Food From Around The World: Boiled Crawfish (Just Add People And Beer)

As I had mentioned recently in one of my previous ScottPot posts, If You’re A Schmooze And You Know It, Stomp Your Feet, I was planning on pushing a tasty post your way regarding favorite food recipes from around the world. You see, Cherry, the author, editor and health specialist over at My Diet Reviews Recipes And Methods, tagged me with her post and, although I have been a favorite fan of asian food lately (mainly sushi), I decided to bring back a good old cajun recipe from my hometown, New Orleans, LA for this favorite food recipe.

So, without further ado, I would like to present Boiled Crawfish And the Boiling There Of……

Now, first things first, get on the horn and call your people, tell them Crawfish Boil your place (break bread). Figure out how many people will be attending and use the general rule of thumb- about 5-10 pounds of crawfish per person. For simplistic purposes, the amount of crawfish and the amount of necessary ingredients that I will be discussing will be based upon 60 pounds of crawfish (*2 sacks). The key ingredients, besides live crawfish are:

• 2 Cups Liquid Crab Boil And 1 Bag Crawfish, Crab And Shrimp Boil Seasoning
• 15-20 Small Onions
• 15-20 Small Red Potatoes
• 15-20 Ears of Corn
• 7-10 Lemons
• 15-20 Links Smoked, Cajun, Or Andouille Sausage (or a mixture of all )
• Big Handful Of Fresh Garlic
• Big Handful Of Fresh Mushrooms
• At Least 3 Beers

And, I can’t forget to mention that this is definitely an outdoor event so here are the items required to host it correctly:

• Cold Beer
• One Large (18-20 gallon) Boiling Pot (With Lid And Wire Basket Insert)
• Outdoor Propane Cooker
• Wooden Staff (Or Something Similar) For Stirring the Crawfish And Ingredients In The Pot
• A Plastic Children’s Pool, A Large Tub, Or A Large Ice Chest For “Purging” The Crawfish
• Old Table And Old Newspaper To Cover Table With (To Place The Boiled Crawfish On)
• Garbage Can(s) And Garbage Bags

Now, now, slow down, get everything together, drink some beer and let’s talk about how to boil these crawdaddys!…
Fill that large boiling pot about a 1/3 to 1/2 way full with water, turn on the propane cooker and add your 2 Cups Liquid Crab Boil with 1 Bag Crawfish, Crab And Shrimp Boil Seasoning to the water. Now, while you wait for the water to boil, get those crawfish ready for the boiling. Purging the crawfish is key, people!! In order to do so, pour the crawfish into the large tub (or big children’s pool, large ice chest, etc) and fill the tub with water. Stir crawfish around a bit and pour water out (keep the crawfish in the tub). Repeat this process until the water runs clear and, hence, all the dirt/mud is removed. Once your crawfish have been cleaned/purged adequately enough, fill the tub one more time with water and add about 2 cups of salt to the tub. Stir the crawfish around some more for a few minutes and then pour the water out. *It is best to keep the crawfish in shady area while waiting to be placed in the boiling water so that the crawfish will stay alive.

Now that you have the crawfish cleaned and the water is about to be vigorously boiling, slice up half of those lemons and squeeze them into the pot. Add half of the crawfish (because that is all that will fit ) and half of the ingredients to the wire basket insert, place it in the boiling water and bring the pot back to a boil for 5 minutes before turning the propane cooker off. Once the cooker has been turned off, let your soon-to-be-fire meal soak up the juices of the pot for about 15 minutes (”let the crawfish simmer”). *Besides cleaning the crawfish, this is the next most important step to the tasty success of your boil. Taste the crawfish and decide when they have soaked enough prior to taking the wire basket insert out of the pot. Once ready, take out and pour basket onto newspaper covered table. Gather round, and eat up! *But, remember, to eat a crawfish correctly, you pull the tail from the head, suck the juice from the head and eat the tail (in that order). The juice is the best part; it is filled with all the spice and flavor.

I hope you and your guests continue to enjoy the first round of crawfish while we turn the cooker back on and begin to boil the second and remaining half. Follow the same steps as above and, prepare to be rocked! The first batch is always the “weakest” because the mixture/seasoning always gets more and more potent with time and ingredients (and simmering). Enjoy the heck out these boiled crawfish (I know you will) and clean everything up afterwards. Should you have any left over crawfish, they will be perfect for future meals like crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish bread, crawfish bisque, etc (you get the point).

This brings back memories, people . If you have never tried boiled crawfish before, give them a chance (should the opportunity arise). They are truly delicious! And, if you have tried them and would like to share your experience/method/recipe, please do, we would love to hear!

Lastly, thank you, Cherry, for including me in this food from around the world tag- I never knew getting tagged could taste so good. Now, if I could only get some live crawfish out here, in Vegas….

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[image above with crawfish from: www.cclockwood.com/stockimages/FO-CRAWFISH-2053.jpg ]