Boiled Crawfish

Ingredients: (EAB = Each Additional Boil)

  • 4 large yellow onions, quartered (+2 onions EAB)

  • 2 bags of lemons (+1 bag EAB)

  • 1 bunch of celery, cut into thirds (+0.5 bunch EAB)

  • 1 bag of small garlic heads, tops cut off (+0.5 bag EAB)

  • 2 lbs of small red potatoes (+2 lbs EAB)

  • 3 ears of fresh corn (+3 EAB)

  • Optional white mushrooms

  • 2 lbs of Manda green onion sausage (+2 lbs EAB)

  • 2 jars of 63oz Zatarain's extra spicy crab boil (+0.25 jar EAB)

  • 1.25 cup of cayenne pepper (+0.25 cup EAB)

  • 16 oz of Zatarain’s crab oil with LEMON (+8 oz EAB)

  • 20 bay leaves (+10 EAB)

  • 0.25 cup of whole cloves (+0.125 cup EAB)

  • 1.5 oz of lemon oil (+0.5 oz EAB)

  • 8 oz pure lemon juice (+4 oz EAB)

  • 24 lbs of ice (+24 lbs EAB)

  • Up to 45 lbs of crawfish per boil

  • Boiler bags

Instructions:

Step 1: 

Prep All Ingredients

  • Quarter the onions.

  • Cut lemons in half.

  • Cut the celery into thirds.

  • Slice the tops of the garlic heads off. (discard tops)

  • Remove the husks from the corn and cut them into halves.

Measure out all seasonings:

  • cayenne pepper

  • bay leaves

  • whole cloves

  • lemon oil,

  • lemon juice (100% real juice. Not the fake stuff)

Step 2: Prepare the Boiler Bag Ingredients

Separate potatoes, corn, mushrooms (optional), and sausage/garlic into individual boiler bags for each boil. Notes: The sausage/garlic can go in the same bags as they have the same boiling times. If you have more than 1 boil you can have multiple boiler bags of the same foods.

Step 3: Begin the Boil

Fill your crawfish boiler with water, leaving an inch below the fill line. Add the prepared onions, celery, bay leaves, cloves, crab boil w/lemon, cayenne pepper, and crab oil. Do not add the fresh lemons, lemon oil, lemon juice, or the boiler bag ingredients.

Step 4: Clean the Crawfish

Rinse the crawfish in an ice chest until the runoff water is clear, ensuring they are clean before cooking. Do NOT use salt like some people recommend.

Step 5: Start Cooking

90 minutes before the desired serving time, start the boiler on high. Now add the potato boiler bags and set a timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes the water will be at a rolling boil. Add the sausage/garlic boiler bags. Now set a timer for 10 minutes.

Step 6: Add Crawfish and Final Ingredients

When the 10-minute timer finishes, add the crawfish, setting the timer for 7.5 minutes (early season) or 8.5 minutes (late season). Note: Late season crawfish are bigger with harder shells, so they require an extra minute.

Add the corn 4 minutes before and mushrooms 3 minutes before the crawfish timer ends.

Step 7: Finish and Cool the Boil

Once the crawfish timer is over, turn off the boiler. Add 24-32 lbs of ice and cool the pot with a cold water spray. Do this step QUICKLY so the crawfish don't overcook. The water should be very warm but not scalding. Note: If you can’t dip your hand in the water without burning, then add more ice. At this point, remove the boiled potatoes, sausage/garlic, corn, and mushrooms. We don’t want the boiler bag foods to be overpowered by the lemon flavors in the next step. Pro Tip: I put the boiler bag foods on a pan in the oven at 170 degrees just to keep them warm while the crawfish soak for 45 minutes.

Step 8: Soak the Crawfish and Infuse w/ Lemon

Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves into the boil and add the halves. Mix in the lemon oil, stir well, and let soak for at least 45 minutes to enrich the flavor before serving.

Step 9: Start Your Next Boil (If You Have More Than 45 lbs of Crawfish)

Repeat the steps starting at Step 3.