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Crawfish Boil Recipe

About this time every year, I get the craving when ever I smell fresh live crawfish boiling. To me they are a delicacy that once you get past the looks, you will enjoy a flavor that is heads and tails (pun intended:)) above other seafood (IMHO). I ate 186 lbs (almost 85 kilos) of crawfish last year.

I will be able to get Fresh Crawfish here in North Texas reasonably priced within a couple of weeks.

Does anyone have a good cajun crawfish boil recipe they would be willing to share?

The one I use follows:

Recipe for 4 pounds

3 gallons cold water
4 Tbsp Salt
24 whole black peppercorns
10 bay leaves
2 large lemons, sliced
2 medium onions, quartered
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
20 whole cloves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup fresh basil
8 sprigs fresh parsley
4 Tbsp sugar
4 cayenne peppers (this is the heat, so put as many in as you wish, I usually use 10)
4 lbs live crawfish

Put all ingredients except crawfish, in large stock poton high heat and bring to a hard rolling boil for 5 minutes. Reduce to low rolling boil and add crawfish. Once the liquid starts to boil again, wait exactly 3 minutes then rurn off heat. Let stand for 5 minutes, drain and serve....get ready to " suck some heads and pinch some tails"

Bon Apetite!!


This recipe can be used for shrimp as well.
 
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AlabamaJack said:
Was going to say something smart like "you don't know what you are missing" but instead I will say I am sorry.
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Well, hey, ya know i just don't like the taste of 'em. I don't know why, though. They make me wanna gag. And yes, i have tried them....unfortunately for me. My mom always says 'good...more for me then' so it all works out.:)
 
Hey AJ... I had to post this for ya... this was from Father's Day a year or so ago. 60lbs crawfish, 30lbs mixed sausages (pork&venison; pork&alligator; kielbasa and a couple others...), 30lbs shrimp, 20lbs taters, and about 10lbs corn... few onions...

Got several relatives that have never had them try some, but still had a couple hold-outs...LOL

This was what was left at the end of the evening... sent doggie bags home with the folks who wanted some:


Crawfish_Boil by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr


And this is just a reminder to myself of why I need to do it again:


Suppah by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr
 
PapaBill said:
Hey AJ... I had to post this for ya... this was from Father's Day a year or so ago. 60lbs crawfish, 30lbs mixed sausages (pork&venison; pork&alligator; kielbasa and a couple others...), 30lbs shrimp, 20lbs taters, and about 10lbs corn... few onions...

Got several relatives that have never had them try some, but still had a couple hold-outs...LOL

This was what was left at the end of the evening... sent doggie bags home with the folks who wanted some:


Crawfish_Boil by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr


And this is just a reminder to myself of why I need to do it again:


Suppah by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr
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these are class act pics,well done sir well done
 
Mmmm
Crawduds. Im miss them. Here in SoCal there's a bunch of new venues that sell them now. Used to be certain all you can eats that could
Boil them
Right. But now with the high demand. They don't have it all you can eat no more. I love when my auntie goes back to visit and gets us a 5gal full of cooked duds. I miss it
 
I found that the water is key. No matter what size pot you're using ( I use an 80 qt), fill the pot only until the water level is wrist deep, with fingers out like a karate chop. Works with every large crawfish boil pot. Then I keep it simple.... one whole large container of Zatarain's Extra Spicy boil, small bottle of liquid boil, and three boil bags. That is enough for one sack of crawfish (40 lbs) The rest is all up to you.... onions, garlic, potatoes, six to ten habaneros or whatever your favorite pod is.... etc. Always remember to cut the potatoes and score the garlic around its equator so the spices get in. Otherwise you'll just have spicy skin. I always bring my seasoned water to a boil and taste it before I add crawfish, that way I can adjust the spices if I need to. Either way, you ask 20 people how to boil perfect crawfish, you'll get 20 different recipes.... just like jambalaya and gumbo! You know how that goes...

8476671529_94931f2a24_b.jpg


BTW.... Crawfish used to be .60 cents a pound here... but due to the ever growing popularity in states outside of the gulf region, we'll probably never see them below $2.00/lb live here again. But I'm happy that our culture is spreading so far and wide.
 
