re: Why do some of y'all Louisianans dust y'all's crawfish?

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Several crawfish competitions Ive been apart of were won by teams that dusted.

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I know some guys who run a giant arse crawfish farm who do it.

Lots of WTF going through my head. I eat enough to not be rude and thats it.

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Let baws cook they crawfish how they like em

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Bruh, yeah.

1. I’m cooking, I’m doing it the way I want.

2. I’m collaborating, we'll work it out, maybe couple batches different ways.

3. I’m a guest, eat or not.

My father, RIP, would put about 4 inches of water at the bottom of the pot and get it boiling. In the basket, above the water, he would steam the potatoes and corn for a bit then put the crawfish in for 7 minutes with a bag of seasoning and all. After 7 minutes, he would dust them as he poured them into an ice chest and add cut up lemons and vinegar. Shake the chest. Don’t close the lid all the way or they could get overcooked.

I preferred his to any I’ve had in Baton Rouge where it was this overly long process of rinsing and soaking and blah blah blah.

What did he know, though? He only farmed crawfish in his own rice fields.

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Most restaurants around these parts dust 'em, but all the folks I know from down the Bayou do the old ice chest thing which I prefer...

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Dusting them is the same as the old ice chest thing..

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Dusting them is the same as the old ice chest thing..

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I clearly have no clue about this subject.

I prefer straight from the pot. Dusted is too messy. The flavor and spices should be soaked into them. That's my personal non-Louisianan LSU alumnus annual crawfish boil attendee take.

ChatGPT Response to the question ‘Scientifically, does dusting boiled crawfish with seasoning after boiling allow the seasoning to permeate the shells and enter the meat?’

Short answer: a little, but not much—and not in the way most people think.

What actually happens scientifically

After boiling, crawfish shells are already fully formed barriers made of chitin and minerals. They’re not very permeable, especially once cooking is done. That means:
• Seasoning does NOT significantly “soak through” the shell into the meat after boiling.
• Diffusion (movement of salt/spices inward) is very slow and limited once the crawfish are cooked.

Why people still taste a difference

Dusting with seasoning does change flavor, just through different mechanisms:

1. Surface flavor transfer
When you peel crawfish, your fingers get coated in seasoning. That seasoning:
• Gets onto the meat as you handle it
• Dissolves in residual moisture
• Hits your taste buds directly

So you perceive more flavor, even if the meat itself didn’t absorb much.

2. Capillary action in cracks/joints
There’s a small effect where:
• Seasoning can enter tiny gaps at joints (tail/body connection)
• Some liquid seasoning can wick slightly inward

But this is minor compared to boiling soak methods.

3. Moisture + heat helps a bit
If crawfish are still hot and damp:
• A thin film of water on the shell dissolves seasoning
• That creates a concentrated layer that can transfer during peeling

What actually does drive flavor into the meat

The real flavor infusion happens during:
• The soak after boiling (when crawfish sit in seasoned water)
• Temperature cycling (cooling creates slight pressure changes that pull liquid in)

That’s when diffusion is strongest—not after they’re out.

Bottom line
• Dusting = better perceived flavor, mostly external
• Soaking = actual internal seasoning

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Dusting them is the same as the old ice chest thing..

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If you mean a way to cheap out on a proper soak then yes.

Many many people eat it past MSY. Unheard of in NOLA.

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Many many people eat it past MSY. Unheard of in NOLA.

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Not just taste, which is a great contrast, but also functionally, the cold in the spoon with the super hot gumbo works well. Kinda a recent thing for me but good is good.