My Recipe for Juicy and Spicy Boiled Crawfish
Every backyard chef has his or her own unique method for cooking crawfish. This page describes my personal technique, which has been refined from years of trial and error. My issue with many recipes is that they make the crawfish spicy on the outside, not the inside. The recipes do this by adding more spices on top of the crawfish after they are cooked. This is what you’ll find at many restaurants. In my opinion, this is WRONG! Crawfish should be spicy in your mouth, not on your lips. The technique below will give you really juicy crawfish that don’t burn your lips but are really hot in your mouth.
Let’s get started!!
WARNING: Using this recipe, each batch of crawfish will take at least an hour to cook. This is more time than some alternative recipes, so be sure to account for that when you’re planning. If you are serving a lot of crawfish you will need a really large pot or multiple pots.
Ingredients:
- Aluminum pot with an inner straining basket. I typically use 60 to 80 quart pots.
- Propane burner with propane tank. A higher BTU burner will heat your water faster and decrease cook time, although any regular propane burner will do.
- Large cooler.
- Cajun crawfish seasoning. The brands I use are Zatarain’s or Louisiana Fish Fry Products, and it’s usually called “crawfish, shrimp and crab” seasoning. I like 1.5 lbs of seasoning per 10 lbs of crawfish, but less is ok if you like your crawfish milder.
- Live crawfish. (Obviously.)
- Lemons. I use 2 per 10 lbs of crawfish.
- Ice. I use about 10 lbs of ice per 20 lbs of crawfish.
- Paper towels and trash bags.
- Sides. These are all optional, but I think a good batch of crawfish always includes some delicious sides. At the very least, throw in some corn and potatoes.
- Frozen corn
- Red potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Sausage
- Garlic
- Artichoke
- Brussel Sprouts
Boiled Crawfish Recipe – Summary Version
- Cut up all your side ingredients.
- Purge the crawfish. Wash them with salt (about 1/3 can) and a little water.
- Fill your pot 1/3 to 1/2 full of water and turn on the full fire.
- Add your cajun seasoning to the water and squeeze 4 lemons in the water. I use 5 lbs of spices for a 60 qt pot or 6.5 lbs of spices for an 80 qt pot.
- Add all sides except corn to the pot basket and put the basket in the water.
- When the water starts to boil remove the basket and add crawfish ON TOP of the sides. This means that the sides will go back in the water with the crawfish.
- Put the pot basket in the water.
- STEP 8 AND 9 TOGETHER SHOULD NOT EXCEED 8 MINUTES. Wait for water to boil or (if water hasn’t boiled) about 4 minutes. If you have a high water to crawfish ratio, the water will boil in less time.
- When you see first signs of boiling (or, if water hasn’t boiled, if 4 minutes have passed), start your timer for 4 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, dump 1.5 bags of ice into the pot, along with the frozen corn, and stir.
- Let the mixture soak for 15 minutes, and then start testing for spiciness. When you’ve reached your desired spice level, serve! I typically let my crawfish soak for about 30 minutes.
- If you have more crawfish to boil, remove any excess water from the pot to bring it back to your starting level.
- Add more cajun seasoning. If your last batch was too spicy, go for .5 to 1 lb additional seasoning. If it was just right, add 1.5 lbs. If you need more spice, add 2 to 2.5 lbs.
- Start back at step 5 until you’re all done!
Boiled Crawfish Recipe – Detailed Version
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
I like to get all the ingredients ready before doing anything. Cut all the onions, lemons, mushrooms and potatoes in half. Cut the sausage into bite-size pieces.
Next, clean the crawfish. Sprinkle a bunch of salt on the crawfish, cover them with water and let them soak until you’re ready to cook them. I generally drain the water after a bit and wash them with the hose again, just to get them real clean.
Step 2: Start Heating the Water
Note: If you are using aluminum equipment for the first time, boil water for 30 minutes, dump it out and then start from step 1. This cleans the aluminum and creates an oxygen barrier.
