Crayfish is a perishable product, therefore, in order to be completely sure of their quality, many people prefer not to buy ready-made, cooked crayfish, but to cook them on their own, in accordance with their preferences. If you have the opportunity to buy live crayfish, anyone, even a novice housewife, can cook them, although many men prefer to do it themselves, because crayfish is a traditional beer snack.
How to choose crayfish
Of course, larger crayfish are preferable, they are also juicier, they have more meat, but their cost, as a rule, is much higher. But small crayfish can also be cooked deliciously, the most important thing is that they are alive. It is easy to distinguish living crayfish from "asleep" ones - they move and show the will to live in every possible way, moving and climbing on top of each other. Those who no longer move should be removed immediately and without regret, since dead and even "sleeping" crayfish cannot be boiled - they begin to decompose in water very quickly. How many crayfish can get into the pot depends on how well they were stored.
You cannot store live crayfish in water, if you do not cook them right away, you need to put them in a basket in layers, shifting them with raw grass and nettles. Close the basket and place in a cool, dark place.
Before boiling the crayfish, place them in a large saucepan with a resealable lid and cover with cold water for 45-60 minutes. Then rinse each cancer in running water and use a toothbrush or a special brush to brush their abdomen at the base of the legs. Make sure again that they are all safe and sound.
Crayfish that you didn't have time to eat can be stored in a saucepan with the broth in which they were cooked by placing it in the refrigerator. The shelf life is no more than 3 days.
How to cook crayfish properly
How many crayfish to cook directly depends on their size. Small for readiness will be enough 20-25 minutes, medium - 30-40, large - 45 minutes. This is enough for the crayfish to be saturated with the spices that you put in the broth.
Crayfish are brewed for beer in a cucumber brine. To do this, first boil them in an ordinary broth for 10 minutes, and then in brine, adding 3-4 tablespoons of sour cream.
There are many recipes for brewing crayfish for beer. One of the most delicious ways to prepare them is pre-steeping in milk. The washed crayfish are kept in milk for 40-45 minutes. During this time, boil the broth in water, putting seeds and dry dill, salt and black peppercorns in it. After removing the crayfish from the milk, put in a boiling broth and cook for 10 minutes after the water boils. Then drain the water, and pour the milk, in which the crayfish was soaked, into a saucepan and boil it. Add salt to the milk so that it is slightly salty, put the crayfish, cook after boiling over low heat until tender. Remove the pot from the stove and let the crayfish sit in the milk for another 15 minutes. This will make them very tasty and tender. If there is no milk, cook in the broth until tender, but also hold in it after they are cooked.
