How to prepare crawfish and clam chowder

Hello,

I'd like to invite a friend over to my place for dinner and thought I could serve crawfish and clam chowder. Does anyone have good recipes for crawfish and clam chowder and is willing to share? I've found a couple of recipes on the internet but would prefer to go with personal recommendations. Any styles (Cajun, Northern Europe or American (Maine, Boston, ...) ) are welcomed as long as they make the food taste good and are fairly simple and easy to prepare.

Best regards,
Jean-Louise

Before I go into detail, where you getting your crawdads and clams? As for what style, Cajun Dads and New England Clam Chowder of course.

Sorry for being unspecific. If possible I'd like to make the whitish creamy New England Clam Chowder.
For the crawdads I haven't decided yet. My original idea was to keep the recipe simple because firstly I'd like to enjoy seafood by its original taste and freshness and secondly I'm helplessly clumsy in the kitchen department. My friend is from Georgia so the Southern Cajun style might be preferred. Furthermore I've once read the Cajun style includes potatoes and carrots making the dish more fulfilling and satisfying. However, if you know a better recipe or style please let me know.

I'll head over to Metro tonight to check their seafood department. Unless they sell crawdads and clams I'll order them online from www.lachskontor.de. I thought I saw they had fresh ones last time I checked but now I can only find cooked ones. I'll double check tonight and let you know what store I can get them from.

It's great you're helping me with the recipe. Your help is very much appreciated.

Sorry for the late reply. Unfortunately Metro don't sell crawfish but the fishmonger Babayigit Birhan in Sendling does. You have to order in 3 days in advance.

What is nearly impossible to get here is clam juice. That is essential for a New England chowder. I always bring loads back when I am in Maine. Good scallops are also hard to come by. Not ot mention fresh crab meat. I love, and make, and wicked good chowda. My recipe is in my blood, and you really have to work with the catch of the day.

I'm from New Orleans and I love crawfish Étouffée. Here is a great recipe from Emeril Lagasse.

What sort of crawfish can you order from Babayigit Birhan? Live? Frozen raw or cooked?

Do you have a website link for Babayigit Birhan?

Aldi sales cooked crawfish. You can find it in the refrigerated case near the hot dogs and sausages.

I'm sorry I don't have a link to Babayigit Birhan's website. Yet, I can provide you with his phone number: 089 7677468. You can call and he'll take the order. His store will be open till saturday. After saturday the building will undergo construction so he'll move to a little sales container. But you can still give him a call.

I wanted to order live crawfish. The frozen ones are sold at Metro and IKEA but they will come in a dill stock that I don't like. Furthermore people on the internet discourage from buying the frozen (cooked) crawdads as they lack flavour and often come from China where the farming of crawfish might not be of good quality.
I'm no expert on crawfish so I can't tell what kind they are. But Mr. Birhan asked if I wanted the bigger ones (7-8 of them make 2 pounds).

@Traveler: Thank you for the crawfish Étouffée recipe. My friend also suggested Étouffée if I was unable to get fresh crawfish.

@PES: Clam juice? Bummer! I might not find that in Munich. However, I might be heading to France soon so I'll check the stores in Toulouse. Normally they have a very good selection on seafood and cooking ingredients. You're right about the freshness. I'll probably be unable to find the quality needed for a good chowder here. It's a pity I can't make it. I'll think of something else then.

Being born and raised in southern Louisiana, I am an expert on crawfish

Étouffée is very good and the only way to make it really good is with fresh crawfish.

In Louisiana, the number of crawfish per pound is known as the count. The best crawfish are smaller than 3 - 4 count. You get more flavor from ones which are 10 - 12 count. Remember, crawfish aren't lobsters!

The best clam chowda is Rhode Island style which is sometimes called clear chowder because it looks more like broth than the red Manhattan or white New England versions. I can't share the secret family recipe but this one is similar and is from the respected Food Network.

@rhody and PES: Thank you for posting the recipe from Food Networks. I've never been on Food Networks before but I liked the recipes and will browse it more often. I do understand you can't post your secret family recipes but I'd like to thank you for the Food Network one. It'll be quite good, too.

@Traveler: It's funny you mentioned the size/ count of crawdads. When the fishmonger mentioned the count (and the price: 20€ per lb) my initial thought was "wow! they're huge and pricy. Are we talking about lobsters?". Later when I did more research on the internet I found out the reason. (disclaimer: I retrieved this information online so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

There are different kinds of crawfish two of them being the signal crayfish and the noble crayfish, respectively. The signal crawfish was imported from the US to Europe a century ago to replace the native noble crayfish which almost got exterminated due to crayfish plague. However, the idea worked out too well and as signal crayfish proliferates tremendously its population soon expedited the eventual extinction of the native crayfish. Both type of crayfish are eatable (both taste alike) but while the native one is regarded as a rare and special treat the signal crayfish became the undesirables. This reflects in the price as 1 lb of signal crayfish is sold for 5€ whereas the noble crayfish aims for 20€ per lb.

When I first called the fishmonger I asked for Flusskrebs which I thought was the correct translation for crayfish. He might have thought of the native crayfish (Edelflusskrebs) and named his price. But you can also buy signal crayfish (Signalkrebs) from local crayfish breedings which are as tasty as the native ones and a lot less expensive.

About the size, as crayfish remotely look alike lobsters people might assume the same that applies to lobster applies to crayfish. Thus the bigger the better. I guess that's the reason why bigger crayfish fetch a higher price although they might have less flavor than smaller ones.

I hope I got all the information right. Thank you for your input. I'll let you know when I find a good source for (signal) crawdads.