How to Throw a Crawfish Boil
Posted by bellastraniera - 07/07/09 at 02:07 pm
Barbecues may be fun, but there’s nothing quite like sitting around a pile of spicy seafood with friends and a cold beer on a summer day. The next time you have an outdoor party, consider throwing a crawfish boil.
This Louisiana staple is not as hard to pull off as it sounds. Getting the crawfish? Just start working the phones. We got ours from Mr. Fish in Baltimore. In New York, try the Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, where it was most recently $4.75 per pound – call several days ahead of time to special order. Crawfish goes for about $2 per pound wholesale plus shipping, so shop around until you can find a good distributor who will sell you live crawfish for $5 or so per pound. Yelp is a great resource for distributors in other areas.
If you can’t find the key spice, Zatarian’s, usually available at seafood shops or in large supermarkets, you can order it online. The biggest problem may be getting the pot, since most people do not own (or want to own) an 80-quart crab boil pot, though it is sold at restaurant supply stores or online via Louisiana Lagniappe. Fortunately, you can also rent one via Party Rental Ltd. and many party supply places – ask for the King Kooker.
If you keep these resources in mind, there’s nothing stopping you from having a real Louisiana crawdad boil. Here’s how, as demonstrated to us by native New Orleans father-and-daughter duo Jacque and Jeanne Arnondin.
Recipe: Outdoor Crawfish Boil
18 ears corn, shucked and snapped in half
4 lbs. new potatoes, scrubbed
3 lbs. yellow onions, root ends and tops chopped off
1 bunch celery stalks, rinsed and chopped in 6-in. pieces
4 garlic bulbs, tops chopped off
3 lbs. smoked sausage or kielbasa
1 1/2 73-oz. jars Zatarian’s Crab & Shrimp Boil
4 lemons, cut in half
1 sack live crawfish (about 40-45 lbs.)
Prepare the vegetables and put the corn, potatoes, onions, celery, garlic, half the lemons, and sausage in a mesh laundry bag. (Alternately, put the corn in a separate bag and cook for just 3 minutes – the Baltimore way.)
Pick over the crawfish for any obviously dead ones and throw them out. Put the crawfish in a bucket and fill with water.
Using a hose, fill an 80-qt. pot set over a propane burner 2/3 full with water. (The pot should also have a punched aluminum basket – set this aside.)
Add the Zatarian’s to the water and bring to a boil.
Put in the bag of vegetables and sausage and return to a boil. Stir with a crawfish paddle or, if you don’t have one, use a 2 x 4. Boil for 15 minutes or longer, until the potatoes are cooked through.
Meanwhile, pour the bucket of crawfish into the metal basket and drain.
When the potatoes are done, fish the vegetable and sausage bag out of the boil and set aside. Put the metal basket of crawfish in with the remaining lemons. Stir and bring to a boil.
As soon as the pot of crawfish returns to a boil, turn off the heat, return the bag of vegetables and sausage to the pot and cover.
Let the crawfish and vegetables sit in the pot for 20-30 minutes. The longer you wait, the spicier the crawfish will be. Take one out with a paddle to test it.
When the crawfish are done, pour some ice in the pot to stop the cooking and stir.
Carefully lift the basket out of the pot. Take out the mesh bag of vegetables and sausage. Pour the crawfish in one big pile on a picnic table covered with newspaper, and pour the vegetables and sausage in a pile next to it.
To eat a crawfish, twist off the tail and push the meat out from bottom to top using your thumb. Scoop the “mustard” out of the head with a finger. Repeat until all the crawfish are gone.
Serves 10-15.
Related posts:
bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
Email 
Twitter 
RSS