Grilled Mozzarella Crayfish

Grilled Mozzarella Crayfish

Recipe by Rudy Parlack

The secret to a perfectly cooked crayfish is….timing! Crayfish are all too often overcooked – resulting in dry, tough and flavourless meat. To ensure a succulent cray, cook it just until the opaque flesh turns white and avoid using too much salt and water in the cooking. Try Rudy Parlak’s recipe below for truly sensational grilled crayfish.

Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoon of garlic butter
1 red onion - chopped
75ml white wine
75ml water
50ml cream
Thyme leaves (small bunch to taste)
30ml maple syrup
50ml olive oil

Crayfish tail Ingredients

75ml water
75ml white wine
1 large uncooked Crayfish
Handful Mozzarella cheese
Good sprinkle Parmesan cheese
Roasted garlic cloves (to taste)

Preparing the Crayfish:

- The best way to kill your cray fish is to drown them in fresh cold water.
- Once this is done, turn the crayfish onto its back and plunge the knife into the carapace - cutting the cray in half from the head to the tail.
- Clean out the stomach contents, and the ‘vein’ or canal that runs through the centre of the tail.
-Rinse in cold water to clean the inside out.
-Using a medium-heated deep pan (like a big electric frypan) add the 75ml of white wine and 75ml of water.
-Place the crayfish halves into the pan – shell side down.
- Cover the pan and half cook the crayfish for 3-4min until they turn bright red, and the mixture reduces. Due to the small amount of wine and water – this method partially steams the crayfish. The crayfish will finish cooking under the grill – do not over cook them in the pan.
- Remove the crayfish tails and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to the top of the crayfish and garnish with the roasted garlic cloves.
Prepare the serving sauce next so that you do not run out of time while the crays are under the grill…

- Add olive oil, garlic butter and chopped up
red onions to a deep frying pan.
- Fry the onions until they are golden in colour.
- Add the 75ml of water and the 75ml of white wine.
-Add the thyme leaves.
- Reduce the contents to about half.
- Add the 50ml of cream to thicken and then remove from the heat
- Once off the heat add the 30ml of maple syrup and stir into the sauce.

Now get those tails under a medium-hot grill for 2-3 minutes until the cheese melts and turns golden in colour.

Remove the crayfish from the grill and serve on a fresh mint and rocket salad.

Pour the serving sauce over the top of your crayfish and enjoy with your favourite white wine – absolutely magnificent.

Bon appetit!

This article is reproduced with permission of NZ Spearo Magazine 2009 Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited