Crawfish Recipe

Purge and rinse crawfish

Place live crawfish in a large container or cooler and cover with fresh cool water. Agitate gently to remove dirt and debris. Drain and repeat until water runs clearer (1–2 rinses). Do not leave crawfish submerged for long periods—drain within 30 minutes. Remove any dead crawfish (those that do not move when prodded).

Scrub potatoes and cut large ones in half. Shuck corn and cut cobs in halves or thirds. Slice Andouille into 1-inch rounds. Smash garlic cloves and quarter the onion. Halve lemons.

In a very large stockpot (at least 8–12 quart), add 5 qt water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Add sea salt, crab boil seasoning, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, smashed garlic, quartered onion, thyme sprigs, and the halved lemons (cut side down). Stir to combine and return to a vigorous boil. Let the seasoned broth boil for 8–10 minutes to concentrate flavor.

Add potatoes to the boiling broth first. Cook until potatoes are almost tender when pierced with a fork, about 10–12 minutes depending on size.

Add corn and Andouille sausage to the pot and continue boiling for 5–7 minutes until corn is tender and sausage is heated through.

Working quickly, add the live crawfish to the boiling seasoned broth. Stir to ensure even distribution, cover the pot, and bring back to a full boil. Once the pot returns to a boil, cook for 3–5 minutes (crawfish cook quickly).

Turn off heat and let the crawfish and add-ins steep in the hot seasoned water for an additional 15–20 minutes so they absorb seasoning. Adjust steep time depending on how strongly seasoned you like them (longer steep = stronger flavor).

Using a large mesh strainer or drain basket, lift the crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage out of the pot and transfer to a large serving platter or newspaper-lined table for a casual feed.

While still hot, drizzle melted butter over the catch, sprinkle chopped parsley and extra crab boil or Cajun seasoning to taste. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the side.

Serve immediately family-style. To store leftovers, refrigerate shelled crawfish meat or whole cooled cooked crawfish in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a skillet with a little butter or rewarm briefly in the microwave.