Eating crawfish is a Cajun's delight, so with that said, it's my pleasure to share our family's methodology on how to boil crawfish. Here's everything you need to know, with helpful tips and a short video on peeling those tasty tails. So, allons'! (That means let's go!)
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Crawfish season begins in November, and continues through June in the fresh waters of southern Louisiana. However, the crawfish grow larger and more plentiful in warmer months, March through June.
There are many ways we Cajuns like to devour that fruit of the bayou, but I agree with my Mama who used to say, "Crawfish Etouffée and boiled crawfish are the best!"
So true, but catching and boiling is the most entertaining of all.
Jump to:
Crawfishing In The Rice Fields
It was a summer's day when suddenly the back door of our little green house flew open, and Daddy hollered out to Mama, "Grab the kids and some buckets; the rice fields are full of crawfish." They called our cousins who lived down the gravel road to join us, and the hunt was on!
It was a sight to see! The rice grew tall in those days. I can still remember walking through the rows of rice stalks with their full heads bending above my head. Daddy was right. Those red mudbugs were crawling through the mud between the rows of rice everywhere we looked. Our buckets couldn't hold them all, so we chose the large ones and left the rest.
It was a Jubilee, and it was so much fun!
After picking to our heart's content, we loaded ourselves with our full buckets into the back of Daddy's truck and headed down the levee to our little green house. Mama and Daddy cooked the fresh harvest in a large boiling pot, and we ate until our lips were burning from cayenne pepper and our bellies were full. It was a joyful time!
The Tradition Continues
I wish I could experience that again. But oh, how things have changed! Because of the increasing demand for crawfish, farmers have developed ponds suitable for crawfishing in those same rice fields.
The benefit is the attention to Cajun culture through the vehicle of food. This blessing helps preserve the good things of our heritage, like gathering the family together for a boil in the backyard.
I'm happy my children enjoy the crawfish boil tradition today, and we have our own cooking skills down pat. Here's the easy way we do it.
What Do You Need To Make A Crawfish Boil?
- Fresh, live crawfish
- A large pot for the stove or a burner, or a crawfish cooker
- Water
- Seasoning - a blend of your own or one like Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish Shrimp and Crab Boil Seasoning
- Butter
- Other optional ingredients such as lemons, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, sausage, onions, garlic, and whatever you desire
How To Store Live Crawfish
It's important to purchase live crawfish as local and fresh as possible. I now live in southeast Arkansas, close enough to the Louisiana border to pick up a sack or two ourselves or have them trucked the same day they're harvested. However, we see a few crawfish ponds popping up in the Arkansas Delta area. That's exciting!
I feel your pain for those who are too far away to quickly get a fresh delivery! Some companies do ship to just about anywhere. It comes with a higher price but may be a worthwhile splurge!
After getting live crawfish, they must be kept in their netted sack in refrigeration or ice. We usually buy 2 thirty-pound sacks at a time, transporting them in a large ice chest (about 60 quarts) with the bottom lined with bricks and the lid closed.
The bricks keep the crawfish elevated enough so they don't drown in the melted ice. It takes about 6 regular-sized ice bags for this large ice chest with the 2 full sacks. Also, make sure la écrevisse are wet before placing them in the chest, spray them with fresh water, and close the chest's drain.
As soon as I get home, the ice chest is placed outside in a shaded area. Then, with the drain valve opened, we elevated the chest with a brick under it on the opposite side of the drain. This keeps the melted ice flowing out and away from the live crawfish. We add more ice to keep them cold as the ice melts.
Preserving them this way is important because you don't want to boil dead crawfish. That would not be good! And you don't want to waste any either. I have successfully kept them stored on the ice this way for up to 2 days with little to no waste.
How Many Pounds Per Serving
You can estimate 3 to 5 pounds per serving. Except, we Cajuns count on 5 pounds per person . . . at least. Plus, if you have some, the peeled leftovers are good in most recipes, like Chunky Cheesy Creamy Crawfish Dip or Crawfish Nachos. The crawfish tails are already seasoned, so you may want to adjust the seasoning in the recipe.
