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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2010 22:37:13 GMT
Right now is the height of crawfish season here in South Louisiana. This afternoon,some lovely neighbors had a crawfish boil and enjoy we did. Good clean fun for the whole wretched family.  Here's how we do it down here.  Start off with a big giant pot with highly seasoned water and bring to a rolling boil. Seasonings include the mostly commonly used combination of cayenne,salt,various dried herbs,garlic,lemon. Gosh,I know I'm forgetting something here.  Fifty pounds of live crawfish (AKA "crawdaddies") about to plunge into the pot of boiling water.  They're in  Now,various other ingredients that will soak up the crawfish boil flavor are added to the pot. Here is some homemade sausage from Lafayette being put in the pot.  Fresh mushrooms. Other additions include whole heads of garlic,whole onions,potatoes,corn, and today,a unique surprise,brussel sprouts.  They're ready,basket pulled out of the pot. (Brave soul, my friend, wearing sandals around all this scalding water!!!)    Standing around the table to eat,no one ever sits down!! Just not how you eat crawfish at a crawfish boil!!   First batch gone. Another batch in the pot. Protocol generally calls for people to take turns at the table,which is usually pretty long. Everyone gets a turn or two at the table,then visits with others sitting around,drinking beer and having a good time. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2010 16:29:24 GMT
Magnificent! Is that what you'll be serving all of us when we organize our trip to New Orleans?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2010 16:50:09 GMT
Magnificent! Is that what you'll be serving all of us when we organize our trip to New Orleans? Thanks. I haven't had a crawfish boil in a real long time,but,would be up for it. I would go ahead and get a sack of oysters too if y'all behave. Was a fun thread to shoot. You can't ask for a more laid back atmosphere truly. I was standing next to a couple from Scranton.Pennsylvania who had never had crawfish before in their lives. It was a treat to show them and watch them as they learned. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2010 19:57:49 GMT
You will be amazed when you see us Europeans eating the crawfish boil with knives and forks.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 19, 2010 1:24:18 GMT
I guess you know I can scarcely bear to look at this (wonderful, brilliantly photographed) thread?  The one food I love more than any other, that is bound up with so many happy memories for me, is the crawfish. *sob* I found the addition of the sausage and the vegetables interesting. I've never had anything boiled with crawfish (besides the seasonings, of course) other than potatoes & corn. Your pictures are amazing. I found myself trying to take whiffs of the steam rising of those beauties. Whew! |
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Post by lola on Apr 19, 2010 2:33:18 GMT
Oh, my. Crawdaddy heaven. Wonderful, Casimira. Thanks!
How many people to finish off 50 lb of crawfish?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 5:29:09 GMT
I had never heard of mixing other items in either, and until I saw these photos I would have been against it. But now I see the point of it, because when you are digging into the crawfish or shrimp, you don't have time for the side dishes that were generally prepared -- throwing the side dish into the pot at least makes it accessible!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 10:39:23 GMT
Knives and forks,that's funny. That I have not seen but, I do recall many other methods people have employed to eat crawfish. Many a tail tale,has been shared over the table of "remember the time when..." I'm sure Bixa could contribute some of her recollections of.
I'm trying to recall when I first started seeing the addition of other ingredients other than corn or potatoes. It's been a while, I'd say 15-20 years. The sausage is a particularly welcome addition/accompaniment.
Another one I've seen fairly often is whole baby artichokes. In fact, they had them on Saturday but forgot to put them in the pot.
One of the things that is really key in doing this is how careful one needs to be with the seasoning of the water. A too heavy handed toss of the cayenne pepper can and will ruin the whole batch. Some people's tolerance for of course, varies but,I see no point in overdoing it.
This fellow had the seasoning down perfectly.
Each batch was fifty pounds. I arrived as the first batch was coming out of the pot,and we had I'd say 12 of us imbibing. The second batch was going in when I was leaving and more people were arriving. (obviously these things are very,very casual).
I'd guess that all total, there were 20-25 guests that came and went over the course of the afternoon.
I'm sure there were no leftovers.
(A little bit of crawfish trivia I had never heard before: Crawfish can walk forward on their legs,but when they are alarmed they propel themselves backward very quickly with jerks of their tail. In Louisiana the expression "to crawfish" means to back out on a deal.)