I fill my pot about 1/2 full. It depends on how many crawfish you want to boil at one time, but just make sure the water will cover all the crawfish (and sides) when you put them in later. Also, add some extra water to account for boil off. When you have your water ready and on the burner, turn on the burner to full strength.
Step 3: Add Seasoning to Water
As the water starts to get warm, mix in your seasoning. It’s going to seem like a lot of seasoning for your first batch. I put 5 lbs of spices in my 60 qt pot that is half-filled with water. If you are using an 80 qt pot, go for 6 or 6.5 lbs.
Step 4: Add Sides
Once the spices have been mixed in, squeeze your lemons into the pot and toss them in the basket. Fill your basket with all the sides except the corn. The water should not be boiling yet, just warm.
Step 5: Boil the Sides
Let the sides sit in the water until the water boils. (The propane should still be on full strength.) When the water starts boiling, take out the basket. Now the fun begins!
Step 6: Add Crawfish to the Basket
Add crawfish until the basket is about 3/4 full.
IMPORTANT: Add the crawfish on TOP of the sides in the basket. Do NOT remove your sides from the basket. (Other recipes err on this point.)
Step 7: Add Crawfish Basket to the Pot
Step 8: Boil the Crawfish
IMPORTANT: Steps 8A and 8B should together take no more than 8 minutes.
Step 8A – Bring the water back to a boil. Adding the crawfish to the pot will cause the water to cool, so we want to bring it back to a boil as fast as possible. This means that your burner should be on full strength. With my high pressure burner and 60 qt pot, it takes about 4 minutes to get the water back to a boil. With a smaller boiler, it can take longer. If you’ve added your crawfish and your water isn’t boiling after 4 minutes, proceed to step 8B.
Step 8B – When you see the water boiling (or if the crawfish have been in the water for 4 minutes), start a new 4 minute timer. When the 4 minutes are up, SHUT OFF THE FIRE! Leave the pot sitting on the burner. Note: If you have a large pot, the crawfish may have only been in the water for 5 minutes at this point. Resist the temptation to overcook them. Once your 4 minute timer has gone off, shut off the heat.
Step 9: Shock ‘Em
(I learned this technique from a real Cajun, so you know it’s good.) After you shut off the burner, dump 1.5 bags of ice on the crawfish, and add the corn. Mix throughly.
You might ask why we’re adding ice to a boiling pot. The answer is that we don’t want to overcook the crawfish, but we do want them to soak in the delicious marinade we’ve created. The ice brings the temperature down, so the bugs stop cooking but can continue to soak up all the good spices.
Step 10: Soak’Em
Now this is where you get to decide how spicy you want your crawfish. I would let them soak 15 minutes, then every few minutes test one out to see if it is spicy enough. Just let them keep soaking until you like the flavor. I usually let mine soak for 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 11: Serve the Crawfish!
That’s it! Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
(Optional) Step 12: Prepare the Next Batch
If you have more crawfish, well lucky you! Let’s cook them. Your pot now has too much water after all the ice we’ve dumped in, so take a pitcher or cup and get rid of a little bit of excess water. Bring the level to where it was at the start of the first batch.
Next, add more spices! How much? Well, here is a scale to use for the 60 qt pot. I add 1.5 pounds if my first batch was spot on. I add more if they were not spicy enough (2 to 2.5 lbs) and less if they were too spicy (.5 to 1 lbs).
You are good to go! Start from step 4 above and repeat until you are out of crawfish!!
Appendix A: Where To Buy Crawfish Online
Unfortunately, I don’t live in Louisiana anymore, so I have plenty of experience obtaining crawfish in other states. Here are some places I have used. You can generally save more money by doing freight delivery to the airport. I have had success with this, but it was a pain so I just pay the extra money for the door-to-door service.
Fruge Farms (www.cajuncrawfish.com)
Pros:
These guys are great! They are my favorite. Customer service is excellent! They send them VERY well packaged via FedEx or freight. If you call they will usually give you $10 off if you ask.
