Crawfish Boil
10 lb. live crawfish
5 gallons water
2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp. celery salt
6 bay leaves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
26 oz. salt
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
1 cup liquid crab boil
You need an outdoor propane burner and a very large pot to do this right. Combine the water and all the seasonings in the pot over high heat. While the water is heating, check your crawfish and throw away all the dead ones. I use the deep sink in the washroom. I fill it with cold water then pour in the crawfish. The dead ones float. Good luck getting the live ones back into the sack! Bring the water to a rolling boil. Put the lid on the pot and let it boil for 10 minutes to get all the seasonings blended together. Pour the live crawfish into the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes over high heat, then turn off the burner and let them soak for 45 minutes (less time for milder flavor). If you are cooking multiple batches, add 6 oz. salt, 1/2 cup crab boil and 2 Tbsp. cayenne between batches.
Our comments: Here's how you eat them: (1) Break away the head from the body and throw the head away, (2) break away the first section of the shell (closest to where the head was), and (3) put the exposed meat in your mouth and at the same time that you start sucking the meat out of the shell, use your thumb and forefinger down around the tail and try to squeeze the meat out like a tube of toothpaste. Serve these outside over newspaper. It's dirty! Save the shells for making stock. Try shrimp (4 minutes) or crab (12 minutes).