Crawfish Boil

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Crustacean Nation 4: Crawfish

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (9)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(9)

Cook Time:
23 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
10 to 12 servings

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 30 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 23 min
Total:: 1 hr 53 min

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
5 gallons water
1 pound kosher salt
4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons 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
3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in 1/2, if larger than 2-inches in diameter
8 ears corn, halved
2 heads garlic, unpeeled, but separated
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds.

Fill a 40-quart pot with 5 gallons of water and add the freshly ground spices, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, dill weed, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, approximately 40 minutes.

Rinse the crawfish thoroughly in the bag in which they arrived to remove excess dirt and mud. Put the crawfish in a large container and fill with cool water. Stir to remove dirt from the crawfish. Transfer small batches of crawfish to a colander and rinse under cool running water. Pick out any debris or dead crawfish. Once all crawfish have been rinsed, discard dirty water, and return the crawfish to the container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the water is clear.

Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the crawfish, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Crawfish Boil
Alex Santa Barbara, CA 10-15-2009
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Don't listen to the other reviews
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

A lot of the other reviews are from people who haven't actually made it. I've made it and it's great. Everyone raves about... it, enough so that I am doing another boil tomorrow. I had no issues with keeping them alive in fresh water. I didn't use the bubble rig AB used, but the hose to introduce fresh water and air every 30mins or so.Read more
recipe Crawfish Boil
Perry Lafayette, LA 07-30-2009
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Not Bad for a West Coast Guy
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Look, you had the right idea Alton. Buy American Crawfish is the only way to go. All of your methods were ok in principle... (for your non Cajun fans), but way to methodical for a Cajun. The purging for 24 hours? Now who told you to do that? Once you get a sack of crawfish around a few Cajuns, those mudbugs would do well to survive over a couple of hours before hitting the pot! If you get pond raised Crawfish, there should be no sand and very little silt (mud) in their system. You should always purge however and using an ice chest as you did works with a few rinses in fresh water alone. I agree that salt tends to kill off too many before they are ready to boil. I use all of the things you put in the boil, but add a couple of packs of onion soup mix (at the beginning) that you can find (cheaper the better). Also in the pot goes whole onions, mushrooms, "smoked" sausage. Andouille sausage is for the Gumbo pot, not the Crawfish pot my friend. I have also put in carrots, hot dogs, hot tamales (if sealed with rubber bands on each end) and lemon. If you have shrimp, either whole or peeled, get those in after you boil your Crawfish as well. When you build a good boiling mixture you want to get any and all boilable foods that you can in before throwing the mixture away. You should know that the spiced up water makes an excellent "kill everything" that it is poured on, so be careful if you empty your pot in a place that you don't want to kill anything green. A storm drain works nicely. You did a good job with demonstrating how to peel (man I wish that all I had to do is pinch the tail and the meat just pops out) and the all important "Suck da head". For that part alone you become an honorary Cajun...........West Coast branch. Really enjoy your work?.......you make the shows fun. Read more
recipe Crawfish Boil
lauren mamou, LA 07-30-2009
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crawfish boil
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

we just use louisiana crawfish seasoning-into pot of boiling water. Boil 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size of crawfish,... turn off heat for 10 minutes,then put in ice chest for 10 minutes and then we eat. We boil about 50 to 60 pounds for 6 to 8 people. Left overs are frozen if there are any. Wash them well so you don't have bait or grass when you are ready to eat.Read more
recipe Crawfish Boil
Jona Duson, LA 07-29-2009
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What a joke
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Any one from the south knows that you must purge ur crawfish in salt water before you boil it. We definetly do not time our... food... and surely do not suck the meat out of the tails. There is a technique which is very easy... I think you shouldtravel down south to Louisisana for a real crawfish boil. Love the showRead more
recipe Crawfish Boil
Craig Houston, TX 05-24-2009
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40 lbs. wasted
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

We tried your method of "purging" the crawfish, however, many had died during the process. The ones that were alive when we... boiled them, many tasted rotten. I will resort to my original purging method from now on. Salted cool water, exchanging several times will rid the crawfish of the mud and muck responsible for bad tasting/smelling crawfish. Folks, you should always purge your crawfish in salty water- it's the only way to successfully have a good tasting batch of crawfish. We are out 60 bucks. Thanks Alton....we will however continue to watch the show...we understand not everyone knows what good crawfish should taste like as not everyone is from the south. Sincerely, Stephanie BowerRead more
recipe Crawfish Boil
Keith Baton Rouge, LA 05-09-2009
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10 pounds just a start
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Alton loved the show as I do most all of your good eats segments. now the one on boiling crawfish was over the top. Using an... aquarium to purge thats innovative. really all that is needed is to rinse in a #3 wash tub a few times to clean the mud off the outside. Some suggest using salt but all that does is kiil the mudbugs sooner rather than later. We usually boil 30 to 40 pounds at a time for four people so you can see why we in LA laughed at only cooking ten pounds. Your seasoning mix is a lot of work there are local companies that make sack size seasoning mixes that take ther work out of seasoning. I was glad to see you use the onions, garlic and lemons those are a must. We really like to eat the onions and garlic. I would like to extend an invite to you if you ever want a typical back yard crawfish boil just com on down to Baton Rouge and my neighbor and I will cook some up for you!!Read more