crawfish boiling secrets

[rainy_day]

Haveing friends in this weekend. Planning a crawfish boil
Want to do it right. So i'm looking for some boiing pointers
Couldn't think of a better place to get them.

[swamp snorkler]

This gone be good

[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

[T-TOP]

I agree the most important part is the soak after temp is lowered with water or ice either one.. No need for seasoning on crawfish in the cooler after that! Always put a couple more sticks of butter and squeeze a couple more lemons after each pot of crawfish come out.

BTW there is about 200 different good ways to boil em!! Lol

[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!

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by T-TOP

I agree the most important part is the soak after temp is lowered with water or ice either one.. No need for seasoning on crawfish in the cooler after that! Always put a couple more sticks of butter and squeeze a couple more lemons after each pot of crawfish come out.

BTW there is about 200 different good ways to boil em!! Lol

Lotsa lemons! Good soak time, as soon as the steam rolls out of the lid I kill the fire and put a little ice to stop the cooking.

I also dusted a sack with about a quarter box of brown sugar last weekend once they were in the chest, then shook it up... The brown sugar dissolved and gave a knockout flavor that the old school die hards loved and could NoT figure out.

["W"]

[swamp snorkler]

Don't use ice, fill a 2 liter bottle 7/8 of the way with water, stick it in the freezer to freeze and use that in stead of ice.

Instead of butter I use a bottle of Italian Dressing for my oil source.

["W"]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

Don't use ice, fill a 2 liter bottle 7/8 of the way with water, stick it in the freezer to freeze and use that in stead of ice..

So you do use ICE????

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

Don't use ice, fill a 2 liter bottle 7/8 of the way with water, stick it in the freezer to freeze and use that in stead of ice.
.

Inside out or outside in frozen?

["W"]

Originally Posted by meaux fishing

Inside out or outside in frozen?

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by "W"

So you do use ICE????

If I put it in my oustide freezer it freezes from the inside out, if I put it in my inside freezer it freezes from the outside in. If I boil spillway crawfish raised in a pond I use use the outside in frozen ice. Gets colder quicker that way. If I boil pond crawfish I use my inside out frozen ice from my good ice box. That's only with the months that have an 4 in them though. So from now till September I will outside in frozen from my outside freezer to boil them.

Now shirmp is a whole differnt story, I use only fiji water with 3 sips missing out of a 22.5 ox square bottle, they come out perfect every time and it doesnt matter which freezer i freeze the bottle in because shrimp has 1 vowel in it and not 2 like crawfish. Now if I get a sack of crayfish to boil I can use the fiji because it y is sometimes a vowel and if you have an odd number of vowels its okay.


Hope I cleared this up.

[SaltERedneck]

pahahahahhaha thats classic

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

If I put it in my oustide freezer it freezes from the inside out, if I put it in my inside freezer it freezes from the outside in. If I boil spillway crawfish raised in a pond I use use the outside in frozen ice. Gets colder quicker that way. If I boil pond crawfish I use my inside out frozen ice from my good ice box. That's only with the months that have an 4 in them though. So from now till September I will outside in frozen from my outside freezer to boil them.

Now shirmp is a whole differnt story, I use only fiji water with 3 sips missing out of a 22.5 ox square bottle, they come out perfect every time and it doesnt matter which freezer i freeze the bottle in because shrimp has 1 vowel in it and not 2 like crawfish. Now if I get a sack of crayfish to boil I can use the fiji because it y is sometimes a vowel and if you have an odd number of vowels its okay.


Hope I cleared this up.

Pretty much, my concern is which route do you take if you plan to save tails and claws after the eating is done and want to make an étouffée or stew? Does the type of ice matter at that point?

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by rainy_day

Haveing friends in this weekend. Planning a crawfish boil
Want to do it right. So i'm looking for some boiing pointers
Couldn't think of a better place to get them.

Check this thread out, a few more can be found if you dig through "The Roux" under the hobby sections of the forum.

The Roux (Cooking/BBQ/Recipes): how do ya'll cook crawfish?? - SaltyCajun.com

The Roux (Cooking/BBQ/Recipes): how do ya'll cook crawfish?? - SaltyCajun.com

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by Goooh

Pretty much, my concern is which route do you take if you plan to save tails and claws after the eating is done and want to make an étouffée or stew? Does the type of ice matter at that point?

If you have the right ICE from the begining you will not have any leftovers.

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by "W"

["W"]

Ratdog saya mama uses dry ice cuz it smokes a lot

[mikedatiger]

:*****:

Originally Posted by "W"

Ratdog saya mama uses dry ice cuz it smokes a lot

Another priceless thread!

BTW, try using cans of corn (not frozen). Pop a hole in each end and toss it in the pot then drain and dump it in a bowl with some butter. Good stuff!

[Duck Butter]

Just follow these simple rules that everyone agrees upon:

1. definitely use ice after you boil them to cool them down
2. definitely do NOT use any ice, that is a 'waste' of ice
3. season the water before you cook them
4. season the crawfish after you boil them
5. do NOT season the crawfish after you boil them
6. throw them in the cooler after you boil them
7. do NOT throw them in the cooler afterwards because that keeps them cooking
8. Purge them with saltwater before you cook them
9. do NOT 'waste' your time trying to purge them with salt as that does nothing. Time is the only thing that truly purges them
10. place (insert any random ingredient here such as butter, vinegar, beer, etc.) in the water as it makes the crawfish easier to peel


thats all I can think of, but no matter what, you will somehow be doing it wrong and if anyone is there watching you they will let you know