I saw your other post and these look scrumptious...

they want between $90-100 for a 30-35 lb sack at one of the grocery stores out here..
 
It was my job to boil all of the seafood for family and neighborhood gatherings since I was about 12 years old! Now, we boil over a 1000 pounds of seafood a year between family, friends and neighborhood get-togethers.



I make my water twice as salty, twice as peppery, twice the potency of every seasoning or flavor that you want the crawfish, shrimp or crabs to have. Foolproof! Born and raised here and I have never made my boil seasonings from scratch. (Always wanted to try) Always had Zatarain's or Rex products. The powders are as good as the liquid boil. Many folks down here do what Phil does by using a combination of them. I use very little lemon but, have some sliced at the table for those who like more of it.



For crawfish, I bring the water to a boil with all of the seasonings in the water, dump the crawfish in, return to a boil for about 4-6 minutes and shut off the propane. Let em soak for 30 minutes to an hour depending on size and how full the heads are. For shrimp, I shut off the fuel as soon as the water starts to boil again.



My favorite "additions" are the onions and garlic cut in half. They are very sweet with that crab-boil flavor! Put the onions in about a minute before shutting off the propane or they’ll fall apart if you boil-n-soak too long. Add the garlic in the beginning when you add your seasonings to the water. Most folks favorite is the potatoes and ears of corn. I can't have the starches due to diabetes. Adding meat to the boil makes the crawfish greasy. Again, most folks don't mind this. I prefer the sausages boiled in the water after the crawfish have been removed. Takes no longer than boiling hot dogs. Phil adds boudin to his boil at the very end. Thought that was a fantastic idea. Phil and I compared recipes recently and found we shared the additions of some vegetables in our boil. Cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and whatever else you may like.



Sometimes, just as I shut off the propane, I'll dip a sack of oysters in the water for about 15-20 seconds. They pop open just a little and soak up all that Cajun nectar. Man, it might actually be better than the crawfish!
 
Bigoledude said:
It was my job to boil all of the seafood for family and neighborhood gatherings since I was about 12 years old! Now, we boil over a 1000 pounds of seafood a year between family, friends and neighborhood get-togethers.



I make my water twice as salty, twice as peppery, twice the potency of every seasoning or flavor that you want the crawfish, shrimp or crabs to have. Foolproof! Born and raised here and I have never made my boil seasonings from scratch. (Always wanted to try) Always had Zatarain's or Rex products. The powders are as good as the liquid boil. Many folks down here do what Phil does by using a combination of them. I use very little lemon but, have some sliced at the table for those who like more of it.



For crawfish, I bring the water to a boil with all of the seasonings in the water, dump the crawfish in, return to a boil for about 4-6 minutes and shut off the propane. Let em soak for 30 minutes to an hour depending on size and how full the heads are. For shrimp, I shut off the fuel as soon as the water starts to boil again.



My favorite "additions" are the onions and garlic cut in half. They are very sweet with that crab-boil flavor! Put the onions in about a minute before shutting off the propane or they’ll fall apart if you boil-n-soak too long. Add the garlic in the beginning when you add your seasonings to the water. Most folks favorite is the potatoes and ears of corn. I can't have the starches due to diabetes. Adding meat to the boil makes the crawfish greasy. Again, most folks don't mind this. I prefer the sausages boiled in the water after the crawfish have been removed. Takes no longer than boiling hot dogs. Phil adds boudin to his boil at the very end. Thought that was a fantastic idea. Phil and I compared recipes recently and found we shared the additions of some vegetables in our boil. Cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and whatever else you may like.



Sometimes, just as I shut off the propane, I'll dip a sack of oysters in the water for about 15-20 seconds. They pop open just a little and soak up all that Cajun nectar. Man, it might actually be better than the crawfish!
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Oysters.... very very interesting... and kudos on making your water twice as seasoned as you want your bugs. Works every time. If I choke on the water and snot goes flying, then the bugs will be perfect, even for the kids!
 
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