Cons:
They are generally a little more expensive than others.
Louisiana Crawfish Company (www.lacrawfish.com)
Pros:
Crawfish were a good size and of good quality. Items arrived on time. Cheaper than others.
Cons:
The packaging was not great. They just used sacks in cardboard boxes, although it wasn’t a huge issue.
Buy Locally Via a Seafood Market
I live in Austin now, and I can get crawfish whenever they are in season. I go to Fiesta Mart, which usually has best prices in town. Go Friday at 11am, which is when they get them in stock. (I’d call ahead to confirm though). I’ve also bought crawfish from Randall’s on occasion. If crawfish aren’t a fixture at your grocery store, ask a local seafood market if they will order them for you. It might be cheaper than the options above. I was able to do this in D.C. and in Austin.
If you live in Austin – Louisiana Wild (http://www.louisianawild.com/
Found out about these guys this year. Haven’t used them yet but I know someone that did with good results.
Pros:
Good prices! Will deliver to you home the day of you boil!
Cons:
Only available in Austin
Austin Mud Bugs (http://www.austinmudbugs.com)
Another Austin Option. I haven’t used them, but I have me them and they are really nice. I think they will cater cooked crawfish if you don’t want to mess with anything.
Appendix B: What Equipment to Use
Check out our recommendations page: Crawfish Boil Recommended Equipment
Hope you enjoy!!!
delicious bugs / sexy chef!
How long do you let the vegetables boil before you take out the basket and add the crawfish?
I stick the veggies in and turn on the burner. I add the bugs when the water starts to boil. If the water is really warm and thus boils faster I may let the veggies boil for a few minutes longer before adding the bugs.
All in all I would say it’s about 10-20 minutes. The potatoes are really the only issue, so if you are really concerned test the potatoes to see if they are slightly soft, remember they will remain in the water for an additional 20+ minutes, so they don’t need to be done. If you mess it up and they are undercooked, just toss them in the next batch!
-Good Luck!
Wow! Followed your advise and everything was delicious.
Thanks!
No Salt in the pot???
The spices I add already contain salt, so I don’t think it is necessary, but by all means go for it if you think your crawfish are not salty enough.
This recipe is dead on. I lived in TX/LA for a number of years and tried to soak up all the “secrets” from every chef I spoke to… this article pretty much sums up the best practices! I actually put carrots and celery into mine as well to complete the mirepoix.
I haven’t tried carrots(I have done crazy things like pork tenderloin and peppers), that’s a good tip, so simple! I will try it out in two weeks when I have my annual Big Boil.
What spices do you use?
My favorite is Louisiana Crawfish, Crab and Shrimp Boil, but I have also used Zatarain’s with just as much success. If you order online from say http://www.cajuncrawfish.com it comes with seasoning included which works just fine. Good Luck!
Does shocking the bugs with ice cause them to go completely cold? I dont like cold ones.
No. It will only drop the temperature a little bit, just enough to stop the cooking part. When you serve them they will still be really hot.
This will be my first crawfish boil & your site has been very helpful. I am doing about 20 lbs so is that about 2 batches in the 80 qt pot? How long a process is this going to be?
2 10lb batches is kind of small for an 80 qt pot, so you need to make a few adjustment or do 1 20lb batch. If you go for the 2 smaller(what I recommend so you can make adjustments if needed) you will use less water and thus less spices. Also, your cook time will be faster because it won’t take long to bring the crawfish to a boil. For water you want just enough to cover all the ingredients when loaded up(if you come up short just add some more water when everything is in there, no harm). I would put 2.5-3lbs of spice to start(I like em spicy though). Then proceed as usual but keep an eye on that pot and make sure you don’t boil for more than 4 minutes. Other than that, you should be good.
If you go for the 1 batch, add a lot of spice, 4-5 lbs, and then test them every couple of minutes during the soaking stage for the level of spice you require. It’s easier to have too much spice and then take them out than it is to add spice. Good Luck! let us know how it goes!
