Anyone gone and caught thier own? Any recipe's that you favour? Reason I am asking is that there is a pond near me full of the little blighters they are the american signal and I quite fancy haveing a taste.

Ive BBQ'd them and also made risotto and paella with them yum.

I've caught them but through work weed cutting. Never eaten one but seagulls/crows seem to like them, but been told if you like that sort of food they are nice.

hugh fernly wittingstall did them on his show i think, probably a recipe to be googled

BBQ'd crayfish does sound yummy as does the risotto. Did you catch them yourself or buy them?

There was a fella on the telly who was catching them in the river/canal near me.

They said they needed to be kept in fresh water for some time after catching to make them safe to eat.

I could understand in a canal as there is no real flow of water but a river should be ok. They really like stoney rocky areas to hide under but have also found them where there is thick weed. They are spreading through out the country and will eat most things including each other. Was told they like rotten banana as good bait.

I catch them in traps using fish heads in rivers and streams nearby.

I could understand in a canal as there is no real flow of water but a river should be ok.

So from a pond put them in some fresh water before cooking and eating?

So from a pond put them in some fresh water before cooking and eating?

Depends on the size of the pond, but if you cook them properly, there shouldn't be a health risk.

you want some of these fellas:

they love crayfish, apparently 😉

We have redclaw over here in Oz. Very similar to crayfish, and taste really good marinated and then thrown on the BBQ. Over here they use a trap, like a crab pot to catch them. I've heard all sorts of things to attract them to the pots, from sliced potato, to tins of cheap cat food with a few holes cut in them.

you want some of these bad boys… absolutely delicious 😀

not me btw… and that's a small(ish) Marron as well… they're a native freshwater crayfish in West Australia. Soooo tasty on the barbeque 🙂

Crayfish are fantastic to eat, here in Sweden they even have a traditional celebration for it called a 'kräftskiva' involving eating them and drinking akvavit (snaps)

We catch them from a local lake, take them home alive, wash in salt water for a couple of mins and then drop them into boiling water with dill, they die instantly and cook through in 4-5 mins.

Great party and you can even buy crayfish party kits over here with nice hats 8)

And here's a good link of: Swedish crayfish party info

Like Bream says – boil alive. Serve up with garlic and white wine sauce. Have used rotten fish bits and bacon as bait.

If your into trapping them some info, only applies to England and wales though.

http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/formsandguides/whatyouneedtoknow.pdf

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/38045.aspx

Rick Steins on Good Food sky channel cooking crayfish now.

Can't understand why we don't eat more of the tasty little pests. it'll be doing our native ones a favour.

I spoke to one of our conservation officers at work and I asked if our native species is about fecked isn't only a matter of time before they become extinct. He just said their long term future doesn't look to bright as they just can not compete against the invasive species all we can do is to try and preserve and enhance their habitat 🙁