Lessons learned from my first crawfish boil
It’s crawfish season (or crawdad, as we used to say in Texas when I was growing up), and nothing beats having a group of people over for a big boil. Usually, these gatherings are held outside since the cleaning, boiling and eating of the crustaceans can get messy. But what if you don’t have an outdoor space? Here are 10 things I learned this weekend when I held my first-ever crawfish boil inside my tiny New York City apartment.
1. These guys are feisty and love to pinch. Either wear thick gloves or stock up on bandages.
2. A broadsheet newspaper, such as The New York Times, makes a better table cover than a tabloid newspaper, such as The New York Post. The latter, however, has far wittier headlines.
3. Accordions are optional. If you don’t have any Zydeco bands on your IPod, don’t fret. Anything that gets your feet tapping and your hips shaking will be fine.
4. Finding Zatarain’s or Tex-Joy crawfish boil spice mix on the East Coast is impossible. Old Bay will suffice as long as you supplement it with tons of cayenne. Or better yet, make your own spice mix.
5. If you don’t have a supply of local, live crawfish, order them from Louisiana purveyors such as Cajun Grocer or Louisiana Crawfish. Not only do they taste better but it helps the Louisiana economy.
6. Don’t gaze at their cute little bug eyes for too long or you might start feeling bad about what you’re about to do the creatures: boil them and eat them.
7. If you’re cooking in a small apartment without any outdoor space, be sure and open a window (or two) when purging (a.k.a. cleaning) the crawfish. All that mud and swamp gunk gets stinky.
8. When your live crawfish arrive at the office, resist the pleadings of your colleagues to open the cooler and pull out a couple for races. This can only lead to trouble, especially if they’re fast and like to hide (the crawfish, not your colleagues).
9. If the tail on a cooked crawfish isn’t curved, do not eat it. A straight tale means that the crawfish was dead before it was boiled, and it’s going to be mushy and taste rotten. It’s best to try and pick out most of the dead ones before you do your boil, but be careful as the live ones can get restless as you’re picking through the batch (see tip No. 1).
10. These crustaceans are known by many names—crawdads, crayfish, crawfish, swamp lobsters or mud bugs—but no matter what they’re called, they taste just as delicious. (Though our Louisiana friends may give you the stink-eye if you refer to them as anything but crawfish.)
What are some of your tips for boiling crawfish?
Boiled crawfish
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 lemons, cut in half
- 1/2 cup mustard seeds
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup whole cloves
- 1/4 cup whole allspice
- 1/4 cup coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons cayenne
- 10 bay leaves
- 20 pounds of live crawfish
- 1 stalk celery
- 10 red potatoes
- 10 ears of corn cut in half
- 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into one-inch pieces
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut in half
- 12 cloves garlic. peeled (one head)
- 20 pounds live crawfish
Instructions
- In a tall 12-quart pot with a boil basket, add the butter, lemons, mustard seeds, salt, cloves, allspice, coriander, cayenne, bay leaves, potatoes, corn, sausage, onions, and garlic. Fill the pot with water two-thirds up the sides. Turn heat on high. When the water gets warm (but before it’s boiling), taste the water and make any spice adjustments, such as adding more salt or cayenne.
- Meanwhile, as the water is heating, purge the crawfish if they haven’t been purged yet. (Purging is getting rid of all the mud and other swamp gunk). To do this in an apartment, put a stopper in your kitchen sink, unload the crawfish into the sink, and fill it with water. Let them soak for 2 minutes and then drain the sink. The water will be brown and kind of funky, but after you repeat this action 2 more times the water should be more or less clear.
- Once the pot is boiling, throw in the crawfish and boil for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes. (You can do this in batches, just add more water and spices as necessary. The corn and potatoes can come out of the pot after the first batch is boiled.)
- Place bowl of crawfish on table covered with newspaper or butcher paper, snap, peel, and enjoy.
Scribbit–If you love fresh shell fish, then you’ll enjoy crawfish. And the camaraderie of the boil is half the fun!
Yvo–There’s no shame in loving crawfish alfredo. And can you keep a secret? In college I worked at the Olive Garden and adored their alfredo sauce. So there!
KPRN–A kiddie pool is a perfect place to store your crawfish. And how fun you caught them yourselves!
Jerry–Yep, it’s the season!
Jennessa–That’s too bad you’ll miss the on in Galveston, but there’s no reason you can’t have one on the East Coast.
Sarah G.–I love also love remoulade with my shell fish. And I adore Tony Chachere, but you’re right, we definitely can’t find that here.
Lore–A chef is good, then you can just sit back and peel away!
RecipeGirl–Yep, if you like lobster or shrimp, you’ll like crawfish.
Mattexian–Good to know, thanks!
Wymommad–Oh yes, there’s nothing like a Texas care package!
Orsiko–I had no idea that crawfish were so popular in Russia!
Anon–I did not know that you didn’t have to peel the garlic. Well that certainly makes things easier!
Garrett–Come on over! But you’re making dessert.
Amber–Yay! I’m glad your crawfish boil was fun!
Texann–Asparagus would be delicious–ours haven’t arrived yet but they are supposed to be at the markets by next week.
Cynthia–Hey, I’m glad I made you laugh!
I can hardly believe a crawfish boil in an apartment. Not just the mess, but you miss the drama of a few of them crawling over the ice chests and trying to escape into the wild. Though, the cat vs crawfish encounters could be more entertaining…
As a homebrewer, I have a stainless steel 18 gallon pot and a 185,000 btu cooker. Here in Dallas, I like to buy from the Cajun Crawfish Company. For a little extra, you can get them to give you the largest ‘dads they can find, the kind it’s worthwhile cracking open the claws for the claw meat.
I love this blog! I am also a transplant from The Lone Star state and reading your blog is a big, fat reminder of home. I was wondering where you got your live crawfish in NYC. I’m looking to have a crawfish/shrimp boil on my roof soon and I’d love to know where you found your “bugs”. Thanks so much and keep up the good work!
Allen–I know! It felt weird doing it inside, but you do what you can when you live in the big city!
Katie–Mine came from CajunGrocer (cajungrocer.com), which ships them alive via FedEx. I don’t think you can find them alive here in the city (especially those from LA) but you might find Asian ones in Chinatown.
If you cook your crawfish in 2 batches, keep an eye on the cooler. If you are trying this outside, the wind might blow the cooler over, and then you have to hunt the crawfish down as they try to escape across your front yard… Happened last Sunday. Windy day. Excellent crawfish boil.