I’ve seen many recipes add butter or oil to help with the release of tail meat when the peeling and eating starts. What are your thoughts on this? We will be using your recipe today for sure. Very helpful website. Thanks.
I’ve never done butter, but I’ve used vinegar to aid peeling with crabs though. It’s still early in the year so the shells won’t be too hard. My advice, don’t worry about it, you will be fine without either one. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Crawfish turned out very well! I was surprised how easy this was. Seasoning was perfect.
I ran into a small issue by using too small of a basket. 10 lbs of crawfish + sides is too much for a 30qt basket. They fit in the basket dry, but once they boil I guess they swell up and they started to overflow. Next time I’ll do a smaller batch or get a bigger basket.
Thanks again!
Good to here. A good rule is about 1-1.5 lbs per gallon capacity. So for a 60qt pot don’t do more than 22.5lbs, 80 qt 30lbs etc.
Well im going to have a boil this friday my first boil nothing to big something small like 6-8lbs. My question is about how much spice do you recomed for that small of a batch and what kind of side other than corn and red potatoes could i put in the pot.
Mushrooms, garlic, broccoli, onions, etc. Try anything that is good spicy.
For 6-8 lbs, it’s tough not knowing other variables like pot size,etc. but a good rule is .5-1 lb per gallon of water, with 1lb being really spicy. As I have mentioned before, a lot of the spiciness comes during the soaking phase, so just keep checking for desired spiciness and take them out when you are satisfied. Good Luck!
Doing my first boil this weekend with 10 pounds of crawfish. Thank you for the great write-up! I have a couple questions. First, can you give an estimate for quantity of sides used with a 10 pound boil? What do you do to prepare the artichoke? And what about using fresh vs. frozen corn? Thanks!
Corn, you want frozen precooked, the cold corn aids the cooling of the water.
Qty, depends on how hungry your guest are, but just use what you would do when cooking any other dinner. I go about 1lb sausage to 8lbs crawfish. The other stuff I just eyeball it.
Just cut the thorns off the artichoke and toss it in.
Good Luck!
hey im getting 60lbs and have a 80qt cooker. can i break that down into two cooks?
You can, but 30lb is gonna be close to the max I imagine (use less water to prevent boil over). If it were me I would do 3 batches of 20lbs, but don’t let that deter you(some people wanna spend less time cooking).
Hey. I have everything for my boil in two day except for the spices. I couldn’t find anything but the 3oz box of Zatarain’s at the grocery store. Any help would be great!
Tough one, I have never made my own spice before. I would search for a recipe online, or check other store/seafood markets. Or shoot the guys at cajuncrawfish.com an email they are really nice and may give you their recipe for the spices. It will have cayenne, salt, allspice, red pepper I imagine. Good luck, post back your results it may help others, thanks
How do you purge them?
Most crawfish you buy will be prepurged, this is the process of washing them in aerated water for a day. I don’t do that. My purging is not technically purging, but rather doing a rinse. To do this, on the day of the boil put them in a cooler, spread salt all over them, spray with water and let them soak until you are ready to cook them.
Life long resident of LA, and live in the NE now, so wanted to cross check a couple of things, and found this technique to be spot on. Only other thing I would add, I reuse the netting from a bag of onions to put the sides in for each batch and keep them on the top…so they aren’t floating around everywhere. …technique only.
Travis, Thanks for the tip. I choose to mix the sides in because I just dump it all on a table and left everyone pick through the stuff. If you use buffet style serving this would work great!
What’s that pot you use? When can I buy one? Thanks.
I just added a page for equipment recommendations. Check it out, boit equipment recommendations.
Thanks Victor for all the great tips. I live in Austin too, married a Cajun girl and am having my 3rd annual boil this weekend. I like to read as many techniques as I can to get prepped; this year we doubled the guests and doubled the crawfish (70lbs+). I’ve not tried the ice in the pot to shock them and allow to soak longer, but will try it. Initially I soaked for a short while then dusted them in a cooler, then last year I soaked a little longer and used some of the liquid boil to up the spice factor – it worked but the second batch was just a tad overdone (only I felt that but you KNOW how they should be).
