Crawfish Recipe

Purge crawfish

Place live crawfish in a large tub or sink and rinse with fresh cold water to remove debris. Transfer to a pot or tub, cover with cool water and add 1 cup kosher salt. Stir gently and let sit 10 minutes; drain and rinse thoroughly. Repeat rinse until water runs clear (1–2 times). Keep crawfish chilled until ready to cook.

Prepare boil liquid

In a very large stockpot (12+ quart) add 6 L of water. Add 3 tbsp sea salt, 1 cup crawfish boil seasoning, 4 bay leaves, 2 tbsp whole black peppercorns, 6 halved garlic cloves and 3 tbsp hot sauce. Squeeze in juice from the 2 halved lemons and add the lemon halves to the pot. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat.

Cook vegetables & sausage first

When the seasoned water is at a full boil, add the potatoes and cook 10 minutes (potatoes will take the longest). After 10 minutes, add the corn pieces, sliced andouille sausage and quartered onions. Continue boiling another 5–7 minutes until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork.

Add crawfish

Using a basket or carefully with a scoop, add the rinsed live crawfish to the boiling pot. Stir gently to submerge. When the water returns to a full boil, cover and let boil for 5 minutes.

Soak for flavor

After the 5-minute boil, turn off the heat and let the crawfish and vegetables soak in the hot seasoned liquid for 20–30 minutes (longer for spicier/more seasoned flavor). Taste one crawfish tail after 20 minutes to check seasoning and doneness—meat should be firm and opaque.

Drain

Drain the pot using a large colander or remove basket. Discard cooking liquid. Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, sausage and onions to a large serving table or pan.

While the crawfish are draining, melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter and stir in 2 tbsp chopped parsley and 2 tbsp extra crawfish boil seasoning. Toss drained crawfish, vegetables and sausage with the melted seasoned butter so everything gets a light coating.

Spread the crawfish and accompaniments on a newspaper- or butcher-paper–lined table or large platter. Serve hot with extra lemon wedges, hot sauce and crusty bread or rice on the side. Provide egg cups or small forks for extracting meat; instruct guests to twist the tail to remove the meat or squeeze the head for added spicy juice.