[Goooh]

Originally Posted by BananaTom

I purge my Crawfish for 30 minutes. Put them in a large ice chest or container. Pour one box of salt over them and then cover them in water, let them soak in the salt water for 30 minutes. This makes them sick; they clean out their insides by puking and crapping.


Then drain the water and rinse them several times until the water runs clear. You will see a large amount of dark water leave the bugs.

Many say you do not have to purge, I disagree, as I have never purged and not seen allot of dark water that I would not like to eat.

Get your water boiling / rolling good with any type of Seasoning. Louisiana Seafood boil at Sports Authority on Davis is good to use. Lower the bugs into the rolling water. My burner is then turned on high. In one minute we are back to a roll. After 7minutes in the water they are cooked.

Turn off the fire, hose down the outside of the pot and place 10 pounds of ice on top of the bugs, push the ice down into the water, still in the bag. The ice will melt, but will not dilute the water. When the ice is melted, remove the ice bag full of water / melted ice and discard.

You have stopped the cook by cooling down the pot. The water turns cooler; the bugs are hotter than the water. This draws in the seasoning and stops the bugs from over cooking. (This is very Important). An over cooked bug will not peel easy. The meat will stick to the shell; they are very hard to peel.

The tail meat will slide out of the shell easily in a perfectly cooked bug. Soak the crawfish in the cooled water for 15 - 30 minutes, this will season the bugs. During this time, taste test for application of seasoning to taste. The longer they soak, the more season they will draw in to the meat.

If the bug is cooked right, the hard shell does not matter, as the meat will slide out. By cooking the sausage or Boston butt in the water will add grease to the pot. Pop the head; pinch the tail, the meat slides out, in a perfectly cooked bug.
If the meat sticks to the shell, they are over cooked, and then the hard shell does matter, as your fingers will get a work out.

CRAYFISH BOIL SHOPPING LIST List

Crawfish 30-35 lbs.persack
Onions lbs
Lemons bags
Celery
Garlic - Large
Mushrooms lbs
Brussels Sprouts frozen
Seasoning
Zatarin’s Pro Boil or
Louisiana Seafood
Zip Lock Bags, leftovers
Sausage thick lbs
Small New Potatoes lbs
Small frozen Corn
Hot Dogs 8 to a pack
Small Butter squeeze
Paper towels
Beer
Boston Butt
Propane
Salt
Pineapple cans sliced
Cauliflower
Fresh Green Beans lbs
Ice, for cooling pot

Secret 1 - don't take secrets from anyone who calls them Crayfish!