Laisez Les Bons Temps Rouler CRAWFISH BOIL RECIPE, Party It Up! for MondayRed ColorChallenge

CRAWFISH!!!!

Crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs, however you want to say it, they are good!

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Crawfish are a southern delicacy and can be found across the Southern US states, although really, Louisiana has the best and longest traditions.

I may be biased though.

The crustacean is a bottom feeder and resembles a lobster crossed with a shrimp. They have that classic fishy taste, but because they live in freshwater mud (there are salt water crawfish, but it's easier to find them in your ditch) the meat takes a salty and spicy seasoning very well.

Here's the Recipe to have your own Crawfish Boil:

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground clove

3/4 tablespoon ground allspice

5 gallons water

1 pound salt

4 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground paprika

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon dried dill weed

6 bay leaves, crumbled

10 pounds live crawfish

Crawfish boils are usually accompanied by vegetables as well. Just throw them in the last 15 minutes of the boil, otherwise they will absorb ALL the salt and spices and ruin the veg. A classic boil will have whole potatoes (the little red ones are best) and corn on the cob in it, but there are plenty of other options including sausage (andouille is classic, but others will work), carrots, whole garlic cloves, whole onions (the small white ones are best), green beans and mushrooms. Take your pick!

To determine how many vegetables you need:

Measure out 2 potatoes per person, 1 whole corn on the cob, one whole garlic clove, half and onion, one sausage and a handful each of green beans and mushrooms. It sounds like a lot, but you will have some people that don't eat potatoes and others that each two servings. Plus, all the left overs taste delicious the next day. And the day after that. And they freeze.

This recipe is for 10 pounds of crawfish. One person can eat between 3-5 pounds by themselves, although frequently we chow down on more than 7 pounds per person. Depends on how long you want to peel and how much beer you've got!

Before you get started:

Be sure to rinse your crawfish several times to get the mud and debris out of the crevices in their shells. Rinse until the water runs clear(ish). Any crawfish that are not moving and have their tails out straight have died, throw them out. They taste terrible when cooked. It is normal to have about 10% of your sack die before cooking.

Just bring the water up to boil, dump in your seasonings, stir well, dump in the LIVE crawfish and throw the lid on the pot. Yes, you will need a huge pot. I recommend one that a child can sit in comfortably. I have one that I can sit in and it's not always large enough. Le sigh!

Cook:

10 minutes for the first 10 pound of crawfish, adding 5 minutes cooking time per extra 10 pounds after that. Add in your veg and let cook another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and cooked through.

I've included a video on how to peal crawfish vv The best and easiest way to peel them is shown at 2:30. I can personally vouch for this method ;)

(the video is not mine)

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Until next time my friends,
@jennswall
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