Crayfish Boil

[Pipe 45]

I need a good crayfish boil recipe from some of you gulf coast boys.

Thanks

[ScottCallais]

My boiling pot works best with 40lbs of crawfish, plus goodies.

Other Goodies to add:
3-5lbs potatoes (the smaller the better, I use the ones that are about the size of an egg)
few lbs of favorite sausage (cut in about 3-4 inch pieces)
Few lbs of corn (6 inch pieces)
2 heads of garlic (it will taste great when cooked, but causes horrible gas)
1-2 packs mushrooms
1-2 lbs small onions (peeled and left whole)

ADD all goodies to a nylon sack (laundry bag woorks well) for easy retrival from water.

Fill the pot about 1/3 with water
Add 2 boxes of salt
6 cups Zatarians liquid crab boil

Bring water to a boil, Then add crawfish, and bag of goodies. When water starts boiling again time for 15-18 minutes. Taste to see if seasoning is potent enough. If not shut off fire and let soak in pot. Keep checking untill flavor is right.

A very simple, but good dip can be made:
In a bowl add 1/2 katsup 1/4 mayo, and 1/4 mustard, a small amount of horseradish can also be added. Some people also add diced onion.
These ingredients can be adjusted acording to personal taste.

*TIP* after taking crawfish out of pot, put them in an empty ice chest. This will keep them hot while eating.

:beer: Also have plenty of cold beer on hand :beer:

I hope I covered everything, let us know how it turns out.

P.S. I know I spelled it crawfish instead of crayfish, but thats how we coonasses spell it. :thumps:

[kaborkian]

For a mixed crowd of girls and guys, assuming they will really eat and just just taste, plan for ~5 lbs per person.

[intotheblue]

My boiling pot works best with 40lbs of crawfish, plus goodies.

Other Goodies to add:
3-5lbs potatoes (the smaller the better, I use the ones that are about the size of an egg)
few lbs of favorite sausage (cut in about 3-4 inch pieces)
Few lbs of corn (6 inch pieces)
2 heads of garlic (it will taste great when cooked, but causes horrible gas)
1-2 packs mushrooms
1-2 lbs small onions (peeled and left whole)

ADD all goodies to a nylon sack (laundry bag woorks well) for easy retrival from water.

Fill the pot about 1/3 with water
Add 2 boxes of salt
6 cups Zatarians liquid crab boil

Bring water to a boil, Then add crawfish, and bag of goodies. When water starts boiling again time for 15-18 minutes. Taste to see if seasoning is potent enough. If not shut off fire and let soak in pot. Keep checking untill flavor is right.

A very simple, but good dip can be made:
In a bowl add 1/2 katsup 1/4 mayo, and 1/4 mustard, a small amount of horseradish can also be added. Some people also add diced onion.
These ingredients can be adjusted acording to personal taste.

*TIP* after taking crawfish out of pot, put them in an empty ice chest. This will keep them hot while eating.

:beer: Also have plenty of cold beer on hand :beer:

I hope I covered everything, let us know how it turns out.

P.S. I know I spelled it crawfish instead of crayfish, but thats how we coonasses spell it. :thumps:

I was goin' to say... "CRAYFISH"??? never heard of a "Crayfish boil"...!!! Sounds more like bait for bass than food for a Gulf Coaster, much less for a Coonass! I give an "A" for attempt though! :D

[Pipe 45]

Thanks Sounds like the hot tip Scott.

[Marcus]

Carrots are good in the boil too. Keep large, they can get overcooked and mushy

[junior]

I was goin' to say... "CRAYFISH"??? never heard of a "Crayfish boil"...!!! Sounds more like bait for bass than food for a Gulf Coaster, much less for a Coonass! I give an "A" for attempt though! :D

Sounds like something a kid in New Jersey pulls from the "crick"

[MagicMike]

Crawfish, Crawdads, Crayfish, however you say it, it's delicious fresh. The only ones I can get down here are frozen and I just can't make them taste good so I don't even waste my time anymore. It's high on my list to get up to Nawlin's and get in on a real boil. I've had it once and there ain't nothing quite like it. I bet that recipe would be great with some fresh Oak Hill shrimp though.

[Southern Cross]

MagicMike...Forget New Orleans, they can't boil shit. If you want the real deal, go to Southwest Louisiana. Anywhere near Lafayette will know what they are doing.

Pipe 45...Hard to explain how to boil crawfish, it's kind of a zen thing and you know what needs to happen next. Best advice is to get a bag of Louisiana Crawfish, Crab, and Shrimp Boil. Comes in a yellow bag and is right on every time.
http://www.louisianafishfry.com/shopping_additems.php?action=view_list&category=5
Get the one in the bag. Leave the box and the bottle alone.

[Scubaru]

You can add a few cans of chicken broth to help 'em slide out the shell better too, or add a stick of butter to your pot. A few onions and lemons in your pot never hurt nuttin. Like Scott said, longer the soak, deeper the flavor, gotta let dat 'tussin get down to da bone!