I did want to say to find the big sacks of spices, try a sporting goods store with a good BBQ/Camping section. I get mine from Academy every year. I’ve had great luck with Quality Seafood in town, getting tips from the guys at the store as well as the gloriously huge crawfish (and they really do purge them for you).
My question is I’ve seen on a couple sites that folks like to boil the sausage separate, that the sausage can affect the taste of the crawfish. I’ve never experienced that before but since I’ve always boiled them together I wouldn’t know the difference. Have you ever heard of this or tried sans-sausage?
FYI my boil consists of crawfish, little bit of shrimp, small red potatoes, corn, yellow onion, sack of pearl onions, garlic cloves, lemons, mushrooms, smoked sausage and artichokes; I always try a few new things so this year tossing in some green beans, cauliflower, okra, sweet potatoes and oranges. I have a 120qt pt and dual burner…it’ll all fit!
Appreciate your guide, some really good tips. Happy Boiling!
Thanks Marc for the info. I have also never tried the sans sausage approach so I can’t comment there, but it’s an interesting thought. Report back if you try it. Some good ideas for additional sides too (sweet potatoes, humm..); I may actually eat cauliflower now, gonna have to try that out.
What is the diameter and height of your 80 qt pot? I borrowed a huge pot with a basket but there is no marking to indicate size and the owner can’t remember. Thanks! Also, do you eat the artichoke? What is your thought on using oranges instead of lemons?
20.5″ dia, 16″ H.
Eat the artichoke like you would a steamed one. Don’t bother adding it if you are not going to eat it. Oranges? Go for it!
Did the boil yesterday and it was a success! Thanks for your instructions. No one ate the potatoes so I was wondering if I can just do without it next time? Someone did suggest using sweet potatoes instead and I might have to try that next time.
Were they not good or did you have a non-potatoe loving crowd? Potatoes don’t add much flavor, so next time buy fewer or none at all. Never done sweet potatoes, might be good might be weird, give it a shot and report back!
-Derek
Thanks a ton for this fantastic article!!
Question…When is the best time to order live crawfish? I plan on my first family crawfish boil this saturday and wanted to have them delivered friday (the day before cooking). How do you keep them alive overnight? Or do you recommend Saturday delivery?
Thanks again!!
I used to get them delivered Friday(sometimes I buy locally on Friday), just keep them in a cool place in original packaging and you should be fine. You may have fewer survivors, but it will hardly be noticeable, not worth the extra $$ for Saturday delivery IMO. Good luck!
-Derek
I first tried it with a half a dozen I caught at the river boiled them for 5 min then I let them soak for 15 min but I did not put ice so when I cracked them open the meat was still greenish. I’m not sure what I did wrong..did I overcook them?
hmm, greenish is not an indicator of overcooking. Overcooked crawfish break apart easy and are hard to peel. The greenish I bet is just from not being purged.
I am going to be doing my own bug boil for the first time and plan on using this recipe. I saw someone do something similar and now it’s my turn to fly solo…wish me luck!
Good Luck! It’s not an exact science so if you make a few mistakes here and there just go with it, it will be fine!
Thinking of making crawfish boil 1st time with your instructions for Memorial Day. How do you keep them alive until Monday? Or is it better to buy it Sunday for a Monday boil?
Get them Monday or Sunday if you can, but if you get them earlier just keep them on ice(ie cold), and make sure to add new ice. You may get more dead ones, but there should be ample live ones after 2-3 days.
Thanks for the great write up. I lived in ATX for 10 years and have eaten my fair share, but never boiled my own. Going to give it a go for the wifey’s 30th on Memorial Day here in NorCal. Fortunately lacrawish.com ships Southwest freight, so we are getting them Sunday night… 40 lbs.
I could use help with number of batches and amount of spice for a bunch of new crawfish eaters.
