A festival-goer peels crawfish during the 3rd day of French Quarter Fest in New Orleans, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune)
A festival-goer peels crawfish during the 3rd day of French Quarter Fest in New Orleans, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune) Sausage Making/Filling Machine
A crawfish farm and shipping facility in north Louisiana tested a viral innovation that is designed to make a seasonal, seconds-long task even faster for residents of the Bayou State.
In an Instagram video that has garnered thousands of views, Justin Smith — the chief operating officer of Louisiana Crawfish Company — tested out a crawfish peeler, a tool that supposedly allows you to effortlessly pull off the shell while protecting your hands from the mess. And, as you may expect, the hands-free alternative did not fulfill its promises.
In the video, Smith placed the jaws of the crawfish peeler around the tail, squeezed the handles and then pulled, but the shell didn't move, even after he tried twisting the tool, too. The crawfish peeler was ultimately labeled a fail in Smith's book.
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A post shared by Louisiana Crawfish Co (@lacrawfishco)
However, in the caption, Smith recognized that there may be other reasons that the tool didn't work. He wrote that since we are in a later crawfish season, the shells may be too hard for the peeler to take off. Smith also said the crawfish he used to test the product are much bigger than the crawfish used in the viral videos online.
Most people in the comment section agreed that the crawfish peeler is unnecessary, with one social media user stating that the twist and peel ritual is a key part of the seasonal experience.
Another commenter said that while it may not work on freshly boiled crawfish, the tool works on previously frozen. Louisiana Crawfish Company's Instagram account responded back and said that they would try the crawfish peeler on frozen ones next.
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