Jump to recipe

Arkansas isn’t really Mardi Gras central, but we’re close enough to Louisiana to sort of “adopt” it. We have a neighborly fascination with krewes, parades and beads. We tend to know that Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season and that it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. 

Lent we get. Fat Tuesday we get. We’re definitely all in the spirit of ‘fattening up.” Too much so sometimes. 

When Mardi Gras rolls around can crawfish be far behind?

Courtesy of Texas Hill Country

Crawfish season typically lasts from November to July, when it’s been a warm and wet winter, which it definitely has NOT been this year. Typically, you’ll find the best crawfish in the spring and early summer, February through May. Most of our crawfish come from farms in Texas and Louisiana.

Fat Tuesday Creole Crawfish with Smoked Gouda Rice Grits

While this recipe uses frozen, cooked crawfish tails, there’s nothing better than having a real crawfish boil with live crawfish. Need instructions on cooking those? Try this method from our local Eat My Catfish – LINK.

And we take every chance we can to enjoy as much of those mudpuppies as we can. (My grannies would roll over in their graves to think of me eating crawdads, y’all.)

Fat Tuesday Creole Crawfish with Smoked Gouda Rice Grits via diningwithdebbie.net

This Fat Tuesday Crawfish and Smoked Gouda Grits recipe is based upon the Creole Shrimp and Smoked Gouda Grits recipe I developed for Riceland Foods so if you’re not a crawfish lover, use shrimp instead.

Heck, use both if you want.

Why are my eyes ALWAYS closed? On the set with Laura Monteverdi, THV11 news anchor.

Enjoy your day. Just don’t give up crawfish for Lent, y’all.

Fat Tuesday Creole Crawfish with Smoked Gouda Rice Grits via DiningWithDebbie.net