Best Crawfish Boil Recipes

CRAWFISH BOIL RECIPE FOR 40 TO 45 POUNDS OF CRAWFISH

Steps:

• Leaving the crawfish in the broth for a longer time results in more spiciness. Sprinkling additional spice mixture on the crawfish after draining also will increase the spiciness.
• Crawfish Crab and Shrimp Boil: There are many manufacturers to choose from. This is a spice blend of salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, and additional spices. Typically a bag of spice mix costs about $5.00. The brand used for the show was Lousiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish Crab and Shrimp Boil.
• Instructions:
• Place the cooking pot with its basket on the propane burner and fill with 11 gallons of water, about halfway. This should be about the right amount of water to protect against spillage when the potatoes or crawfish are added later. Add the 2 sticks of butter and 2/3 of the bag of Crawfish Crab and Shrimp Boil, and the 5 pounds of red potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes for 15 minutes and, while the potatoes are cooking, rinse the crawfish.
• Place the bag of crawfish in 1 of the coolers, or, on the ground and hose down the bag until the water runs clear, about 5 minutes. Open the bag and pour the live crawfish into 1 of the coolers. With the drain of the cooler open, continue to rinse the crawfish for 5 minutes or until the water runs clear.
• After the potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, add the corn and continue cooking the corn and the potatoes for 15 minutes more. Remove a potato and test for doneness, continuing to cook, if needed. Remove the basket and dump the corn and potatoes into 1 of the coolers. Close the cooler in order to keep the corn and potatoes warm.
• Pour the crawfish into the cooking basket and lower the basket into the pot. Bring to a boil and cook the crawfish for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the crawfish to simmer in the liquid for an additional 15 minutes.
• Remove the crawfish and serve with the potatoes and corn. Traditionally, the crawfish is dumped onto a newspaper covered table (we used a door on 2 sawhorses). Additional spice mix can be sprinkled on the crawfish, if desired.
• Variation: Some cooks add 1 to 2 pounds of sweet onions, peeled and cut in wedges, and/or the juice from 1 dozen lemons to the cooking liquid.
• Variation: With proper ventilation, several pounds of shrimp could be cooked with approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of the spice mixture indoors. However, without proper ventilation the spice mixture fumes will overwhelm the typical house.

CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds.
• Fill a 40-quart pot with 5 gallons of water and add the freshly ground spices, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, dill weed, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, approximately 40 minutes.
• Rinse the crawfish thoroughly in the bag in which they arrived to remove excess dirt and mud. Put the crawfish in a large container and fill with cool water. Stir to remove dirt from the crawfish. Transfer small batches of crawfish to a colander and rinse under cool running water. Pick out any debris or dead crawfish. Once all crawfish have been rinsed, discard dirty water, and return the crawfish to the container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the water is clear.
• Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the crawfish, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.

CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Place the crawfish in a large cooler, cover with cold water and add 1 cup of the salt. Allow the crawfish to purge in the salted water for 5 to 10 minutes. (This Southern tradition is said to remove mud and impurities before cooking.) Strain the crawfish and set aside.
• Fill a 42-quart stockpot fitted with a boil basket halfway with water. Add the crab and crawfish boil seasoning and remaining cup kosher salt. Then add the sausage, corn, onions, lemon juice and rinds, garlic, butter, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Carefully add the crawfish to the stockpot and cook until they're bright red, about 8 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and add the ice to the stockpot to halt the cooking. Allow the crawfish and other ingredients to sit in the iced water for 25 to 30 minutes (the longer the crawfish sit, the more flavorful they become).
• Pull the crawfish, sausage and vegetables from the water using the boil basket. Serve over newspaper spread out on a table and sprinkle with seafood boil seasoning.

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Fill a very large pot about 1/3 full with water. Add the garlic, bay leaves, dry and liquid crab boil seasonings, salt, pepper, oranges, lemons, artichokes, and potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the corn, onions, mushrooms, and green beans; cook 15 minutes more. Stir in the sausage; cook 5 minutes more. Add the crawfish, return mixture to boil, then simmer until the crawfish shells turn bright red and the tails pull out easily, about 5 minutes. Test for doneness by peeling a crawfish. Be sure not to overcook, or crawfish will become tough.
• Drain well. Serve crawfish hot, Louisiana-style, spread over a picnic table covered with newspapers.