# What is the yellow stuff in Crawfish?



## JMGuerrero

I ate Crawfish a few weeks ago for the first time and I am curious what the yellow stuff is when you pull out the tail. I've tried googling it and some people say its partially digested poop, others say the pancreas, other say its fat......so does anybody know for SURE what it is? and do you eat it?


----------



## Cartman

I think its poop. I normally purge with a salt bath twice then fill the cooler up with water and if the water stays clear i'm good to go. I do this every time and I never get all that crud in my bugs. 

If i'm eating bugs that I didn't cook I usually just use the head section to wipe off that poop.

You will probably get different responses to this question. Irregardless, i'd rather not eat that gunk.


----------



## Reel Time

Cartman said:


> I think its poop. I normally purge with a salt bath twice then fill the cooler up with water and if the water stays clear i'm good to go. I do this every time and I never get all that crud in my bugs.
> 
> If i'm eating bugs that I didn't cook I usually just use the head section to wipe off that poop.
> 
> You will probably get different responses to this question. Irregardless, i'd rather not eat that gunk.


Yep. Partially digested food. Poop.


----------



## kyle2601

Wrong!!!! The yellow stuff is a mix of fat and the pancreas! That is the good stuff!


----------



## Chase4556

I've always heard its fat....all that I care about is that its good and always has a good flavor.


----------



## BMTAngler

Thats the good stuff, dont pick it out! God I need to get some crawfish, still havent gotten any this year.


----------



## aggiemulletboy

I believe it is the crawfish fat which the technical name for is the hepatopancreas.


----------



## fwoodwader

I eat it I don't care.


----------



## roundman

24buds? lol , yellow=yummy,, brown =poop


----------



## DCW

*GUTS!!!*


----------



## mastercylinder60

aggiemulletboy said:


> I believe it is the crawfish fat which the technical name for is the hepatopancreas.


mulletboy is correct. the yellow stuff is actually the hapatopancratic tissue (liver and pancreas), which is commonly referred to as the "fat," and it's this "fat" that gives the crawfish meat its distinctive rich flavor. the yellow stuff is _*not*_ poop.

if you don't eat the "fat," you ain't a real crawfish connoisseur. if you're going to throw away the "fat" while eating your crawfish, you might as well take the bacon off of your blt sandwich, too, and just eat the lettuce and tomato.

as bmtangler says ...



BMTAngler said:


> Thats the good stuff, dont pick it out!


----------



## 24Buds

roundman said:


> 24buds? lol , yellow=yummy,, brown =poop


24Buds response is who cares. You killed now eat it. Unlike timber rattler, the yellow goodness is great! Holds a lot of the flavor from the boil also unlike the yellow stuff inside a rattler.



mastercylinder said:


> mulletboy is correct. the yellow stuff is actually the hapatopancratic tissue (liver and pancreas), which is commonly referred to as the "fat," and it's this "fat" that gives the crawfish meat its distinctive rich flavor. the yellow stuff is _*not*_ poop.
> 
> if you don't eat the "fat," you ain't a real crawfish connoisseur. if you're going to throw away the "fat," you might as well take the bacon off of your blt sandwich, too, and just eat the lettuce and the bacon.
> 
> as bmtangler says ...


MC if you ate just the lettuce and the bacon, you would still get the daily recomended bacon intake right?

MC you ever eat monkey on a stick? I had it once over seas. Good eats, right off the street.


----------



## kim e cooper

Dont for get to suck the head!!!!!


----------



## 2slick

Eat da tail, suck da head! I simply insert my little finger into the head and remove the fat. Ummmm, so good.


----------



## mastercylinder60

24Buds said:


> MC if you ate just the lettuce and the bacon, you would still get the daily recomended bacon intake right?
> 
> MC you ever eat monkey on a stick? I had it once over seas. Good eats, right off the street.


i had a typo initially, 24, but if you left the bacon on you would get your rdr (recommended daily requirement) of bacon. 

monkey on a stick?


----------



## 24Buds

mastercylinder said:


> i had a typo initially, 24, but if you left the bacon on you would get your rdr (recommended daily requirement) of bacon.
> 
> monkey on a stick?


 No worries MC, I make tipe o's all the time. I am just farkin with ya!

Yep, the monkey was similar to a fajita on a stick. It was leaner than I thought it would be, but has a tender grain. Give it a shot one day!


----------



## mastercylinder60

24Buds said:


> Yep, the monkey was similar to a fajita on a stick. It was leaner than I thought it would be, but has a tender grain. Give it a shot one day!


i had never heard of monkey on a stick, but i found a recipe. sounds delish. thanks, i'll have to try it. 

Monkey on a Stick (Marinated Beef Strips)


----------



## 9121SS

fwoodwader said:


> I eat it I don't care.


