Crawfish boilhouse to open in Jackson

A Jackson family is bringing a bit of Cajun culture to Southeast Missouri through SEMO Crawfish Co. Boilhouse & Market, set to open later this month.

For more than 20 years, AmyJo and Ben Hunter have farmed and sold crawfish from their Sikeston, Missouri, farm, producing some 10,000 pounds each year. They own a 180-acre farm, 10 acres of which are used for crawfish.

Initially, AmyJo Hunter said she sold the seafood out of the farm but later shifted to bringing the crawfish to Cape Girardeau customers through a refrigerated truck. Hunter said she then wanted to expand the business from a remote rural location into a more central Jackson boil house, similar to those she saw when visiting her father-in-law. Those trips to the French Quarter of New Orleans inspired her interest in opening a boil house of her own, Hunter said.

She said she grew up hearing stories of her grandmother's restaurant in Bloomfield, Missouri, so she was educated on running a restaurant early in life. The Jackson location will feature a large patio, and customers also will have the option of eating the crawfish there or taking it home to cook.

Crawfish is best prepared by boiling, Hunter said. They are then seasoned with spices from Louisiana, as well as lemons, onions and butter or oil. While the Hunters follow a typical Cajun recipe, Hunter said some of their customers opt to use oranges instead of lemon to add a different flavor to the crawfish. She describes crawfish as a cross between lobster and shrimp, with a strong flavor.

Ben Hunter and his son, Andrew Hunter, are pictured trapping crawfish in a flooded field in this undated photo.Submitted by AmyJo Hunter

The Hunters will also order gulf fish such as shrimp, oysters and crab from Louisiana to supplement their own supplies of crawfish.

Missouri's climate is especially a challenge to crawfish farming, Hunter said. Temperature fluctuations may especially impact the growth of crawfish. The growing season is short, Hunter said, and heavily influenced by winter temperatures. Crawfish thrive in ponds and flooded fields, feeding off microorganisms from plants, she said.

The crawfish farm is drained in July, forcing the adult crawfish to burrow in the ground and reproduce. In fall, the crawfish will come out of the ground, she said, until the field is flooded again in October. As the weather turns chilly, adult crawfish return to the ground, while young crawfish remain outside. If the winter is especially cold, the water in the pond may freeze, she said. As the pond fills in the spring, Hunter said the family sets traps for the crawfish.

"It's just being able to be in nature and make sure there's food available for the crawfish, catching them and seeing the growth," she said.

The restaurant is scheduled to open May 27 on East Jackson Boulevard (U.S. 61) in Jackson.