1. Allow cooked crayfish to cool slightly. Hold the body of the crayfish firmly. Use the opposite hand to twist the tail off from the body.
2. Lightly squeeze the tail until the shell cracks.
3. Peel off the first 2 or 3 segments of shell from the tail along with legs if any are still attached.
4. Squeeze the end of the tail while using the other hand to carefully pull out tail meat. With practice, tail meat will come out without the need for further peeling.
5. Remove vein from meat if still attached. Tail is now ready to eat as is or can be used in a variety of crayfish dishes.
6. The meat can also be retrieved from the claws. Twist off the claw where it attaches to the leg.
7. Snap off movable pincher from claw.
8. Some break claws open with their back teeth, but it is much safer to insert a fork as shown. Twist fork to break open the claw, then retrieve meat.

Artwork created by Ria DiSalvo

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