How to reheat crawfish

how to reheat crawfish

If you are a seafood lover, then you’re probably aware of the crawfish season when everyone is reaching for their crawfish cooking pots to broil crawfish and enjoy an excellent snacking session.

Whether you like it boiled and plain or with a lot of spices, there’s one thing for sure with this event- leftovers! You’ll be left with a refrigerator filled with containers with leftover crawfish.

It sounds like an excellent backup plan for when you feel too lazy to cook up a meal but reheating crawfish can be very tricky, as is with many kinds of seafood. When you cook any type of seafood for too long or too short, you’ll be left with an unpleasant texture and taste that does not do justice to the delicacy of the food.

Can you eat leftover crawfish?

Many people have this misconception that seafood leftovers are unsafe to eat. But this is far from the truth! Yes, you can eat leftover crawfish if they have been properly stored.

Although it is entirely safe to eat leftover crawfish, once cooked, you need to store it properly in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or better yet, you can freeze it to give it longer shelf life. Make sure you don’t let it sit out after cooking for longer than 1 or 2 hours, as it is easy to spoil.

So now that you can safely eat leftover crawfish, how best can you reheat it?

This is tricky because since you’ve already cooked the crawfish, you don’t want to overcook it when reheating and end up with a chewy and tough texture which is not pleasant to eat.

Here are a few different methods you can reheat crawfish:

Steaming it:

The simplest and most safe way to reheat crawfish is by steaming it. You can use a steaming basket to toss all your leftover crawfish and give it a good steaming to reheat it. This is an excellent method for leftover crawfish as it does not risk overcooking and will ensure you have evenly heated seafood that is still tender and juicy.

Follow these steps to use the steaming method to reheat crawfish to perfection:

  1. Get the crawfish out of the refrigerator and defrost it if you have frozen the leftovers.
  2. Get your water boiling in a large pot and prepare the steamer basket.
  3. Toss all your crawfish into the basket and let the water boil beneath the basket.
  4. Ensure the basket does not touch the water at any point during the process.
  5. Keep the water boiling for about 5-10 minutes or even longer if you have a lot of crawfish.
  6. You can even cover the pot if you want it to be done faster but make sure you regularly check on the basket by opening the lid.
  7. Use tongs to safely remove the crawfish from the basket and enjoy your meal.
  8. If you want, you can let it sit on a plate and add some seasonings or flavoring.

Microwaving it:

Microwaves are one of the most versatile and helpful kitchen appliances you can use to reheat any food item. And it’s no exception to seafood like crawfish. It is one of the simplest methods to reheat crawfish.

Here are some steps you can follow to make sure you get an evenly reheated crawfish dish using a microwave:

  1. Take the crawfish out of the fridge or freezer.
  2. If it is frozen, make sure that you defrost it first
  3. Toss it into a microwave-safe bowl
  4. You can add unsalted butter, oil, or any liquid to retain moisture.
  5. Now cover the bowl with a lid or place a moist paper towel or microwave-safe lid, too, if the bowl.
  6. If you are using a lid, keep a small gap between the bowl and the lid to allow some of the steam to escape.
  7. Start the microbe and let it heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
  8. Take it out of the microwave and give it a good toss before you pop it back into the microwave.
  9. Repeat trying as much as required depending on how many crawfish you have to reheat

Once you’re sure that each crawfish is heated to perfection, take it out of the appliance and serve! You can add some seasonings at this stage or have it as it is.

Sautéing:

Another simple method is by using a saucepan and a stovetop. This is great for smaller batches of crawfish leftovers. You can use a skillet and oil like butter or olive oil to stop the food from sticking to the pan.

Here are the steps you can follow for sautéing your leftover crawfish:

  1. After deforesting your leftovers from the fridge, toss them into the skillet with a bit of hot oil or butter.
  2. Keep the heat on low or simmer to avoid burning the oil or the crawfish
  3. Let it sit on one side for a good 2 to 3 minutes before flipping it to the other and letting it heat evenly.
  4. Make sure that you don’t overcrowd the skillet with crawfish. Only have one single layer of crawfish on the skillet or saucepan at a time.
  5. This will let you get the perfect texture and consistency that you are looking for in your crawfish.
  6. You can add spices to the skillet or saucepan if you like. This step is optional, but if you think your crawfish needs some extra flavors, you can add herbs and chopped garlic to the oil to infuse your crawfish with more flavor.
  7. Use tongs to properly coat each side with the oil and spices until it is heated all the way through.

Boiling it:

Although it seems like an unconventional method, boiling is a common way that many people like to reheat their leftover crawfish. It’s quite a simple and easy method that involves nothing more than a cooking pot and a stovetop for the heat.

You only need to remember that you shouldn’t boil it for too long, or else it will become chewy and lose all its flavor.

Follow these steps to boil your leftover crawfish correctly:

  1. Fill a large pot with water
  2. Let the water come to a boil
  3. You can choose to add some items of flavoring such as onions, bay leaves, garlic, etc.
  4. You can even add some spices and seasonings of your choice once you drain the water and take it off the stove.

If you don’t want to add any extra flavorings, you can choose to squeeze a slice of lime or melt some butter on top of the crawfish and enjoy!