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Post by hwinpp on Apr 20, 2010 2:08:01 GMT
Fantastic thread, Casimira! I'd have to control myself not to be standing at the the table all the time until full.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 16:36:13 GMT
I knew that somewhere in here I did a thread on the traditional crawfish boil.
And, here it is.
We are going to TWO crawfish boils this afternoon.
I love it when Easter falls smack dab in the middle of crawfish season!!!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 17, 2017 0:43:35 GMT
Best of all possible ways to spend the day!
Casimira, this great thread is really, really, really making me miss your photographs!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 3:36:41 GMT
I look at the price of crayfish here and almost always decide that I will have to do without them.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 14:22:02 GMT
Thanks Bixa. I finally did get a decent camera and am slowly mustering it up to get back into posting pics. I need to explore some of the different hosts that are out there to use. I plan to ask L. to give me a hand with this as I am feeling a tad challenged. It's been awhile.
It's a bumper crop this year and the prices, while I'm not exactly sure what they cost per pound (and, it depends on where one goes) for live crawfish, the prices I've seen at some of the local establishments that are already boiled are very reasonable. $2.00 USD -$3.00 is about the average price per pound. A lot of places offer 3lbs. for $7.00. 3lbs. is about the average amount per person.
But, we rarely buy them in either form as we know so any people who host "boils" leaving us sated. We were invited to three yesterday but only attended two of them. That was more than enough.
Last night the Maple Leaf, (a local music club around the corner from us) had a massive boil. Four very long tables set up in the middle of Oak Street. Live music. All the crawfish you could eat and entertainment @ $10.00 a head. Not a bad deal.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 24, 2021 7:58:00 GMT
Doing some YouTube surfing I accidently came across a video demonstrating one of these famous Crawfish Boils. My what a lot of effort goes into the preparation! Those muddy little critters first had to be "washed" / purged of all their poop and outer dirt. This took a special kind of washing machine action with running water swirling around. I must say they did look pretty clean after an hour or so.
The water in the big pot had loads of spices traditionally added....by the packet! Then came the potatoes, corn and sausage etc. etc. before adding the crawfish.
What surprised me was when it was all ready it got a couple of packs of ice thrown into the cooler box with the crawfish to cool them down quicker.
The family then showed us the best way to eat the cooked crawfish - the wife liked the creamy inside of the heads but he just preferred the tail meat and had a nifty way to get it out the shell.
The sad thing is I could attempt it here with langoustines but there would be no similarity at all without those special spices.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 24, 2021 18:56:14 GMT
Tod, the reason for cooling the cooked crawfish down quickly is to stop them from cooking further & getting mushy. You could easily duplicate the spices -- none of them are exotic or hard to get. As far as cleaning them, when people go crawfishing & bring them home live, they generally put them in a tub with cornmeal so the mudbugs will eat the cornmeal & poop it out, leaving them ready too be boiled. Here are some good guides to whipping up your own boil mixture ~ www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/food-and-drink/make-your-own-crawfish-seasoning/40130849/ |
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Post by casimira on Mar 25, 2021 3:34:35 GMT
I can't believe that this thread is already almost exactly 12 years old!!! Time flies when you're sucking on crawdads!!!
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Post by tod2 on Mar 25, 2021 10:43:14 GMT
Thank you so much Bixa! I see there was a remark about getting "liquid boil" - That must have been the reddish stuff I saw in a 5L plastic container. Now to find the crawdads!  |
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Post by casimira on Mar 25, 2021 14:15:39 GMT
Tod, if and when this massive home renovation happens here at our home, I would love to host a Anyporter gathering during crawfish season. What a blast that would be!!Of course, we're going to have to wait until all this virus disaster is over etc.
But, please at least try and envision it and allow yourself something to look forward to.
