If there’s one thing college students are known for, it’s that they love a cheap meal. They can get creative and turn a microwave into a multicooker that can churn out everything from scrambled eggs to brownies. Some folks get fancy and use electric kettles for pastas, and others sneak illicit hot plates into their dorms. Basically, college students are maybe the best equipped to appreciate feeding a crowd on a budget.
No matter where you go to school, you’re sure to attend plenty of events that rely on pizza, the ultimate cost-effective standby, or some sort of DIY taco bar. You may even get a barbecue or two. But there’s one meal that’s special to colleges in the South: a crawfish boil.
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When I started school at Birmingham-Southern College in 2014, I’d never even seen a crawfish boil before. And I grew up in the South! Maybe this type of gathering just isn’t as popular in Tennessee, but I think the bigger difference was that as teenagers, we weren’t trying to cook anything more complicated than a pizza delivery. But there’s something about a crawfish boil that just speaks to twentysomethings’ lack of discretionary funds and cooking or hosting abilities. It’s a one-pot wonder that you get to dump out onto a table—no paper plates or serving utensils required. And it certainly helps that crawfish season coincides with warm weather, so there’s no pressure to try to host a crew in a dorm room or a teeny apartment…