| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 53 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Cook: | 23 min |
| Yield: | 10 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
- 5 gallons water
- 1 pound kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
- 6 bay leaves, crumbled
- 10 pounds live crawfish
- 3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in 1/2, if larger than 2-inches in diameter
- 8 ears corn, halved
- 2 heads garlic, unpeeled, but separated
- 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Fill a 40-quart pot with 5 gallons of water and add the freshly ground spices, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, dill weed, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, approximately 40 minutes.
- Rinse the crawfish thoroughly in the bag in which they arrived to remove excess dirt and mud. Put the crawfish in a large container and fill with cool water. Stir to remove dirt from the crawfish. Transfer small batches of crawfish to a colander and rinse under cool running water. Pick out any debris or dead crawfish. Once all crawfish have been rinsed, discard dirty water, and return the crawfish to the container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the water is clear.
- Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the crawfish, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.
Reviews
Love it
I’ve made this recipe many times, adapted for raw wild U/15 sized shrimp, & it’s an absolute hit with my hubby & 2 young boys EVERY time! I typically do 2 lbs shrimp, 1 lb andouille, 5 ears corn, 2 lbs Yukon Golds & 2 large fresh artichokes. I divide the recipe to get the amt. of seasonings appropriate for 3 gallons of water, add artichokes for about 7 mins to the water before the other veg & after they’re done cooking, turn off the burner & add the shrimp, cooking for another 3 to 4 mins.
, before removing the goods from the savory, briney liquid gold. I scoop everything out of the pot with a spider & pile onto a big cookie sheet placed on our kitchen island, situated beside a little tea-light-warmed fondue pot filled with drawn butter. Used to be able to find raw deveined, shell on shrimp & we’d peel ’em as we ate, & I think we all LOVED how the shells would trap the spices underneath (them). Sadly, for the last 2 -3 yrs I can only find the nice, large wild shrimp vein in, shells on, so that requires some extra prep, but it’s still an absolute banger of a recipe. I’ve used it for lobster tails, done different varieties of potatoes, sometimes add onions, the world’s your oyster… er.. “crawfish” boil!
, before removing the goods from the savory, briney liquid gold. I scoop everything out of the pot with a spider & pile onto a big cookie sheet placed on our kitchen island, situated beside a little tea-light-warmed fondue pot filled with drawn butter. Used to be able to find raw deveined, shell on shrimp & we’d peel ’em as we ate, & I think we all LOVED how the shells would trap the spices underneath (them). Sadly, for the last 2 -3 yrs I can only find the nice, large wild shrimp vein in, shells on, so that requires some extra prep, but it’s still an absolute banger of a recipe. I’ve used it for lobster tails, done different varieties of potatoes, sometimes add onions, the world’s your oyster… er.. “crawfish” boil!
Crawfish are sandy little critters just like clams or shell creatures but are delicious when you don’t grind sand in your meal! Love mussels omg in garlic manara with crusty baguette and a salad oh so a Mia muy delicious lol
I cut the recipe into a fifth, and it was perfect for two people. Rinsing the crayfish 8 times was somewhat tedious, but they got cleaner each time. Would make again!
This was a very good recipe. The idea of cooking the spices for 40 minutes to get total immersion and the soaking of the crawfish in hot water after a quick boil are good techniques. You don’t want to overboil shellfish, but you do want the flavors to soak in. Some who prefer spicier food might want to add a bit more cayenne. My wife loved the flavor which usually means I could use more cayenne.
My crawfish were fairly clean exterior and interior which probably means they were handled and treated properly by the supplier. However, for those who still advocate salt water purges here’s research from Louisiana State University.
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/communications/publications/agmag/archive/2014/winter/effectiveness-of-a-saltwater-bath-in-purging-crawfish
Tried this recipe for the first time last summer. Only made 1 1/2 lbs. of crawfish (boil for one) so I’ve kept the spice blend in a glass jar. Made it again this past weekend and, once again, it was excellent. Everything was perfectly cooked! I’m not a big fan of the heads, so I used them and the tail shells to make a fabulous sherried crawfish bisque with the leftover tail meat.
Wow. The spice rub was fantastic. It made everything taste fresh and spicy. What made the high rating for me was the cooking method. 10 minutes, 3 minutes, then 10 minutes. I could have never figured that out on my own. I would have overcooked it. They were cooked perfectly. Everyone had a blast. Thanks AB and Food.
Tried this recipe tonight right along side someone using store bought seasonings and was very dissappointed since uit didn’f rrally have any floavoi. I will be making iosme adjustments iin hopes of getting it right.
I really liked this show. I’m from Houma Louisiana. This is the first time I’ve seen any measurements associated with the magic my family performs. The spice mixture (boil seemed great. Only feedback – the additional vegetables are very important to the final flavor (e.g. potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, lemons, celery It would have been perfect if times and measurements of these were also added.
use this all the time.