X2


----------



## Tiny

It's extra sauce for da meat, put it on da meat and eat!


----------



## reeltime1

:doowapsta*I'm gonna tol yo so !!!!*


SlickWillie said:


> Eat da tail, suck da head! I simply insert my little finger into the head and remove the fat. Ummmm, so good.


----------



## essayons75

Anyone that removes it should have their crawfish eatin' card revoked immediately!

Pull tail, pinch tail and pull out tail meat with teeth, crush head and suck the juice! Repeat every 2 seconds until full or they're all gone! Make sure elbows are higher than hands so the juice doesn't drip from elbows. Dripping from wrists is O.K., a sign that you got it going on!


----------



## Blue Water Breaux

mmmmm the best part...well that and the head sauce!


----------



## bobber

Crawdad fat fore sure.


----------



## BlueWaveCapt

We always referred to it as the "crawfish butter".
Its good - leave it - eat it - suck the head.


----------



## rockhound76

crawfish fat (okay, it's really the hepatopancreas). Good stuff. When you make stock from the heads, that "fat" is what gives it that nice flavor. It's present in all crustaceans, but in some, like the blue crab, it can pick up pollutants, since it at's as a combination liver/pancreas. When we boil crabs, we don't eat that "fat" and toss it out with the "dead man".

For ecrevisse, pull off the tail, pinch down by the telson with a sharp nail, pull the meat out with your teeth, then suck the head until its little eyes collapse.


----------



## SEAHUNT186

It looks like poop so I wipe it's butt before I eat it. Still awesome without the "yellow stuff". If they are not purged well, then it looks like a pooper scooper is needed. Not for me.... I still eat atleast 5 pounds every time!


----------



## Blk Jck 224

I like crawfish!


----------



## Fishin' Soldier

Fat. I suck the heads and sometimes dig the yellow stuff out with my pinky. Pull tail out with teeth suck the head and then all goes down together! MMMMM good Crawfish this weekend at the lake!

24 buds, I watched a guy eat some dog once he offered me some, I politly declined. He was pakistani and we were in Iraq.


----------



## Bobby

Suck the head??? Darn I been eating the head!! Been doing it wrong all this time and didn't know it.:biggrin:


----------



## Lat22

Put me in the "Don't ask, don't tell" camp.


----------



## essayons75

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Fat. I suck the heads and sometimes dig the yellow stuff out with my pinky. Pull tail out with teeth suck the head and then all goes down together! MMMMM good Crawfish this weekend at the lake!
> 
> 24 buds, I watched a guy eat some dog once he offered me some, I politly declined. He was pakistani and we were in Iraq.


Called _Gaegogi_ in South Korea. Specially breed dogs for consumption. In 1997 it became illegal to sell commercially or serve in restaurants, but a small percentage of the population still eats it.


----------



## C'est Bon

Yellow crawfish stuff? _PURE GOODNESS IS WHAT THAT IS!!!_

Hey, 24buds...does cat eat good, too? :wink:

Disclaimer: j/k...I'm a cat-lover!


----------



## seattleman1969

24Buds said:


> 24Buds response is who cares. You killed now eat it. Unlike timber rattler, the yellow goodness is great! Holds a lot of the flavor from the boil also unlike the yellow stuff inside a rattler.
> 
> MC if you ate just the lettuce and the bacon, you would still get the daily recomended bacon intake right?
> 
> MC you ever eat monkey on a stick? I had it once over seas. Good eats, right off the street.


Pretty sure on a drunken night in Singapore I had monkey..... they said beef, but that was definitely NOT beef! also remember walking around Honk Kong drunk, eating dried squid jerky and thinking "Is squid supposed to taste so sweet?".


----------



## jewfish

Dont know about the monkey on a stick, But I had BAT SOUP in the south pacific isle of Palau


----------



## CaptJack

I'm a Texan not a ****-***
I don't eat the "poop"



jewfish said:


> Dont know about the monkey on a stick, But I had Fruit BAT SOUP in the south pacific isle of Palau


me too


----------



## Trouthunter

> Eat da tail, suck da head! I simply insert my little finger into the head and remove the fat. Ummmm, so good.


Yup!

TH


----------



## Zereaux

You can't make etouffee without it...


----------



## txgirl1722

SEAHUNT186 said:


> It looks like poop so I wipe it's butt before I eat it. Still awesome without the "yellow stuff". If they are not purged well, then it looks like a pooper scooper is needed. Not for me.... I still eat atleast 5 pounds every time!


No purging needed. That's what the beer is for! :bounce:


----------



## JDM1967

SlickWillie said:


> Eat da tail, suck da head! I simply insert my little finger into the head and remove the fat. Ummmm, so good.


