What On Earth is a Mudbug?
And why would you eat it? Actually, the real question is where do they come from? When I was a young girl in Mexico, Missouri (I know, weird) we had a creek that we would dig in the mud and pull up these strange looking creatures that looked like miniature lobsters. My father told me they were called crayfish and of course I would never think of eating them. When I moved South at the young age of 18 and indoctrinated into Southern life I was corrected on my pronunciation and was told they are crawfish.
Here in the deep South we have a zest and love for all things food and especially seafood. But a mudbug doesn’t come from the sea, it comes from the mud! Again, down here wild crawfish live in brackish water and were probably discovered in the swamps and bayous. Now a days there are huge crawfish farms but again what about seafood? We boil them in crab boil just like crabs and shrimp and the flavor is outstanding. We can also fry them in a spiced fish fry batter and of course make crawfish pie or etouffee.
If you have never tried them, make a point to and enjoy a taste of the South.