Description
Complete guide to hosting an authentic Louisiana crawfish boil with perfectly seasoned crawfish, corn, potatoes, and sausage. Tips, tricks, and everything you need to know!
Ingredients
- 35-40 pounds live crawfish (about 5 pounds per person)
- 4-5 pounds small red potatoes
- 8-10 ears corn, halved
- 2-3 pounds smoked sausage, cut into chunks
- 4-5 onions, halved
- 4-5 heads garlic, halved crosswise
- 4-6 lemons, halved
- 3-4 pounds crawfish boil seasoning (Zatarain’s or Louisiana Fish Fry)
- 2-3 cups salt
- 1-2 bottles liquid crab boil (optional)
- ½-1 cup cayenne pepper (adjust for heat)
- Optional: mushrooms, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, celery
Instructions
1. Purge your crawfish: Put live crawfish in large cooler, cover with cold water, add salt, and let sit 15-20 minutes. They’ll purge out mud and debris. Drain and rinse 2-3 times until water runs clear. Don’t skip this!
2. Fill your huge pot about 2/3 full with water. Add seasoning, salt, liquid boil, cayenne, onions, garlic, and lemons. Bring to rolling boil and let boil 10-15 minutes to infuse flavors.
3. Drop in potatoes and bring back to boil. Cook for about 10 minutes – they need a head start since they take longer to cook.
4. Add corn and sausage. Bring back to boil and cook for 5 more minutes. Everything should be bubbling happily!
5. Turn OFF the heat (important!). Add purged crawfish to pot and stir to make sure they’re submerged. Put lid on and let SOAK for 15-20 minutes. They’ll turn bright red and soak up all that seasoning.
6. Drain everything (save some cooking liquid if you want for later use!). Dump it all out on your newspaper-covered table. Sprinkle with extra seasoning if desired. Ring the dinner bell!
Notes
Crawfish must SOAK in hot liquid, not BOIL – that’s why we turn off heat before adding them!
Make sure crawfish are ALIVE when you start – throw out any dead ones before cooking.
Test one crawfish after 15 minutes of soaking – if it’s spicy enough, you’re done!
The crawfish are actually better 5-10 minutes after dumping, once they’ve cooled slightly.
Add a stick of butter to soaking water for richer flavor – game changer!
Set out melted garlic butter on the side for dipping!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Dish, Seafood
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Cajun, Louisiana