How To Clean The Crawfish
Take them out of refrigeration or ice chest and allow them to warm up to room temperature while still in the sack. You will see them begin to move. This takes about an hour and a half, depending on how warm it is outside; keep them in the shade.
Empty one bag of crawfish into a large ice chest, give them a good rinse of freshwater, remove any dead crawfish, grass, or debris, and drain.
Here you have the option of purging or not purging. I choose to purge just to be safe, and that's how I was taught.
Some purge using fresh water, others with salt water. I prefer the salt method. This cleans them inside and out, causing them to excrete anything in the digestive tract. It also cleans the outside of the shell.
I have eaten those purged with fresh water only, and they were very clean tasting, but they were clean and fresh-looking, to begin with. It depends on how clean the seller prepares them.
Purging Crawfish With Fresh Water
All you do for this method is repeatedly rinse the crawfish, add water to the ice chest, then stir them around and drain until the water flows clear.
Purging Crawfish With Salt Water
When purging using salt, fill the ice chest with water a few inches above the crawfish. Sprinkle half of a 26-ounce box of regular salt over the water, then stir the crawfish with a large paddle or long-handled spoon to mix well. Let them sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.
This causes them to excrete anything in the digestive tract. It also cleans the outside of the shell. Keep flushing and rinsing with fresh water until the water looks clean.
Remember to protect animals, grass, shrubs, trees, and flowers by draining the saltwater far away from them.
How To Boil Crawfish
Whether you're using a crawfish cooker or a large boiling pot on the stove or outside burner, the cooking process of "how to boil crawfish" is the same. As far as how much water to use, a good rule of thumb is 2 gallons of water for every 10 pounds of crawfish.
We recently purchased this gas cooker that boils up to one sack (thirty pounds) at a time. It's so nifty! There's a fill line to mark the water, so all we have to do is fill it up with fresh water and turn it on. It also makes draining and dumping an easy task.
Of course, you don't need a big cooker like this one. All you need is a large pot, heat source, water, crawfish, and seasonings.
Seasoning The Boiled Crawfish
Nowadays, we use Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish, Shrimp, and Crab Boil Seasoning. It's delicious and super easy! Their 4.5-pound bag is the perfect size for a thirty-pound sack of crawfish. We add another half bag or more when cooking a second thirty-pound sack of crawfish in the same water.
You Can Use Your Own Seasoning Blend Before pre-packaged crawfish boil seasonings became popular, we used our own simple blend of salt and pepper. The ingredients for 30 pounds of crawfish are 2 ½ to 3 twenty-six-ounce boxes of salt, an 8-ounce bottle of cayenne pepper, and one stick of butter. After boiling the crawfish for 15 minutes, give them a 3-minute soak. Then add another box of salt, a few more ounces of pepper, and 1 more stick of butter, stir them well, and serve. That's how I remember eating them as a child— it's the classic style of Cajun cooking. This method gives you more of the crawfish taste and less of the seasoning blend. YUM!
Time To Boil
When the water and seasoning have come to a full rolling boil, it's time to cook. Boil the vegetables first to ensure the potatoes and the rest of the vegetables are cooked long enough. Our family's favorite add-ins are potatoes, corn on the cob, mushrooms, onions, lemon halves, and small link sausages.
The lemons are for added flavor, not eating.
This cooker makes it easy to drain and dump the boiled food into an ice chest before eating. After bringing the water back to a full boil, it's time to add the crawfish and a stick of butter. The butter helps them peel easier.
Let them cook for 5 minutes for small to medium-sized ones, or 8 minutes if they are large.
An Important Step
Then turn off the heat and dump a bag of ice into the boiled crawfish. Or, give them a spray of fresh, cool water from the faucet or water hose. Add enough to replace the amount of water that evaporated during the boil.
Allow the crawfish to soak in the seasoned water until they sink to the bottom. The idea here is to cool them slightly and push water into the shell for a juicier bite. It seems to work because we get luscious easy-to-peel tails every time!
Now it's time to drain and dump them into an ice chest, close the lid, and let them sit for about 15 minutes. This will cause them to soak up even more seasoning before serving.
We like serving ourselves straight from the ice chest, which keeps them hot. We use individual serving trays, but some prefer dumping them out on a table lined with newspaper or plastic and everyone sits around and digs in!
