Crawfish season usually comes several times a year in Louisiana. That’s when crawfish are available to be purchased in sacks from various seafood markets and even private fisherman. That’s when all of the pots come out and Louisiana Cajun Boiled Crawfish is good.
There are several ways of cooking crawfish. What I describe below is the easiest methods I’ve used to produce flavorful crawfish that are easy to peel. Its also a fairly fast method and does not require ice or cold water spray to cool down the pot.
This method is broken into phases with the last being the steaming phase. Steaming allows for more penetration of the seasoning as the crawfish finish cooking with the steam. Some crawfish traditionalist may consider this a non-traditional method, but I believe the results speak for themselves.
Quick Summary:
(1) In a large pot 1/4 full of water add onions and garlic and season water with about 2 cups Cajun seafood boil seasoning. Boil sides until desired flavor and doneness. Remove from pot. (2) Add more water to the pot, add more seasoning, and return water to a boil. (3) Add crawfish and other desired ingredients to the pot. (4) Return to a boil and cook 2 minutes. (5) Turn off fire, add liquid seafood boil and lemon juice and let soak until crawfish sink. (6) Pour crawfish into a cooler and generously season with Cajun crawfish seasoning between layers. (7) Steam for 7 to 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Complete Louisiana Cajun Crawfish Boiling Process:
What you will need:
- Large Cooler
- Large spoon or seafood paddle (see recommendations)
- Medium to Large Pot
- Natural Gas or Propane Tank and Burner (see recommendations)
Ingredients
- 1 Sack of Crawfish (30 to 35 lbs)
- Cajun Crawfish Boil Seasoning Blend (see list of recommendations)
- Liquid Crawfish Boil (see list of recommendations)
- 3 Large Yellow Onions (cut into halves)
- Celery
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 4 Lemons
- Salt
Optional: In Louisiana Cajun Crawfish Boils, sides are typically prepared as part of the boil. For this recipe, I have chosen the most common:
- Sack of small potatoes
- Two packs of sweet or super-sweet mini-corn on the cobb
- Pack of sliced mushrooms
- Smoked sausage links (or any other flavor you prefer)
Phase 1 – Preparing Sides for the Crawfish Boil: (optional but recommended)
This first part of the process is to cook the sides only. This is my preferred method which helps to ensure they do not come out too spicy by being cooked with the crawfish. The mushrooms and corn will absorb the most seasoning. Potatoes take a little longer to cook and do not absorb as much.
*If you prefer and do not mind a little extra spice, you can add everything to the pot when you add the crawfish and skip Phase 1.
- Fill large pot with water approximate 1/4
- Add about 1/3 of a 4lb bag of Cajun Crawfish Boil Seasoning Blend (more if you like more spicy sides)
- Bring water to a boil and lower fire a little to save fuel while maintaining a low boil.
- Add Onions, Garlic, Celery, Potatoes, Sausage, Corn, and Mushrooms
- Boil for about 10 minutes and then sample the mushrooms and corn. If they are at your desired flavor then remove them from the boil.
- Continue to boil the sausage. Continue to boil potatoes until they soften a little. You should be able to poke a fork in one of them fairly easily when done. Sample one of the potatoes. If the potatoes still lack adequate seasoning, turn off the fire and let sit for a few more minutes. Remove potatoes and sausage from pot when done.
Phase 2 – Boiling the Crawfish:
- Rinse the crawfish to remove any remnants such as dirt and vegetation from their previous environment. You can place the entire sack in the cooler and rinse the sack until the water runs clear. Alternatively you can empty the crawfish into the cooler and rinse (this method requires more careful rinsing as to not let any of the crawfish out as you pour off the water.) *Note: Crawfish can drown if left under water too long. Drain as you rinse.
- Fill the pot to about 1/2 full
- Add the remaining bag of seasoning but save about 1/5 of the bag.
- Add half a carton of salt.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Add Crawfish to the water and ensure they are submerged. If more water is needed, add just enough to barely cover crawfish. Place top on pot.
- When water returns to a boil, cook 2 minutes and then turn off the fire. Leave top off pot.
- Add lemons and 1/5 of the jug of liquid seafood boil and stir.
- Continue to stir occasionally and let crawfish soak until most of them sink (about 10-12 min)
- Remove crawfish from the pot and let water drain for about 2 minutes. I like to place a board across the top of the pot and set the strainer basket on top to drain.
Phase 3 Steaming the Crawfish:
- Pour a layer of the crawfish into the cooler and generously coat with some of the seasoning remaining in the bag. Shake the cooler enough to mix the crawfish. Pour another layer of crawfish, coat with seasoning, and repeat until done. Close the lid and let steam.
- After about 7 minutes sample crawfish. If you are satisfied with the flavor then they are ready to eat.
- If they are difficult to peel, due to the shell still being too hard, close the lid and let steam a little longer.
- If you would like more seasoning flavor, sprinkle on some more Cajun seafood seasoning or plain salt, shake the cooler, and let steam with lid closed for just a little longer. Continue to sample until you are satisfied.
- Leave cooler partially or fully open to prevent overcooking. Enjoy!
Tips and Recommendations:
*Once to your desired flavor and doneness, do not leave the cooler lid closed while the crawfish are still steaming! This will cause them to overcook and make them difficult to peel. You can prop the lid slightly open if you want to keep them hot while you eat.
*We use a small pot with a handle to scoop the crawfish into our trays. (I’m not a huge fan of pouring them out on the table unless I am boiling several sacks for a large group.)
Feel free to experiment:
- You can soak the crawfish longer in the pot vs steaming in the cooler. (I still prefer the cooler method but both work)
- You can add some orange juice to the pot during the soak or lemon/orange juice between each layer in the cooler.
- You can add all sides to the pot along with the crawfish (still recommend removing the corn and mushroom before adding to the cooler)
This may seem like a lot of steps, but once you go through it once I think you will find this method quite easy and reliable for making flavorful and easy to peel Louisiana Cajun Boiled Crawfish. Enjoy!
