In the 1700's, Acadians, now Cajuns, arrived from Canada and settled along bayous. Crawfish were eaten mostly of necessity, as the poor man's food was cheap and readily accessible.

The edible parts of this sea creature include the claws, tails, legs, tomalley, roe, and outer shell. The claws, legs, and tails are typically considered the most desirable parts of crawfish as they contain the majority of the meat.

The bright yellow to orange crawfish “stuff” squeezed from the heads and sticking to the tail meat is not fat in the usual sense. It actually is an organ in the head called the hepatopancreas that functions much like the liver in other animals out there.