Crawfish Boil Recipes

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.

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.

Steps:

• In a very large pot heat 3 gallons of water until nearly boiling. Add dry and liquid crab boil, squeeze in lemons, then throw in potatoes, garlic and onions. Boil 10 minutes. Add everything else. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Uncover, sprinkle in 1/4 cup salt and 1 tablespoon cayenne, stir it up, cover again and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Line table with newspaper and dig in.
• In a very large pot heat 3 gallons of water until nearly boiling. Add dry and liquid crab boil, squeeze in lemons, then throw in potatoes, garlic and onions. Boil 10 minutes. Add everything else. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Uncover, sprinkle in 1/4 cup salt and 1 tablespoon cayenne, stir it up, cover again and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Line table with newspaper and dig in.
• In a very large pot heat 3 gallons of water until nearly boiling. Add dry and liquid crab boil, squeeze in lemons, then throw in potatoes, garlic and onions. Boil 10 minutes. Add everything else. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Uncover, sprinkle in 1/4 cup salt and 1 tablespoon cayenne, stir it up, cover again and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Line table with newspaper and dig in.
• In a very large pot heat 3 gallons of water until nearly boiling. Add dry and liquid crab boil, squeeze in lemons, then throw in potatoes, garlic and onions. Boil 10 minutes. Add everything else. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Uncover, sprinkle in 1/4 cup salt and 1 tablespoon cayenne, stir it up, cover again and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Line table with newspaper and dig in.

Steps:

• Combine the potatoes, Creole seasoning, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, lemons, boil seasonings bag and onion with 6 quarts cold water in a 14-quart or larger pot with a colander insert. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
• Add the andouille and corn to the pot. Cover and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Add the crawfish, cover again and cook 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. Carefully strain the seafood, sausage and vegetables and serve on a large table covered with newspaper. Season with salt or additional Creole seasoning.

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.

Steps:

• Combine the spice seeds and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth and tie to form sachet.
• In a large pot combine water, salt, pepper, vinegar, lemons, cayenne pepper, onion, celery and spice sachet and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil for 20 minutes. Add crawfish and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and serve with hot sauce.
• Boiling liquid may be cooled, refrigerated, and reused once.

Steps:

• Fill a washtub or ice chest with water and 2 cups of the salt, stir, and place the crawfish in the mix. As they swim around, the salt will cause them to purge themselves of impurities and cleanse their outer shells. (Let them purge for 30 to 40 minutes; they need to stay alive until you're ready to cook them.)
• While that's happening, pour the 12 gallons of water into a 20-gallon pot. Add the remaining salt, the seasoning, cayenne pepper, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and lemons. Boil for 15 minutes. In a basket insert, place half the garlic, half the onions, and half the potatoes. Place the basket in the water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add half the corn and return the water to a boil.
• Drain the crawfish from their purging water, add half of them to the basket, and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and let soak for 10 minutes. Pull out the basket, drain, and dump the basket's contents onto a newspaper-lined table. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Serve crawfish, corn, onions, and garlic to each person.
• Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl, and pour the mixture into a large glass or plastic jar. Seal it so that it's airtight. It will keep indefinitely.