Louisiana Style Crawfish Boil (Print)
A flavorful boil with crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage simmered in a spicy, aromatic broth.
# What You’ll 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 (such as Zatarains or Old Bay)
09 - 2 tbsp kosher salt
10 - 1 tbsp cayenne pepper (optional, for extra heat)
11 - 3 bay leaves
12 - 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
13 - 2 tbsp hot sauce (optional)
→ Other
14 - 6 quarts water
15 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter (for tossing after cooking)
16 - Fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
# How To Make:
01 - Fill a large stockpot (8-10 quarts) with 6 quarts of water. Add seafood boil seasoning, salt, cayenne, bay leaves, peppercorns, hot sauce, onions, garlic, and lemons. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
02 - Add potatoes to the boiling liquid and cook for 10 minutes until slightly tender.
03 - Add sausage and corn to the pot. Boil for another 7 minutes to heat through and begin cooking.
04 - Add the live crawfish to the pot. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crawfish shells are bright red and tails are curled.
05 - Turn off the heat. Let everything soak in the seasoned broth for 10-20 minutes (the longer the soak, the more flavor and spice absorbed).
06 - Drain the boil using a large colander. Discard lemons, garlic, and bay leaves. Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a large tray or newspaper-lined table. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- Its messy, communal, and absolutely the most fun way to feed a crowd
- The spiced broth infuses everything with incredible depth
- You can easily customize the heat level and vegetables
02 -
- The soaking step is where the magic happens, do not skip it
- Crawfish float to the top when done, and curled tails indicate they are cooked through
- A spicy boil only gets better as it sits, make extra
03 -
- Add a tray of ice to the boil if the seafood gets done too quickly
- Mushrooms and artichoke hearts soak up the spicy broth beautifully