I have a 50 qt pot, but the basket is only about 2/3 the size of the pot.
Based on your comments above:
– 50 qt = 12.5 gallons
– Rule of 1.5 lbs (crawfish) * 12.5 gallons = ~ 19 lbs per batch max (2 batch minimum)
– 3 batches or 40 lbs / 3 = ~13 lbs per batch might be safer
Would you go two or three batches?
Three seems safer, but three hours of cooking might be excessive.
For spices, I see your rule of 0.5 – 1 lb spices per gallon water and 1/3 full of my 50 qt = 4 gallons = 2 lbs of spice min, 4 lbs of spice max.
I’m thinking 3 lbs to split the difference and then dial in the taste with the soak time.
Onions, potatoes, corn, and sausage as sides and some grilled hot dogs for the kids and crawfish adverse. I’ll report back!
If it were me I would go 2 batches because of time, but if you are nervous just do 3, it will give you one extra chance to dial in your process if you have the time (just start earlier and make the first batch smaller than the 2nd and 3rd when more guest are around). 3lbs for a 50qt pot seems fine to me, you can always add more on the next batch and soak longer to spice it up. Good Luck! -Derek
Awesome write-up!
Wanted to comment on my experiments – green beans were great although I’d wait to throw in after off the burner to maintain some firmness. Cauliflower – put in too long and fell apart…plus I could taste the flavor in some of the potatoes (skip next year), okra soggy mess and apparently no one likes them but me (skip), sweet potatoes were a huge hit – next year nothing but mini reds and hunks of sweets; oranges didn’t add any distinct flavor will try again and throw in a couple late as the pulp cooks away quick. I will say my first boil with a 120 qt pot….more spices! First round was good; second round we dumped it in heavy was spicy perfection.
Oh and I was too chicken to try cooking the sausage seperate…think it adds to the flavor too much. Next year’s boil is moving to Portland, OR (we’re moving) we shall see how that goes!
Thanks for the update Mark, gonna definitely try some sweet potatoes next time. Part of me thinks the sausage adds a little fat to the water and really adds to the “sucking the head” experience, if you are in to that kinda thing. Good Luck in OR, that place is amazing (I go at least once a year).
I use a laundry garmet basket to hold all the corn, sausage, mushrooms, celery, potatoes, etc. This keeps all items together and holds up well in the boiling process.
I am hosting my first ever crawfish boil in a couple of weeks. It is for my LSU grad school and we are hosting about 50 people. We are going with about 3 lbs. per person, so 150 lbs. of crawfish. I know I can’t boil them all at the same time. How can I keep them warm while I am cooking the rest?
You can store them in coolers if you cook them all before they are consumed. They will stay warm for a while if all you have is a plastic bin to store them as well. I always go from pot to table and just cook during the event, I am not organized enough to do everything up front. Good Luck!
Great article!
Question: We want to keep vegetables/corn/potatoes separate and don’t want to add crawfish on top. Whats the recipe or length of time for just the sides??
Thanks!
Potatoes take the longest, so you need to boil for at least 20 minutes. Just test the potatoes every so often after 15-20min, when the potatoes are ready you can pull them. Warning, a lot of the side may not be as tasty all the way through because you are not letting them soak. If you have an extra pot for just sides, then boil for 20, and let soak for 15-20. You can add the corn after you stop the boil because it’s already cooked.
where do you find precooked frozen corn
Any supermarket in the frozen veggie section. I get mine in bags at Fiesta Mart.
I live in Austin, TX. What sausage do you recommend? Also is May 16th too late in the season to get crawfish here?
My husband’s family does an annual crawfish boil, but we have never hosted, and the “cook” will be out of town for our shindig so we are on our own. Thanks so much for the tips. We have never seen the addition of the ice — he just turns off the burner after it comes to a boil and puts a lid on it to soak, so I am intrigued by your technique. The one frustrating thing is that the green beans and mushrooms soak up the spice so much that they are almost impossible to eat! The potatoes help because they aren’t too spicy so we take a bite of mushroom/green bean followed by a bite of potato. He has done anywhere from 150 lbs to 400 lbs of crawfish and has tried cooking the mushrooms first before all the spices get too hot and then also at the end. Any suggestions? We love mushrooms and green beans and want to be able to enjoy them.