[Scubaru]

Ps, be sure and purge your bugz good with running water and rock salt (don't drown them). Dirty ass bugz will ruin your boil and your water will get all muddy and gritty. Are they still in season in Cali? This thread is making me hungry!

[Pipe 45]

I found a wholeseller in the Los Angeles that get live mud bugs from Northern California
and Louisiana (when in season) $3.00 per pound. Thanks for all your help my son is coming home this weekend from the Navy so we are going have a 50Lb boil on Saturday.

P.S. Is 50lbs good for about 30 people.

[KJNDIVER]

MagicMike...Forget New Orleans, they can't boil shit. If you want the real deal, go to Southwest Louisiana. Anywhere near Lafayette will know what they are doing.

Roger that.


First off, as already covered, its not crayfish. Crawfish, crawdads, or mudbugs are acceptable, but crayfish just indicates to everyone else that you are rookie (you want to keep up appearances on this matter). :D

Scott posted a pretty standard and pretty good recipe for this. Might I make a few alterations though: I agree with Southern Cross and use the powdered crab boil that comes in the bag and stir into the water, much easier this way. I dont know if you can find it out that way, but I like either Swamp Fire or Slap Yo Mama better than the Zattarains.

http://www.trapperarne.com/zatarainslg2.jpg

Another easy way is to use the ones that come in the box but is contained ina mesh bag while in the water.

http://www.trapperarne.com/zatarains1.jpg

Do not attempt to use the crab boil in the bottle until youve had much practice, that stuff is potent and while trying to find that right balance you can seriously over do it and no one will be able to eat them.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000E4341Y.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Also be sure to add about two or more lemons (cut in half and squeeze) into the water between batches. Also add a whole stick of butter to the water to begin with and a half stick to the water between batches. If you use the big portobello mushrooms no one will want the bugs and fight over the mushrooms. :D Deer sausage thrown in the mix is out of this world. :thumps:

I prefer to cook em slightly different that what Scott stated. I like to bring the water to a rolling boil, drop em in, once the water starts to boil again then start timing.
Just remember a good stiff drink and you cant go wrong. 7 & 7. 7 minutes boiling, turn fire off, 7 minutes soaking. Now if you are serving a horde of people, serve straight out on the table and sprinkle with the tony's. But if just a few friends around I like to do the following. Take them out of water and place into ice chest, sprinkle tony's season over the top. Find something that you can scoop some water out of the pot with. Be careful, the water is scalding hot, and then pour a bit of water over the crawfish inside the chest. Close lid. Let set another 5-10 minutes or so. Scoop servings from the bottom that have been soaking in the water.

They continue to cook in the chest this way and soak up the flavor of the water, but I find they dont over cook this way versus leaving them in the pot with lots more water for any length of time thus making them harder to peel. If done right, all you need to do is pinch the tail and the meat pops out without having to "peel" the entire tail.

Be sure to have plenty of cold beverages on hand as that is the catalyst and adhesive that holds everything together. ;) If done properly you should see results similar to the following. Damn, Im getting hungry now for some.

PS. Remember to suck the heads. :thumps:

[Reefrat]

Mm going to go set my traps and pull the ditches this weekend at the club! Maybe I'll get enough for two! You can't go wrong with the swamp fire boil thats probaly my favorite.

Flounder stuffed with bugs is awesome!

[MagicMike]

Lafayette it is. Thanks for the tip Southern Cross. Is it a year round thing there or just seasonal? Damn, that pot of crawfish looks good!

[KJNDIVER]

Seasonal. Usually you can find some die hards to start running traps around Thanksgiving, but traditional start is usually around super bowl or mardi gras time and is in high swing for good friday and easter and on thru the hell divers rodeo. Generally fizzles out by end of june and kicks off again for turkey day. Rest of the year they are burrowed in the mud, hence the name.

[kaborkian]

Hmmm...50 lbs for 30 people? Pretty light. You better either plan for other stuff to go with it, or make it a "brunch" type deal with lots of beer.

Down here in the good old Lafayette, I'd be cooking more like 120-150 lbs for that many people.

I'm with the second recipe, the boil time is too long on the first one. 7-8 minutes, then off with the fire and some soak time. Test them as they soak. If they cook too long, peeling will be hard.

[Scubaru]

Swamp fire is good stuff, don't know too many who know about that one, about twice as hot as Zatarain's. Ditto on the deer sausage & mushrooms, we even throw hot dogs and drumsticks in there for the kiddos. 50lbs is a little light for 30 people, but being Cali (no offense) you may not have as savoring pallets as around here. I used to have a couple of Line-X dealerships and there was nothing better than our annual boils in Harvey, LA. 1500lbs dumped strait out on end to end tables, and a pirot on saw horses full of iced down beer!

