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STORING AND KEEPING YOUR LIVE CRAWFISH ALIVE
You might have to keep your itty bitty Cajun buddies a day or two longer and are wondering how to do it. Well, here's the way to do it. Most people pick up their live crawfish on Saturday and cook Saturday or Sunday.
Here are simple, easy to follow instructions on how to PROPERLY STORE your live crawfish for 1 to 3 days and have all of them still kickin' when it comes time to get things cookin'.
Keep your live crawfish in the sack they come in, do not let them out.
Keep the sack or sacks in a very LARGE ice chest, laying down so the sack is horizontal. Try not to crowd them.
Do not store sack standing up. Do not let them out of the sack.
Don't have a huge ice chest? Beg, borrow, buy or steal one from somebody.
Place a soaking wet towel or t-shirt over the sack in the chest.
Place an UN OPENED bag of cubed ice on top of the crawfish sack in the ice chest.
Leave the lid up on the ice chest about one quarter to one half inch so they can get some air.
Keep ice chest with live crawfish in it in total shade like in the garage, your shop or the carport.
Keep away from heat sources and out of the reach of children, pets and wild animals. (This includes your drunk buddies.)
Keep out of the sun (they don't need a tan) Sun will kill them.
Keep out of the wind (they don't fly kites) Wind will dry out the gills and kill them.
Keep out of the water (their swimming days are over ) You will drown them or suffocate them and this will kill them.
Turn your crawfish sack over daily if you are keeping two days or more.
Keep any ice water that ends up in the chest drained out.
DO NOT USE DRY ICE! Dry ice will kill them.
Do not store in a regular refrigerator, always in an ice chest.
NOTE: when washing and or purging your live crawfish, get the water out of the house and be sure it is tepid, warmish (not hot!) water.
The water coming out of your garden hose is still about 38 degrees and way too cold for them, the cold water will shock them and put them into a sleep state and you will think they are dead, but they aren't.
Basic rule: if YOU wouldn't jump into water that cold, don't make your crawfish do it, either.
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