That guy probably catches his own and has to "trielle" (Tree-yay I don't know how to spell Cajun French) the crawfish of all the grass and detritus that ends up in the crawfish. Like picking shrimp after a drag. The ones I buy from dealers are really pretty clean already so the processors must clean them up some before they sack 'em.
Aha, the chef's secret. French chefs have been known to give wine to chickens so that they are drunk and passed out when killed. They say that the stress of having it's neck wrung makes the bird tense and the meat tough. I bet John Folse purges his crawfish in champagne.
I always wash em in salt but its more from habit I guess. I dont use much, half a small box maybe but its just what I was taught to do. I've eaten crawfish cleaned only in water and never thought they tasted different. I rinse em a few times but only use salt the first rinse. They are generally pretty clean right out of the sack but I wouldnt feel right throwing them straight from the sack into the pot without some kind of rinse. I also throw the dead ones in the pot unless they look like they have been dead a long time. IMHO there is no difference between a freshly dead crawfish vs a just boiled dead crawfish.
I put butter in the pot too but at the beginning with the vegetables, for flavor. But most people assume it's to make them peel easier. I never correct them because it saves me time to just let them assume.
i read his "peeling" method. its the slow way. you dont actually have to remove any segment with your finger. grab the head of the crawfish in one hand and the thumb and finger of the other hand on the top and bottom of the body at the second segment. push the body into the head, pull apart and the first segment stays with the head. grab with teeth. disclaimer: this doesnt work very well if theyve been overcooked.
a bit off topic, but i was rather pleased with myself after my second wrist surgery a couple of years ago when i had absolutely zero use of one of my right hand/arm. i learned to peel and eat both boiled crawfish and boiled shrimp with one hand. it was either that or starve when we had boils cause no one was gonna take the time to do it for me. and i wasnt gonna go without. ok, back to purging. i dont care if its salt purge or rinsed. as long as the little suckers taste good, thats all that matters!
