Straight-tailed crawfish stir up debate

It’s Good Friday in South Louisiana—which means seafood’s on the menu, and crawfish pots are working overtime. But one old-school crawfish rule still has people second-guessing their trays: can you eat the ones with straight tails?

Thanks to the folks at the LSU Ag Center, the straight-tail theory can be laid to rest. You know the one—we’ve all been warned: don’t eat the crawfish with the straight tails because “they were dead before they hit the pot.” But is picking out the dead ones out that easy?

LSU researchers put it to the test! They placed dead crawfish in a cooler with live ones for five days—then boiled the whole batch. The result? Those straight-tailed crawfish curled up just like the fresh ones. The verdict? A straight tail doesn’t necessarily mean it was dead pre-boil—or unsafe to eat.

You may not be ready to toss tradition out with the shell pile, but the science is in. So next time you’re elbow-deep in spicy, steamy goodness, maybe give that straight-tail a second look. You just might be tossing out perfectly good crawfish.

Still skeptical? LSU’s got the research to back it up. Read the full article here.