Long before the Cajuns arrived, Native Americans had been harvesting and eating crawfish. However it wasn’t until July 14, 1983 when Louisiana’s governor approved law that made the crawfish the state crustacean. In doing so, Louisiana became the first state to adopt an official crustacean. Louisiana leads the nation in crawfish production with about 100 million pounds per year.

At a recent crawfish boil, 450 pounds were cooked with potatoes, corn, artichokes, sausages, onions and garlic. About 45 people devoured that amount in about 3 hours, maximum.

Filed Under: Culinary History