Beach Crayfish
By 
| Published 17 November 2009
Go! reader 'Surf and Turf' shares his recipe for the perfect way to enjoy fresh crayfish.
You'll need:
• Four live crayfish
• Four cloves of garlic (fresh, not the paste)
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Whiskey
• Decent cold Chenin Blanc
Here's how:
1. First, put the Crays in fresh water for about 30 minutes to kill them humanely. Get a pot (potjie) with heavily salted water covering the bottom to the boil (fire or gas – your choice). As we intend steaming and not boiling the crays for best taste you need something in the bottom of the pot to keep the crays out of the water. I often use rocks.
2. Drop the stunned crays into the steam and put the lid on. Leave them there for 5-8 minutes. Make sure your heat is hot and the pot doesn’t dry out.
3. Whilst they’re busy, chop the garlic and heat approx 150 ml of olive oil in a small pot (an enamel mug works perfectly). Let this cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool. Add 1 tot whiskey.
4. Remove the crays from the steam. And let them cool on a braai grid. When you can handle them without burning your hands, split them lengthwise in half. Place them on their backs and use a broad strong sharp knife to do this. Remove the intestine. Don’t rinse the cray. (If you really can’t serve the gunk, rinse the head only but not the white tail meat!)
5. Place the grid over warm coals with the shell downwards and pour the garlic, whiskey and olive oil mix onto your crays. You only need to re–warm the crays now, anything more will dry them out. 6. Open the Chenin, pour a glass and enjoy. When the crays have warmed up again turn them over and briefly braai (warm) the open side. Enjoy directly from the shell with lemon juice and a fresh dill sauce and wine of course!
Other recipes to try out:
Mussels with red onion vinaigrette
Prawn Cocktail
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