Old Fashioned Crawfish Boil Recipes

CREOLE CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Fill a huge stock pot, preferably fitted with a basket insert, with about 4 quarts of water. Keep in mind that when you add the solid ingredients the water level will rise, so don't fill the pot up more than 1/2 way. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water, tossing in the halves too. Add the bay leaves, salt, seasoning, onions, and garlic; bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 10 minutes. You want a very aromatic broth with plenty of salt and spices; taste it, don't be afraid to make it strong so some of that flavor can penetrate and get absorbed by the potatoes and stuff.
• Add the potatoes to the pot to give them a head start and simmer for 10 minutes. Now add the corn and sausage; cook another 10 minutes, making sure everything stays covered with the liquid. Toss in the crawfish and shut off the heat. Cover the pot and let the crawfish steep in the flavor for 15 minutes. Drain and spread the crawfish, sausage, corn, potatoes, and onions out on a table that's covered with newspaper. Serve with lemons, hot sauce, and plenty of napkins.

CRAWFISH BOIL

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.

CRAWFISH BOIL

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until well browned and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cut into 2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Place water, crab boil, lemon juice, cayenne and salt in a very large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic, onions and potatoes, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss in the crawfish and the corn. Bring the liquid back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the sausage. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain. To serve, cover a table with newspapers and dump the mixture out onto it or pile it in a large bowl and let guests help themselves.

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH BOIL

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.

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.