Crawfish Boil

[mrtr33]

Anyone got any good recipes? I've been to a gazillion of them, but this weekend is the first time we're flying solo on a boil. I've already done a google search, I was just looking for personal reflections or opinions.

[denver24]

I don't have a recipe, but I sure would like to attend a crawfish boil someday. Good luck and have fun!

[mrtr33]

Well, come on down! From Denver, it's not that far! Practically only an afternoon's drive away. What's funny is that we were originally planning on doing one with friends and family, but almost everyone has a wedding or something else to do. I'm trying to figure out if the reasons are legitimate, or if they know who's cooking .

I think I've found what I'm looking for. To clarify, it's not so much a recipe, as the process that I'm looking for. I have all the equipment, and am figuring things like this will just take time and experience to master. Planning on drinking plenty of beer during the process. That's step number one in all directions I've been given so far.

[daredog4]

I love em when they are cooked right. I have not personally made them but i have had them several times. Once they were overcooked and became very slimy/mushy and were not that good. The best I have ever had were cooked with some cajun spice to give them a little kick. Good Luck!!

And yes, beer is required at any crawfish fry

[wild]

Crawfish are not indigenous to Arizona so I'm always tossing my traps out when I can. First I flush them with clean water every 5 minutes until the water stays clean (salt if you like). Then I separate the critters into two empty pots, tossing out the dead ones. Small ones are destined for the etouffee and the big boys for the boil. I use a turkey fryer with basket for the boil outside. Figure 3-5 #'s of crawfish per person. Fill the pot half way with clean water. Put the empty basket into the boil pot and get the water to boiling, toss the ingredients in and let it boil for 10 minutes. Toss in the crawfish and stir them a bit until the boil starts up again. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the burner and cover the pot for 25 minutes. Pull the basket out and let drain.

I usually cover the table with butcher paper so that all I have to do is dump the crawfish in the middle of the table and let everyone chow-down. Good eatin'.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

A question I can answer.

We do a crawfish boil at least once a week in season.

You need plenty beer. sack of crawfish, salt, red pepper, boil seasoning, lemon, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, corn, celery, garlic, sausage(smoked), and two bags of ice.

Flush clean the crawfish in a ice chest, thats simply fill ice chest with crawfish add water the salt(about half a container). Let it sit for 5 minutes then drain, repeat this until empty water drains pretty clean. This step if done will let the crawfish taste cleaner and sweeter.

While doing this step fill your pot half way with water add salt and red pepper and bring to a boil. once boiling you want to taste the water. You should have enough salt to taste but you should have enough red pepper to where you can barely stand it. You can add the garlic whole cloves, onions whole, potatoes whole, lemon cut in half, and celery whole. These are all options. Bring back to boil for 5 minutes. Then add cut sausage about 3 inches long and mushrooms. Bring back to boil. Boil until potatoes are tender, fork goes through them easily.
Remove and keep warm. You have an option here, you can either sprinkle crawfish boil seasoning on them or add liquid crab boil to the water when you add the sausage. We prefer to add the seasoning after they are boiled, that way you can adjust how hot you want them or split the items in half and have two different seasoned batches, one with and one without.

Now, Keep the same water but add more of the crawfish boil seasoning to the water. Taste it should almost burn you lips, bring to a boil. Add your clean crawfish we put the fire just about as high as it will go on the pot. Cover the pot and do not take lid off! When steam is coming out from between the lid and pot really good, like an old fashion tea kettle, turn the heat off completely. Let soak for ten minutes with the lid on. The next steps are key to good crawfish. Take one out at ten minutes and put the lid back on. Eat the crawfish, if it is seaoned like you like, if not let it soak for 5 more minutes and repeat until they are like you like them. You don't have to get them real seasoning because you can always sprinkle the crawfish boil seasoning on after they are boiled to make the killer hot ones. When you like the taste, take your ice and dump it in the pot, this will stop the cooking process, pop the shells making it easier to peel, and soak up more of the boil water. After 3 minutes in the ice remove crawfish and spread on table. Add seasoning to half if you want them really HOT!!!

Don't forget to drink the beer during the whole process!

Enjoy Rich

By the way don't be afraid to boil a sack in two boils. Just remember to taste the water before the second boil and add seasoning if needed. For some reason the second boil always come out better. Hotter or to much beer?

[FactoredReality]

Wow now I want to try a crawfish boil. Thanks, this has me drooling with an hour before my lunch break.

[mrtr33]

Don't forget to drink the beer during the whole process!

Thanks a ton. I think this is what I'm going to go with. The cheapest I can find in town right now is $1.79/lb for live ones. From what I've seen, they are a pretty descent size this season. I debated whether to try this now or wait till next year (crawfish season is almost over), but decided to go ahead and give it a go.

I've never had onions, sausage, or mushrooms in the mix, but everything I've read says that it's great. Looking forward to trying. We're not super-super-spicy people, but thanks for the tips. I think my pot is 42 quarts or something like that. Considering I had a 25-35 pound bag, about how much do you think I could cook at one time?

Crawfish boils are something that I've always attended, and seen done a million different ways, but have never done myself. They are tasty. They take some time to learn how to peel quickly and to get all the meat out of the tail (I also work on the good sized claws), but they are worth it! Thanks again.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

Sometimes when I boil, I taste enough crawfish that all I eat with everyone else is the onion, potatoes, and sausage. You can also add carrots with the sausage. onions are a must!!

Any other questions just ask!

Rich

[mrtr33]

Sweet. I'll try taking some pictures, but keep in mind, I'll probably be drinking beer and smoking cigars all day in preparation. We went to get the boil seasonings, and just went with the normal Zatarain's boil. Each crawfish place here in town sells their own "blend", though.

I am stoked on adding the mushrooms. Never done that before.

Any other tips you can think of? Again, I never thought this was going to be hard, but doing something for the first time......

[bigwhiteash]

Not sure if it translates over.. but every time I cook blue crabs, or Frogmore Stew..(Sausage Potatos, shrimp, corn on the cob), it is ESSENTIAL to add a full bottle of beer to the water.

[nhcigarfan]

Always wanted to try a boil. But right now I can get live lobster at less per pound than I can get live crawfish shipped in.

[mrtr33]

Well, it is done.

Got started early with the preparations. Picked up 25 pounds around noon, and put them on ice. Fired up the pot around 5:30. Made 3 batches. We put the potatoes in first, then after the water was boiling, then we added the crawfish, corn, mushrooms, and onions. Just cooked the veggies in with the crawfish. Didn't add enough spice the first batch. Got better as I added more spices.

The card tables we were supposed to be borrowing never materialized, so, I threw together a little 4' X 4' 2X4 table, with a quarter-inch plywood top. I then covered and stapled newspaper to the top of it. I figured even if it ran through the paper, it's still a cheap-o table.

Overall it was quite nice. I'd do a few things different the next time. Only have about another month of boiling crawfish, though. Then it's shrimp season....

[bigwhiteash]

MmMMmmmmm shrimp!


My favorite vegetable!

[CAJUNBLAZE]

Yeah, when you taste the water before you add the crawfish, it really has to burn, they always get better after every batch.

What did you learn that you would do different?

Rich

[mrtr33]

Two things. I think I would have started earlier (the first batch didn't come out until about 6:30). I would also definitely add more vegetables. The corn on the cob is good, but I love the potatoes, and those mushrooms. What about adding green beans, asparagus, what else? More experimenting is necessary.

But now I'm hooked. We might try to do one more boil (to those of you not in the know, there's about a month left in the season), but I'm really interested in boiling up some shrimp.

Thanks again, Rich!

[Diesel Grinch]

Just wrong talking about them and then shrimp. We have a Crawfish fest up here every year. Stop going as the $$$ got to much for a family of 4.

I was think of how to say this as I didn't want all the comments. After eating the tail do you suck the juice?

One of these days I'm going to Louisiana. Just love the food.

DG

[mrtr33]

After eating the tail do you suck the juice?

One of these days I'm going to Louisiana. Just love the food.

I'll say it. You want to know if we suck the heads? I do, but it depends. A common misconception is that when you suck the heads you get brains and eyeballs. The shell is actually hollow. All you are getting when you suck the juice out of the body is just the flavor of the spice used in the boil. And it depends on the boil mixture. Some people just use Zatarain's as a boil mixture, but others are as particular about their mix as a Texan is about their chili, or a west Tennessean is about their BBQ sauce. I don't ever get sick of the Zatarain's stuff, but considering the crawfish season is only about 4-5 months long, I usually can't.

Come on down! I would say probably the best time of year to come down is in the spring time, closely followed by the fall. The weather is bearable then, the heat and humidity are what summers are like in other parts of the country, and there aren't as many mosquitoes. Plus, it's absolutely gorgeous. About the only downside to springs and falls here is that there are some pretty gnarly thunderstorms. Aside from that, it's great.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

You want to try boiling your vegs before your crawfish, somehow they seem sweeter. Those mushrooms never taste better!! Trying out new things can only make it better, but watch out for soft vegs they will ruin your water. If I was doing softer vegs, I would put them in the washed crawfish sack, that way I could take them out when ready and have more control of the cooking process.
Always add more, alot more seasoning then you think you need on the first boil. You can always soak for less time, but remember the next boil will always be hotter than the first. Glad you enjoyed.

Rich

I have put a firm fish in a crawfish sack and boiled it after the vegs but before the crawfish. I'll let you try that one!!!

[mrtr33]

In just about all the boils I've attended, they put the potatoes in a few minutes before putting the crawfish in. Then after they put the bugs in, they put in veggies. Didn't notice any sogginess of anything, except maybe the onions. Everything was great.

I guess my only hesitation doing all the veggies first is that they'll get cold while waiting for the bugs to cook. I don't know. To each their own.