Jun 09 2026
Restaurants›Soul Haus Kitchen›Spicy Boiled Crawfish Recipe

Spicy Boiled Crawfish Recipe

Inspired by Soul Haus Kitchen
Time2h
Serves6

The spicy boiled crawfish is so delicious. It’s the best in the city.

Jump to Recipe

Was this page helpful?

Help improve this recipe for others.

Send this recipe to your inbox.

We'll email it straight to you - plus weekly cooking inspiration.

Ingredients

Some product links may be affiliates. If you buy through them, you're supporting the site and Pekin may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Seafood & Liquid

Vegetables & Sausage

Seasoning & Aromatics

Method

Seafood & Liquid

  1. 1

    Purge and rinse crawfish

    Place live crawfish in a cooler or large tub and cover with fresh cold water. Agitate gently and drain several times until runoff is relatively clear (10–20 minutes). Remove any dead crawfish (do not use). Rinse well under cold running water and set aside chilled.

  2. 2

    Prepare stock pot

    In a large stock pot (at least 12–16 qt) add 8 l of cold water and set over high heat. Place a large bowl with ice and the 2 lb of ice nearby for the shock bath.

  3. 3

    Start the boil base

    When water comes to a rolling boil, proceed to the Seasoning & Aromatics steps to add the spices and aromatics to the pot.

Seasoning & Aromatics

  1. 4

    Add dry seasonings and aromatics

    Add 0.75 cups crawfish boil seasoning, 2 tbs kosher salt, 2 tbs paprika, 1 tbs cayenne pepper, 1 tbs whole black peppercorns, 1 tbs mustard seeds, and 6 bay leaves to the rolling boil. Stir to dissolve and bloom the spices for 2 minutes.

  2. 5

    Add garlic and lemons

    Add 6 smashed garlic cloves and the 2 lemons (cut in half) to the pot. Squeeze one lemon into the pot before dropping in the halves. Let boil for 3–4 minutes to infuse.

  3. 6

    Finish boil liquid

    Taste the liquid carefully (use caution with steam). If you want more heat, add up to 0.5–1 tbs more cayenne or 0.25 cups extra boil seasoning. Once the flavor is robust and salty enough to season the ingredients, proceed to the Vegetables & Sausage steps.

Vegetables & Sausage

  1. 7

    Prep vegetables and sausage

    While the broth is building, scrub the potatoes (leave whole if small), shuck the corn and cut each ear in half (optional), slice the sausage into 2–3 inch pieces, and peel and quarter the onion.

  2. 8

    Cook potatoes

    Add the 1.5 lb potatoes to the rolling seasoned water. Boil potatoes for 12–15 minutes, until nearly fork-tender (timing depends on potato size).

  3. 9

    Add sausage and onion

    Add the 1 lb sausage pieces and 1 quartered yellow onion to the pot. Boil together for 6–8 minutes so the sausage heats through and absorbs seasoning.

  4. 10

    Add corn

    Add the 6 corn halves to the pot and boil for 4–6 minutes so the corn is tender-crisp.

  5. 11

    Add crawfish and final cook

    Carefully add the drained live crawfish to the rolling pot (do not crowd—add in batches if necessary). Let the pot return to a full boil and cook the crawfish for 3–5 minutes until tails curl tightly and they turn bright red. Stir gently once to ensure even cooking.

  6. 12

    Steep for seasoning

    Turn off the heat and let the crawfish, sausage and vegetables steep in the hot seasoned liquid for 20–30 minutes, depending on how spicy and salty you want them. Longer steeping = spicier. During this time prepare the ice bath.

  7. 13

    Shock and drain

    Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer crawfish, corn, potatoes, sausage and onions to the ice bath to stop cooking for 1–2 minutes (this helps set texture and preserve color). Then drain well in a large colander. Discard the used cooking liquid responsibly.

  8. 14

    Finish and serve

    Melt 4 tbs unsalted butter and toss it with the drained crawfish and vegetables. Sprinkle 0.5 cup chopped fresh parsley over everything and squeeze the remaining lemon over the platter. Serve immediately on a newspaper-covered table or large serving tray.

More from Soul Haus Kitchen