Small Scale Crawfish Boil/Grill
Crawfish is yummy, but lots of trouble, especially when you get such a small amount of food from each one. The recommendation is to calculate 5 lbs of crawfish per person, but we've found that 2 is plenty, especially if you have plenty of the other things in the boil.
We did this out at Chee-Chee and Nolan Ray's cabin once and a couple of times in our back yard in McKinney. It's lots of work and as far as food goes, shirmp is easier. But it's a fun experience and the kids love it.
Pre-Prep Time: 4-24 hours
Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min
Cook Time: 23 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 5-6 serving
Spice Blend
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
2 tbsp whole cloves
2 tbsp whole allspice
4 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp dried dill weed
6 bay leaves
Boil Ingredients
Spice Blend (above)
5 gal water
½ cup kosher salt
3 lemons halved
20 lbs live crawfish
1 lbs small red potatoes, cut in 1/2, if larger than 2-inches in diameter
4 ears corn, halved
1 lb small onions peeled
10 peeled garlic cloves
1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces (there are some good vegetarian ones out there now if you want this to stay pescetarian)
Directions for spice blend
Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds. Add this and remaining spice blend ingredients to a jar and shake to blend.
Directions for Crawfish Boil
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 large container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the soaking water is clear.
Before you start the cooking process, consider your serving and eating location. We recommend you cover your dining table with something disposable or easily washed. If you choose to put the food directly on the table as is traditional, we suggest brown paper. This is a messy meal so put out a roll of paper towels. There will be lots of trash, some of it will shells and heads which will get smelly, so trash bags are important.
Fill a 26-quart pot - 1/3 full of water. Add salt, lemons and Spice Blend. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, onions and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add ½ of the crawfish, cover, return to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.
Place the other half of the crawfish on a hot grill and grill about 7 minutes. Pour grilled crawfish along with the well-drained contents of the boil onto the table. The grilled crawfish add another flavor note.
Multiply for larger groups, but you must use a larger pot and burner similar to a turkey fryer.