Boiled crawfish can also be eaten with saltine crackers and a dip made with one part mayonnaise and one part ketchup. The dip is for the crackers and the crawfish tails. This is how my children like it.
Helpful Tips On How To Boil Crawfish
- Letting the boiled crawfish sit in the ice chest before serving helps them absorb more of the seasoning.
- You can add any of your favorite vegetables to the boil.
- Cut onions in half and wrap them in foil to keep them from falling apart; the seasoning will still get into the foil package to flavor the onion.
- Adding the ice or the fresh water from a hose to the boiled crawfish while still in the cooker helps cool them slightly and push water into the shell for a juicier bite and easy peel.
- Serve with saltine crackers and a dip made of 1 part mayonnaise and 1 part ketchup.
How To Peel Crawfish
This is one way you can approach the peel. I know it can be a struggle if you're new to eating boiled crawfish, but don't give up. Let your hunger push you to learn your own peeling technique.
I've seen it done in different ways. Some even take a bite right into the shell while holding the tail end with their fingers and they manage to pull the meat out between their teeth. It's not for me, but whatever works for ya'!
You can also suck the heads or use your finger to retrieve the insides for the fat and more of the spicy juice flavor. This was my grandmother's way, but not for me!
The claws have meat in them, also. But don't waste your time on the small ones. The larger ones are more worth it by grabbing the jointed claw end and pulling it out. It's like a prize!
Can you leave crawfish in the water overnight?
No, they will drown; keep them refrigerated or on ice to keep them alive for up to 2 days.
Do you have to purge the crawfish?
It's best to purge the crawfish, which cleans out their digestive tract for best tasting results.
How long do you boil crawfish?
Cook for 5 minutes for smaller and 8 minutes for larger ones in boiling water, then soak them in the seasoned water.
How long should crawfish soak after they are cooked?
Wait until crawfish sink to the bottom of the pot, drain from the water, and store in an ice chest until ready to serve.
More Crawfish Recipes
Another boiled seafood recipe is this Easy Boiled Shrimp recipe. There's no need for those bottled liquids or boxed seasoning bags here. All you need is this recipe, seasonings, raw shrimp, plus a large pot of boiling water. And it's ready in minutes!
The Recipe
PrintRecipe
How To Boil Crawfish: With Helpful Tips
Simple ingredients and instructions on how to boil crawfish with delicious results every time.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Ingredients
6 gallons of water
1 - 4.5 pound bag of Louisiana Fish Fry Products Crawfish Shrimp, and Crab Boil Seasoning, or your favorite blend
1 stick of butter, ¼ pound
30 pounds live crawfish, rinsed and purged
Optional Ingredients:
lemons, cut in half
potatoes
corn on the cob
onions
garlic bulbs
mushrooms
sausage
Instructions
1. Fill a 60-quart pot halfway with fresh water or a crawfish cooker with fresh water to the fill line.
2. Add the seasoning to the water and turn on the heat bringing the water to a full boil.
3. Add lemons and vegetables and cook until vegetables are done, then drain them from the pot and set them aside in an ice chest to keep warm.
5. Add crawfish with butter and cook for 5 minutes for smaller and 8 minutes for larger ones.
6. Turn off the heat, then spray the crawfish with fresh water from the water hose, enough to replace the water that evaporated while cooking, or add a bag of ice, then wait until the crawfish sink to the bottom of the pot or cooker.
7. Drain and place the boiled crawfish in an ice chest, close and let sit for 15 minutes before serving, if you can wait.
Notes
- Letting the boiled crawfish sit in the ice chest before serving helps them absorb more of the seasoning.
- You can add any of your favorite vegetables to the boil.
- Cut onions in half and wrap them in foil to keep them from falling apart; the seasoning will still get into the foil package to flavor the onion.
- Adding the ice or the fresh water from a hose to the boiled crawfish while still in the cooker helps cool them slightly and push water into the shell for a juicier bite and easy peel.
- Serve with saltine crackers and a dip made of 1 part mayonnaise and 1 part ketchup.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Cajun
Keywords: how to boil crawfish, boiled crawfish
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“A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”
― Charles Spurgeon