With so many lbs of crawfish he does several boils all afternoon/evening so people just take turns going up to the table when he dumps some out. He keeps them in an ice chest and they stay warm so that when people want them they can have some, and when the ice chest gets low he does another batch. It is a great way to spend a day, visiting, drinking beer and grazing all day!!
BTW this year he bought a table at Academy that is perfect — it is round and has a space in the middle that holds a trash bag. It can either be at standing height or dropped down so you could sit at it. It is wonderful and can just be hosed down afterwards.
Thanks again — wish us luck — the family that is always at his will be at ours so we will be heavily “judged”!!
Every year is different, but I’ve done boils in June before. Based off the long winter May should be fine, worst case the bugs are a little harder to peel. I’m doing a boil May 9th, and I expect no problems.
For the spicy shrooms, perhaps you are using too much spice to start. You could always add them later in the boil or when you cut the fire to lessen the total time in the spicy water. I don’t have a great sausage recommendation, I usually get the stuff that’s comes in bulk (beef smoked) because it’s less expensive and split between spicy and regular.
Good luck, I need one of those tables!
I’m having my first boil next Saturday, and I plan on following your recipe. Everything looks fantastic, and I’m getting excited to see if I can pull this off. I noticed that you mention boiling a pot of water for 30 minutes if it is the first time you are using the pot to create an oxygen barrier. What happens if this step is not followed? I’m not sure that I will have enough time to do this before the boil. Thanks.
The crawfish might taste a bit funny. It may have that aluminum metal smell taste. I’m not 100% sure, as I haven’t had to do this in many years. Go Stainless!
Doing a boil today. Gonna try these techniques and see how it goes. My first big boil, wish me luck. A little over 100 lbs. Thanks for the deatiled advise. Sounds easy enough.
This worked great for our Sunday school fellowship this weekend thanks
Followed recipe to the tee and ot rocked even down to drinking beer awsome cant do no better everyone was happpy thanx brother
Tried your recipe last night and it was fantastic. Reminds me of when I was growing up. Seasoned well and a lot of juices in the heads. The only question I have is do you keep your pot covered at all times?
Good question. I keep the pot covered whenever the burners are on and uncovered the rest of the time.
Our 1st time doing a Crawfish boil for friends and everything turned out great. I’m so glad we found this site to help guide us. We made minor alterations/ additions based upon friends suggestions but this gave us everything we needed to know to pull things off. We like our crawfish a little on the Spicier side so we ended up adding more seasoning each batch we did and we got the result we wanted.
I had a friend teach me to do my seasoning in a cooler after the bugs are cooked. I usually use Louisiana Swamp Fire for that. But I do use some liquid Zataran’s crab boil to cook them in. I never can remember the proper time to cook. Seems to me as they are seasoning in the cooler with the lid closed they continue to cook. I would think to follow your lead that bring them back to a boil for 4 minutes, shut off the heat, soak for 15 minutes and then put them in the cooler with the Swamp Fire. What says you ?
instead of ice, I’ve used the boil boss. It sprays water on outside of pot instead of diluting the recipe with ice.
here’s link – https://theboilboss.com
Left over boil potato make a great potato salad the next day/ yum yum
Re: Glenn Swiatek
I personally dislike the cooler method. What I find is that you only get seasoning on the outside of the bugs. When you eat them your lips get hot as fire and the meat is bland. Spicy yes, but not really a good experience. Remember the goal is spicy meat and juices an no seasoning on your fingers or lips.
Re: Boil Boss
Thanks Andrew I actually have the BB and have been using it for a year now. I am updating the site to reflect that version of the recipe. It works great, but it is a little messier if you don’t have a good place for the water to drain.