Do you purge your crawfish?

[rustyb]

–Myth No. 1: Pour salt on crawfish to purge them. "In reality, the salt doesn’t do anything," McClain said. Fully purging crawfish can be accomplished only by placing them in an aerated water bath for up to 24 hours, but washing them removes mud and debris.

–Myth No. 2: Don’t eat boiled crawfish that have straight tails because that means they were dead before boiling. Crawfish crowded into the cooking pot can end up with straight tails, according to McClain, and dead crawfish at cooking can have curled tails. Even crawfish that are dead before boiling can be suitable for eating, depending on when death occurred and whether the crawfish were kept chilled. If a crawfish tail feels mushy, it’s probably best not to eat it.