Louisiana Style Crawfish Boil (Printable Version)
A Southern dish featuring crawfish, potatoes, corn, and smoky sausage in a seasoned spicy broth.
# What You Need:
→ Seafood
01 - 4 lbs live crawfish, thoroughly rinsed
→ Vegetables
02 - 2 lbs small red potatoes, halved if large
03 - 4 ears corn, cut into thirds
04 - 2 large yellow onions, quartered
05 - 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
06 - 2 lemons, halved
→ Sausage
07 - 1 lb andouille sausage or smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
→ Seasoning & Broth
08 - 1/2 cup Louisiana-style seafood boil seasoning
09 - 2 tbsp kosher salt
10 - 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
11 - 3 bay leaves
12 - 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
13 - 2 tbsp hot sauce
→ Other
14 - 6 quarts water
15 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter
16 - Fresh parsley, chopped
# How-To Steps:
01 - Fill an 8-10 quart stockpot with 6 quarts of water. Add seafood boil seasoning, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, black peppercorns, hot sauce, quartered onions, halved garlic head, and halved lemons. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, ensuring the spices and aromatics infuse the water.
02 - Once the broth reaches a rolling boil, add the halved red potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes until they begin to soften but still hold their shape.
03 - Add the sausage pieces and corn sections to the pot. Continue boiling for 7 minutes, allowing the sausage to cook through and the corn to become tender.
04 - Add the live crawfish to the pot. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. The crawfish are done when their shells turn bright red and the tails curl tightly.
05 - Turn off the heat and let all ingredients soak in the seasoned broth for 10-20 minutes. The longer soak time allows more spice absorption and deeper flavor penetration.
06 - Pour the contents into a large colander to drain the liquid. Remove and discard the lemons, garlic head, and bay leaves.
07 - Transfer the crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a large serving tray or newspaper-lined table. Drizzle with melted unsalted butter and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately while hot.
# Helpful Tips:
01 -
- The spice infused soak makes every bite incredibly flavorful without overwhelming heat
- Its impossible to eat this meal without laughing, talking, and making memories
02 -
- Never skip the soaking step after turning off the heat, it is the difference between okay and incredible
- Crawfish continue cooking after the heat is off, so pull them when they are just done to avoid rubbery meat
03 -
- Buy an extra pound or two of crawfish because everyone will eat more than expected
- The leftover boil liquid makes an incredible base for seafood gumbo the next day