There are some AirBNB's in the immediate neighborhood to accommodate whomever we don't have room for.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2021 14:33:35 GMT
I see there was a remark about getting "liquid boil" - That must have been the reddish stuff I saw in a 5L plastic container. Tod, you can get the liquid boil where you are?! I don't consider it crucial to a crab, shrimp, or crawfish boil, but it might be useful for you to use the first time in order to get an idea of the flavor profile. |
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Post by casimira on Mar 25, 2021 14:40:57 GMT
Added to Bixa's post, Kerouac has a stash of the proper seasonings (although, in teabag like sacs) that I sent him last year which I'm sure he could spare a couple of boxes to send you. Most of the crawfish boil "masters" prefer the sacs to the liquid because it allows the seasons to "steep" vs. the liquid which disperses alot and dilutes the flavour.
The liquid is better for small batches of boiled shrimp (prawns) and the like.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 25, 2021 14:52:15 GMT
Thats kind of you to suggest Casi but it would be a costly exercise for Kerouac, and with our very poor postal system the likelihood of the envelope being opened and contents removed is a high risk.'
I would jump at the chance if I was in UK. I will however be a grateful recipient of the genuine spices should I just happen to land up in Paris next year!! I bet you anything that there is a shop selling them in Paris itself. Like a Harrod's or something.
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Post by casimira on Mar 25, 2021 15:12:38 GMT
Well, if that's the case, make sure it's brand name is Zatarain's. Any other brand is inferior in comparison. Kerouac would be more knowledgeable on the topic than I.
It would be hilarious to see the person who tore the packets open because the inhalation of just the cayenne alone would have them go into a mega sneezing episode. Serve the f'ers right!!!
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Post by tod2 on Mar 25, 2021 16:15:00 GMT
I am so happy to report I found the guys who lead me to those oh so incredible little crawfish!
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Post by casimira on Mar 25, 2021 17:33:47 GMT
What a great find Tod!!! Very well done and thorough.
The only addition that I would make is that aside from the onion, corn, garlic, potatoes, sausage are some other "exotic" type additions which are delightful. Whole button mushrooms, baby artichokes, asparagus, Brussel sprouts cut in half unless you have baby sprouts, and one or two things I can't recall at the moment. i recall one boil I went to that cheap pork chops were added.
The mushrooms in particular are a really cool addition because you can snap off the stem of mushroom and put the crawfish tail meat into the empty button and it's heavenly!
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 25, 2021 17:43:42 GMT
The Zatarain's site gives this as the ingredients for "crawfish, shrimp and crab boil" --
Mustard Seed, Coriander Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Bay Leaves, Dill Seed, Allspice.
It's really quite simple if you can figure out the proportions.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2021 17:49:59 GMT
I have been all over the internet trying to find some guidance on from-scratch seasoning. Everyone calls what they do a recipe, but then they lean heavily on products not available to most of the world.
This should help, although if it were me I would use fewer dried powders & rely only on real onions and garlic, for instance. Also, I don't see the point of grinding everything. Just chuck the spices whole into the water, which is supposed to boil for several minutes & get seasoned before adding the craws. I might be wrong, but off the top of my head I'd say fewer cloves and more bay leaves and to add a larger amount of the seasoning per gallon of water. Also, the crucial cut up lemon(s) is/are missing.
Still, this is a good guide and is only 5 minutes long, always a plus.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2021 17:51:45 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2021 17:56:45 GMT
Huckle, many of the so-called from scratch recipes call for Old Bay plus other ingredients. My focus, though, was on finding a recipe which didn't call for any commercial mixes which might not be available to Tod.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 25, 2021 18:01:18 GMT
I really enjoyed the video (by tod2), but it makes me laugh to imagine how disgusted so many people would be to have this delicious meal. Even in France, I have a number of friends who don't want to touch mussels or shrimp and will only eat them if everything "unacceptable" has been removed. So sad!
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 25, 2021 18:07:06 GMT
For Blue Crab boils on the Eastern shore we used Old Bay which, at that time, was local. Since McCormick bought the rights to the seasoning, one can find it pretty much everywhere. Would that be good for crawfish? Old Bay Spice is perfectly fine for such things, but I always up the ante with extra Thai chillies or Cayenne pepper or other such items. But Old Bay is quite spicy enough for most people. I used to use it a lot more but for some reason it has moved to the back of my spice cabinet -- I still have one and a half tins of it on hand. I must bring it out again before it become totally useless.
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