still cooking far too long in residual heat.

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I boil for about 10 and soak for about 15, without adding ice, although i do add some frozen corn.

I haven't had any notable problems with overcooking.