Crawfish Mold Recipes

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.

COLD CRAWFISH DIP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the green onions, and cook until wilted. Add the crawfish tails, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese and mayonnaise until well blended. I like to use an electric mixer. Season with hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce until the mixture is pink in color. When the crawfish have cooled slightly, stir them and the butter into the dip along with the rest of the green onion. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight to properly blend the flavors.

SEAFOOD MOLD

Steps:

• Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water and let sit.
• Mix liquid crab boil (vary amount according to taste) with 1/4 cup water in small bowl. Soak seafood in crab boil mixture. (If using shrimp, cook until done first, then let soak.)
• Chop onions and pepper in food processor or blender. Slowly melt butter in skillet and sauté onion and pepper mixture until soft and onions are clear. Remove from pan and set aside.
• In the same pan used to cook the onions, add soup and cream cheese and melt over low heat until the cream cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth. Cream cheese burns easily, so stir constantly. Add dissolved gelatin and Worcestershire sauce to taste. The mixture will thicken as you stir. Turn off heat.
• Remove seafood from crab boil mixture, drain, and chop in food processor until smooth. Add to cream cheese mixture. Add onion mixture and mix well. Add Creole seasoning to taste.
• Pour in mold or shallow dish and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours, until thickened (it will set just like Jello).
• Release mold onto serving platter and garnish with cilantro. Serve.

OLD-FASHIONED CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• In very large pot over high heat bring water, crab boil, salt, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper to a boil. Add potatoes, onions, corn, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until vegetables are barely tender, about 10 minutes.
• Squeeze lemons over pot, add lemons and crawfish, and stir to combine. Cover and return mixture to the boil. Cook until shells turn bright red, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately.