What a feast! There’s something special and just so fun about digging into a messy pile of fresh crawfish, heaped onto a picnic table. It may be a bit intimidating to first-time boilers, but with our tips and step-by-step crawfish boil recipe, you’ll be pinching delicious tails and sucking succulent heads in no time.
Recipe Difficulty: Intermediate
CRAWFISH BOIL TIPS:
- Use live crawfish. Yes, pre-cooked crawfish are sold, but try them fresh! If you aren’t in an area where you can buy them locally, they can also be purchased online. Companies like the Louisiana Crawfish Company sell them by the pound and will ship chilled and live.
- Purchase for the party. You don’t just boil a dozen crawfish, you go big when you boil, so buy enough. A good rule of thumb is 1-3 pounds per person for an appetizer, 4-7 pounds per person for a full, big meal.
- Make sure they’re good and clean. Nicknamed a mudbug, they need to be washed and purged before cooking. First rinse them thoroughly in the container they arrive in to wash off excess dirt and mud. Then put them in a container filled with cool water, taking them out in batches to rinse under cool running water, then transfer back to the container.Repeat the process about 6-7 times, or until water is clean, tossing any debris or dead crawfish during the process.
- Get the right equipment and don’t forget the propane. Bring the boil outside with a propane-powered burner and large pot. These are available for purchase in varying price ranges, from retailers like The Home Depot and Walmart, where you can also pick up your propane grill tanks. They come in various sizes – a 60-quart pot for instance can boil about 30 lbs. of crawfish, but make sure to leave room for your veggies if boiling together.
- Prepare your table. Crawfish are most fun to eat outside, spread messily over a table covered in newspaper. When your boil is fully cooked, drain, dump all over the table and dig in! Hint: have some wet napkins nearby for after your feast.
For a refreshing summer cocktail perfect to serve with your boiled crawfish, try our Grilled Spiked Lemonade Recipe!
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PREP TIME1 hrs - 1 hrs 5 min
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COOK TIME25 min
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TOTAL TIME1 hrs 30 min
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SERVES6
Ingredients
- Your favorite crawfish boil seasoning (1 lb. per 15 lbs. crawfish)
- 4 bay leaves
- 30-35 lbs. (1 sack) live crawfish, cleaned
- 5 lbs. small red potatoes
- 3 lbs. andouille sausage, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 10 ears of corn, halved
- 6 yellow onions
- 6 heads garlic
Instructions
- Fill an 80-quart pot halfway with water; add crawfish boil seasoning and cover. Set outdoor propane cooker to high and bring the water to a boil. Boil for a few minutes, allowing seasoning to dissolve.
- Add potatoes, onions, corn, garlic and sausage. Cover and boil for about 10 minutes.
- Add crawfish, cover and boil for about 3 minutes.
- Turn off the burner and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Drain, serve and dig in!