Peeling crawfish at the Thank-You Dinner at Turner Industries, Decatur, Alabama.
Whether you say crawfish or crayfish. And whether you “suck dem heads” or not. It didn’t matter. A big ol’ Thank You from Turner Industries in Decatur, Alabama, was mighty welcome if’n you grew up in The South. Or if’n you didn’t. Everybody associated with Turner wanted in on the action May 7th, 2015.
So, how’d we get there? Brother-in-law Jim Mouch, Sr. Vice-President and Regional Manager, called and said, Want to see how we say thanks to our employees and associates down here in Decatur? We’re serving 650 pounds of crawfish and 350 pounds of fried catfish May 7th, and you need to be here to see it. (Now, you don’t have to ask us twice to a crawfish boil. Or, for that matter, a catfish dinner. We were there faster than you can throw mudbugs into a boilin’ pot o’ water.)
Serving fried catfish under the tent at Turner Industries in Decatur, Alabama.
So, here’s how they do it in Decatur. First, you dip a net into one of the biggest pots you’ll ever see. Grab hold of those wrigglin’ crawfish and lift. (It’s heavy, mind you.)
Then dump ’em into a big ol’ mesh pot that fits into a big ol’ metal pot full of eye-burning seasonings and boiling hot water. Whoo-eeee that stuff can open up your sinuses!
Lowering the pot. We could smell the seasoning six feet away!
Stir the pot ’til the bugs are red.
Stirring the pot. Those sunglasses aren’t just protection from the sun!
And then dump ’em into a cooler.
Dumping ’em into the cooler!
Ah yeah, cher. Pour that cooler full of crawfish onto a waist-high table and commence to peelin’.
Pourin’ ’em out on the table.
Sip a little. Peel a little. Pop ’em in your mouth. Repeat.
Good times at Turner Industries!
It’s personal preference how you get the meat out of the crawfish. Start with popping open the tail. Or separate tail from body first. Or do both in one fell swoop. Makes no never mind: visiting, talking, eating, and piling up shells is all just part of the fun.
If you had room for dessert, you could one-bite-it with these hand-painted cookies! But we could hardly breathe after crawfish, catfish, taters, and corn!
Cookies made for the occasion!
Thank you, Turner Industries, for letting us dine Southern style for a day. Laissez le bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
Bert and Rusha Sams
Turner Industries
127 Old Hwy 24, Decatur, AL 35601; http://www.turner-industries.com/
Angela Dowin
I love your pictures! What a fun and tasty experience!
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks so much for taking a look. You’re so right — we had a lot of fun, ate too much, and loved every bite!
anotherday2paradise
What an amazing event! Lucky you to get an invite. 🙂
Oh, the Places We See
You are so right — lucky us! We probably gained five pounds, but it was worth it! Thanks for taking a look at this doesn’t-happen-to-us-every-day event!
marthaschaefer
As Judy said above, closest I’ve ever seen is a lobster boil/clam bake here in the Northeast. That looks yummy! Great photos to capture the fun!!
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks for commenting on the photos. I tried not to get right in their faces, and many wondered who in the world I was. But everyone was so kind, letting me look at the cooking process carefully. I had never seen anything of this magnitude. So fun. But a lot of work, too!
Judy @ newenglandgardenandthread
I worked a lot of years in human resources and planned my share of events, this looks like one that would have earned a A+. 🙂
Oh, the Places We See
You are so right, Judy. This one event surely pleased everyone involved. I saw a lot of handshaking, so it’s a networking event, too. But once you do this, you have to keep going — each year!! Right?
dawnkinster
Wow. That’s a LOT of crawfish! Closest thing I ever saw to this was a lobster boil last July in Maine. Pretty interesting…photogenic…but still…I have problems with ‘pulling the head from the body’ and might stick to my grilled vegetables for awhile…
Oh, the Places We See
Love lobster bakes and a friend of mine who summers in Maine has taken us to lobster pounds for freshly cooked lobster. Sooo good. And just for the record, I don’t pull the heads off or suck ’em. Must be a true Cajun to do that, I guess.
jolynnpowers
yummy
Oh, the Places We See
You said it! We have to be careful not to overeat food that is really, really spicy. But every bite just got better and better. Thanks for commenting.
Camp That Site
Looks great and like a lot of fun
Oh, the Places We See
I can give you a first-hand impression of the crawfish and fried catfish — both were soooo good! And I was so glad they invited us to come. We can buy crawfish in the grocery store every now and then, but nothing like this fresh, big pot affair! Thanks for reading.
Camp That Site
I feel the same about fresh crab. My parents would catch off their boat for dinner that night. The grocery store cannot compete with that.