Boiling Crawfish

Boiling is the most popular method of cooking crawfish for home consumption in Louisiana.  One method of boiling is as follows:

Plan on cooking about 5 pounds of live crawfish for every adult eating. 

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Use 1 gallon of water for every 2 pounds of crawfish. Do not overfill the pot to avoid overflowing.

For the traditional crawfish boil where the crawfish are peeled and eaten immediately, the cooking water should be well seasoned. Typically, onions, lemon halves, red pepper, garlic, commercial crawfish/crab boil and salt are added.  As a general rule, use 1 pound of salt for each 5 gallons of water. Add other seasonings to your own taste. The sky’s the limit!

It is also a Louisiana tradition to boil large mushrooms, whole artichokes, cauliflower or smoked sausage in the same pot.

Boil the crawfish for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the crawfish to soak for another 10-15 minutes before removing from the water.  This allows the crawfish to absorb the seasonings.  The longer they soak the spicier they will be!

Remove the crawfish from the water with a wire basket or sieve, pile on a paper-covered table, peel and ENJOY!