Louisiana Crawfish: Back In Season Early!

It's the time of year that fans of shellfish and Cajun cooking look forward to most: crawfish season. It's begun earlier than usual this year thanks in part to the Super Bowl taking place in New Orleans, according to the Times-Picayune, and within a month it should be available across most of the country.

Ninety-eight percent of the country's crawfish come from Louisiana, and most of that is eaten in-state. The crawfish that get shipped out are eagerly awaited each year, and one restaurant in Portland, Ore., My Brother's Crawfish, appears to have received the first shipment of the season. Restaurants in New Orleans are also preparing for large crowds when fans descend over Super Bowl weekend, and they're beginning to stock up early.

Not much of the supply is on the market yet, as most farmers wait until January to put their cages out, and the season really ramps up in late winter (crawfish are bigger later in the season as well), but just knowing that they're out there and will soon be available is enough to get fans of crawdaddies' stomachs rumbling.