Influencer Livvy Dunne, a gymnastics team member at Louisiana State University (LSU), recently shared a TikTok video about “how to take the ‘poo vein’ out of crawfish.”
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model said, “You eat it, that’s it.”
Formally called deveining in culinary circles – the act of removing the main central vein, which serves as the digestive tract in crustaceans – Dunne’s advice has ignited a huge debate on social media.
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While removing the vein from crawfish tails isn’t essential for food safety purposes, some chefs advise doing so before digging into your next crawfish boil, crawfish étouffée, crawfish roll and the like.
That’s to spare your dish of a certain grittiness that some diners find unappealing.
Deveining the crawfish may also be done for aesthetic purposes.
Isaac Toups, chef-owner of Toups’ Meatery in New Orleans, considers himself a “crawfish connoisseur.” He said he believes it’s a mistake not to remove the digestive tract – or what you’ll see as “the black line” in crustaceans.
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“This should absolutely be removed and discarded,” Toups told Fox News Digital. “However, in the same breath, do not remove the orange fat. It’s the best part.”
Still, some chefs are on Dunne’s team when it comes to serving crawfish.
Maricel Gentile, the executive chef of Maricel’s Kitchen, a cooking school in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and author of “Maricel’s Simply Asian Cookbook,” admits that people may be a little squeamish about eating the digestive tract, but she calls it “harmless and normal.”
Many cuisines, said Gentile, actually have ingredients or parts that people eat without thinking twice.
“What seems strange to one person is a delicacy to another.”
“What seems strange to one person is a delicacy to another,” Gentile said — and praised Dunne “for doing what she loves and enjoying her crawfish.”
Inspired to nosh on crawfish after seeing Dunne’s viral video? As many crawfish aficionados know, the art of eating them can be quite daunting, especially to newcomers to the seafood.
Toups and Gentile detailed the proper technique for eating crawfish, whether you devein them or not.
How to eat crawfish
1. “Take a crawfish in your nondominant hand by the body. Grab the tail with your other hand and break it in half,” Toups said. To separate the head from the tail, Gentile said, it’s easiest if you hold the crawfish firmly at the junction of the head and tail and give the crawfish a gentle twist.
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2. This step is optional. “Savor the head. If you want the full experience, suck the juices and fat from the head,” Gentile said of the so-called crawfish butter, which is “rich and flavorful.” You can also skip directly to step 3.
3. Or follow Toups’ method and pinch the body with your thumb and immediately suck the juices out of the crawfish.
4. Peel the tail. At this point, you may have to use your thumb to peel back the shell, Gentile said. You may choose to remove the first two pieces of the abdomen, which are segmented, Toups said. Then, when cooked properly, he said, the meat may also simply slide right out of the tail when you pinch it at the end.
5. Eat the meat that is removed from the tail and enjoy.
When eating crawfish, don’t fret about getting messy.
“Enjoying crawfish is more than just eating,” Gentile said. “It’s a cultural experience that brings people together. So, roll up your sleeves, gather with friends and dive in.”
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