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.
Gahhh, I haven’t had crawfish whole since I went to NO ummm almost 5 years ago now. And before that the only time I had them was at… *small voice* Olive Garden, they had this crawfish alfredo dish that I LOOOOOOOVEd… sigh. Yours look delish!
My ex here in California had me going when he said he was taking me “crawdad’n” on the American River (Sacramento)- I was sure it would be something like snipe hunting:-) I couldn’t believe it when we started pulling nets FULL of them out of the water. And the bait? OMG- he punched a few holes in the top of cans of Mighty Dog dog food and threw them in the nets! They loved the stuff! We had so many we had to used a kiddie pool to keep them overnight. Too fun!
Love! Great read as usual! Now I want crawfish!
I went to my first official Crawfish boil last year in Galveston… tons of good eating (and drinking) there!
I know my friends are having another one down there in July.. too bad I’ll be back down there in June.
Yay for Texans in yankeedom!
I’m right here in north central Louisiana, in the heart of crawfish country, and it’s the height of the season right now. Crawfish boils on every corner. I can’t eat shellfish, but my husband says they’re better (sweeter and more tender) than lobster.
Crawfish may be the only benefit to living in Louisiana. Tony Chachere’s is better than Zatarains, though, but I bet that is a really local product.
Remoulade is good with crawfish. Mix some ketchup or cocktail sauce, a little ranch dressing, some Tony’s (or Zatarain’s), and a squeeze from a lemon. And it’s a huge debate between north/south Louisiana (the really strange folks live down south) whether you should suck the heads or not.
Regardless, it’s heresy to consume crawfish without cold beer.