That's WHAT SHE SAID !!!!!! LMAO !!!!!
:texasflag

TWIST, PULL, PINCH, BITE, STICK, PULL & SUCK should be the steps for CRAWFISH EATING 
and plenty of HEINI's:spineyes: in the COOLER


----------



## Fishiola

Hepatopancreas! I love just looking at that word. If it's like lobster coral, sort of, then yeah, that's the stuff. Very fatty and rich, a la foie gras. 

Loving that portmanteau word that marries "liver" to "pancreas." Yep, that which my Cajun chums always called the fat is, technically speaking, the hepatopancreas. It has a ring to it.


----------



## lil mambo

not just good in crawfish, but in lobster and crabs as well. and don't forget to eat the roe while your at it. mmmm mmmmm good


----------



## ROBOWADER

I always just called it "the mustard"..........


----------



## Miles2Fish

Rookies...Yellow=fat and pancreas=awesome flavor! Leave it on the tail and make sure and suck every last bit out of the head....


----------



## Pier Pressure

Salt purge will not remove the yellow gunk.



Cartman said:


> I think its poop. I normally purge with a salt bath twice then fill the cooler up with water and if the water stays clear i'm good to go. I do this every time and I never get all that crud in my bugs.
> 
> If i'm eating bugs that I didn't cook I usually just use the head section to wipe off that poop.
> 
> You will probably get different responses to this question. Irregardless, i'd rather not eat that gunk.


----------



## Bull Red

txgirl1722 said:


> No purging needed. That's what the beer is for! :bounce:


SICK! :mpd: <this is the closest thing I could find to "throwing up"


----------



## Hogsticker24

I dont know but im going to Floyds after work to find out


----------



## Bull Red

JDM1967 said:


> That's WHAT SHE SAID !!!!!! LMAO !!!!!
> :texasflag
> 
> TWIST, PULL, PINCH, BITE, STICK, PULL & SUCK should be the steps for CRAWFISH EATING
> and plenty of HEINI's:spineyes: in the COOLER


You left out push: TWIST, *PUSH*, PULL, PINCH, BITE, STICK, PULL & SUCK 
At least that's what I do.


----------



## rockhound76

FishinMick said:


> Salt purge will not remove the yellow gunk.


Yup. Purging just rinses all the mud off and letting them move around in the water lets their little digestive systems run a bit longer.

SALT does nothing but pre-season them and let's you boil sick crawfish. The "fat" is there, purge or no purge.


----------



## JDM1967

Bull Red said:


> You left out push: TWIST, *PUSH*, PULL, PINCH, BITE, STICK, PULL & SUCK
> At least that's what I do.


If I continue with this one I might get KICKED OUT, lol:spineyes::spineyes::spineyes:


----------



## Pier Pressure

rockhound76 said:


> Yup. Purging just rinses all the mud off and letting them move around in the water lets their little digestive systems run a bit longer.
> 
> SALT does nothing but pre-season them and let's you boil sick crawfish. The "fat" is there, purge or no purge.


Thank you. I purge with salt anway, never hurts to try and get em clean.

Anyone here going to the *Texas Stress crawfish boil this Friday*?? Besides me? Its located in LaPorte. Last year they did 1200 lbs.


----------



## 2slick

My wife has Cajun cousins back in Louisiana that disagree with the salt purge; say it makes the crawfish tough. I've tried it both ways, and could tell no difference.


----------



## monster

Butter


----------



## Bull Red

JDM1967 said:


> If I continue with this one I might get KICKED OUT, lol:spineyes::spineyes::spineyes:


LOL - actually I push before I twist & pull. Been too long since I boiled up some mud bugs.


----------



## Tiny

What about the brown butter and straight tails???


----------



## 24Buds

C'est Bon said:


> Yellow crawfish stuff? _PURE GOODNESS IS WHAT THAT IS!!!_
> 
> Hey, 24buds...does cat eat good, too? :wink:
> 
> Disclaimer: j/k...I'm a cat-lover!


ummm, I will not answer



seattleman1969 said:


> Pretty sure on a drunken night in Singapore I had monkey..... they said beef, but that was definitely NOT beef! also remember walking around Honk Kong drunk, eating dried squid jerky and thinking "Is squid supposed to taste so sweet?".


Raw squid is not good either.......It was a bet and yes I ate it but won't do it again.


----------



## aggiemulletboy

seattleman1969 said:


> Pretty sure on a drunken night in Singapore I had monkey..... they said beef, but that was definitely NOT beef! also remember walking around Honk Kong drunk, eating dried squid jerky and thinking "Is squid supposed to taste so sweet?".


My aquatic science teacher brought us some squid jerky in high school. I loved it.


----------



## SwampRat

yellow stuff = pure awesomeness


----------