[lionfish]

to really get it going throw in a hand full of sliced jalopenos or if you really like it CRAZY SPICY a few chopped habeneros.

to vary the taste you can use limes, oranges or grapefruit instead of lemons(use twice as much)

you can also add celery cut in chunks right before you add the bugs.

read the instructions on whatever premade "boil mix" you choose, some has salt in it (it's mostly salt) some does'nt, you'll have to add it. my favorite mix used to come from salvo's seafood in belle chasse, not sure if it's even open anymore?

be carefull with the salt, it can ruin an otherwise exellent batch. too much or too little can mean the difference between killer and "aack"

most important, enjoy :yay:

[Pipe 45]

Gentlmen: Thank you very much for you help we should have a great time. I will go with 75lbs or crawfish. I will go with lots of spuds and corn. Thanks again from experts who know how throw a party. I will post next week and let you know if how everything turned out.

[Southern Cross]

75#s should be plenty. The number of Crawfish per person decreases the farther you get from South Louisiana. Just remember to follow the seasoning directions on the bag, and you should be fine. Leave the Habeneros out for sure, they can really do some serious damage. DON'T OVERCOOK!!!! If the boil rolls for more than 3 minutes, they are for sure overcooking. Let them roll for 2-3 minutes, and soak for about 15-20. When they start to sink in the pot, they have soaked up all the juice and spice they can.

For the last 10 minutes of soak time, I usually dump a bag of Ice in the pot to keep them from overcooking. They will still come out hot, just helps to stop the overcooking process.

Remember, like any other fish, shrimp, whatever....Crawfish are safe to eat raw and carry no bacteria. You don't have to boil them long.

Enjoy.

[Pipe 45]

What a great party everyone loved the food. The nylon sack (laundry bag) worked great for both the crayfish and the spuds. I had about 12lbs. leftover they made a killer pasta for Sundays dinner. Thanks again for all the help.

[ScottCallais]

Glad to hear everything went well. What seasoning did you go with?
Leftover crawfish, potatoes, and sausage are also good in omlets.

[KJNDIVER]

Leftover crawfish, potatoes, and sausage are also good in omlets.


WOOooooo, now there is an idea I will have try out. Good one there Scott. :thumps:

[Southern Cross]

Don't forget to cut the extra corn off the cob to go in the omlette.

Good to hear ya'll had fun.

[lionfish]

leftover taters make the best tater salad you've ever tried, just rinse em off, cut em up and use in your favorite recipe :yay:


a friends sister makes a kickass left-over crawfish au gratin for a morning-after-mardi-gras-party breakfast :graucho: .

[Ron S]

Crawdads are one of the things I like about living in the Sierras. Darned near every body of water is full of them, and since the water's clean and the bottom's usually sandy, the bugs are pretty clean too. We went out to the lake last weekend and tank dove. Pulled a couple hundred bugs out in about half an hour. I used the crab boil in the little toss in bag. Followed the directions and added salt, lemon, and a bit of red pepper. Didn't add any spuds or other, but the bugs, along with fried abalone, fresh french bread, and lots of cold beer, made for a decent dinner.
Ron.

[Graham]

Have to agree with KJN on the Swamp Fire or Slap Yo Mama. Not that Zats is bad, these are just better. Another great thing to add to your boil is Artichoke. Sucks up a lot of the spices, great flavor.
Now for what to do after your boil.
Once the last batch has been dumped on the table, put the basket back in the pot. Grab a sack of fresh, unshucked oysters and throw em in. Let em soak for about 5 min, essentially steaming them. Pull em out, shuck and eat. Awesome for you oyster fanatics.

[FredT]

I use Zats to color the batch, but habanero in brine to spice it up to tolerable level.
If the boiling tea taste is right the batch is usually good. If the tea sucks it's NEVER good.

To make habanero in brine first get a grocery bag of fresh ripe hebanero peppers off the plants. Stem and quarter them and set them aside. To make a brine add to very warm water enough salt to float a raw egg, plus about 1/3 more than you already put in to allow for the brine dilution by the water in the peppers. Let this cool a bit, or ice the OUTSIDE of the pot to quick cool it. Now put enough brine in a blender to fill it about1/4 full. Get the blender going and add the quartered habaneros until the blender won't take any more. It's amazing how many of those little buggers the blender will eat. If you still have habaneros left repeat the blender thing until all the peppers are pureed. Pour the pepper puree into a clean glass container and put it in the fridge to cure. The salt preserves the peppers with only minor fermenting. As a hint it's best to do this OUTSIDE and be able to stand upwind of the blender. The droplets that come off it during bending and pouring react poorly with eyes and lungs. Wear gloves, or wash your hands thoroughly before using the head. :eek: A gallon or two of this lasts my wife about a year.

A half cup of this stuff in an 80 quart boiling pot kicks off crawfish and shrimp nicely.

FT