Crawfish Boil Etiquette

The beads have been swept away and the French Quarter is the cleanest it has been all year. Mardi Gras is over and the city of New Orleans is in observance of Lent. Even if you are not Catholic, everyone in the city abides by one distinctly Catholic rite: seafood on Friday’s. Living next to the Gulf of Mexico, this religious sacrament is not necessarily a sacrifice for New Orleanians; instead it has morphed into a celebration of family, food, and the traditions of South Louisiana.

If you don’t have a crawfish boil to go to on Friday, stop by Bevi Seafood Co. We’d be happy to have you at ours. Though, there is some crawfish etiquette we hope you’ll follow as you learn why New Orleans is the only city that celebrates the most somber time in the Catholic calendar.

Crawfish boil etiquette from Bevi Seafood Co.

1. Don’t eat on the obituaries. Most crawfish boils will require you to eat on top of yesterday’s newspaper, whether it’s the Times Picayune or The New Orleans Advocate is your preference, but whichever you choose, don’t eat on the obituaries.
2. No cherry picking crawfish. We all want the big ones. It has the most meat in it. But unless you are under 7 or over 70 we don’t suggest you go for it, unless you want your hand slapped.
3. Don’t sit down. The under 7 or over 70 rule applies here too, but even then get on your feet. It opens up the table for more to join. Leading to:
4. There is always room for one more to squeeze in at the table.
5. Whether you stack in a neat row or pile it on, there’s no room to judge. The way people discard the shells of their crawfish is no one’s business but their own.  
6. Suck the heads. Even if you do it once, for the novelty of it, to get the t-shirt, suck the heads.
7. Wash your hands before you pee. Just trust us.
8. Crawfish boils should coincide with trash days. As good as that smell is during the boil, it’s that bad two days later.
9. Offer to peel leftover crawfish. It’s like offering to do the dishes, no one wants to do it, but it must be done and is way more fun when everyone pitches in.
10. Planning for the next crawfish boil should start during the current one.