1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
5 gallons water
1 pound kosher salt
4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
6 bay leaves, crumbled
10 pounds live crawfish
3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in 1/2, if larger than 2-inches in diameter
8 ears corn, halved
2 heads garlic, unpeeled, but separated
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
Place the peppercorns, coriander, clove, and allspice into a spice grinder and grind for 10 to 15 seconds.
Fill a 40-quart pot with 5 gallons of water and add the freshly ground spices, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, dill weed, and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, approximately 40 minutes.
Rinse the crawfish thoroughly in the bag in which they arrived to remove excess dirt and mud. Put the crawfish in a large container and fill with cool water. Stir to remove dirt from the crawfish. Transfer small batches of crawfish to a colander and rinse under cool running water. Pick out any debris or dead crawfish. Once all crawfish have been rinsed, discard dirty water, and return the crawfish to the container. Repeat this process 6 to 8 times, or until the water is clear.
Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add the potatoes, corn, garlic, and sausage. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the crawfish, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve immediately.
FOR THE BOIL
1 (30-pound) sack of crawfish
1–3 cups Crawfish Boil Spice (store-bought or homemade)
1 cup unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s)
1 bunch celery, washed and cut in half
5–6 stalks of lemongrass, chopped coarse
6 heads garlic, unpeeled but halved
1 large knob ginger, chopped
1 large knob galangal, chopped
1 bunch Thai basil
4–5 citrus leaves (we used Meyer lemon leaves)
6 jalapeño peppers, halved
8 oranges, halved
2 lemons, halved
6 limes, halved
2 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed
1 pound fresh carrots, scrubbed
24 boiling onions, washed and trimmed
1 pound longbeans
2 pounds snow or sugar snap pea pods, or a mixture
1 pound Shiitake or oyster mushrooms, cleaned
FOR THE SAUCE
1 pound (4 sticks) butter
8–12 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Crawfish boil spice, to taste
6 limes, cut into wedges
For the sauce:
While the crawfish finish cooking, melt ½ cup (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan, add the garlic and sauté over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant and translucent. Add the rest of the butter and season with the boil spice to taste. Other popular condiments include sriracha sauce or Muôí Tiêu Chanh, made by muddling coarse salt and white pepper together with Thai chilies and lime wedges.
Boil
Place a 30-quart pot with a strainer basket on the burner, and fill it about two-thirds full with water. Add 1 cup crawfish boil spice, plus the vinegar, celery, garlic, ginger, basil and jalapeños and squeeze each cut orange, lemon and lime over the pot. Light the burner, crank the heat to high and bring to a boil. When the pot is boiling, add the potatoes, carrots and onions. Reduce the flow of propane as needed to keep your pot at a lively simmer, but below a raging boil. When it starts to bubble again, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Next, add the longbeans, pea pods and mushrooms and return the pot to a lively simmer, then cover and cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove all vegetables from the pot and keep warm.
Finally, add one-third of the crawfish (10 pounds); cook the rest in two separate batches. When the broth just starts to bubble, turn the heat off and cover the pot. After 10 minutes, don oven mitts and check: If the crawfish still float, cover the pot and let them poach for a few more minutes. Once they sink, they’ve absorbed all the spicy broth they can and are ready to eat. Lift out the strainer, let it drain over the pot (retain the broth in the pot for the next batch), then pour the crawfish into a large bowl.
Add one-third of the vegetables to the cooked crawfish and pour over one-third of the sauce (see below). Toss gently to coat, add the fresh lime wedges and eat!
To cook the remaining crawfish, bring the broth back to a boil, add more boil spice and the crawfish, and when it begins to bubble again, repeat the cooking process.
Ingredients
CRAWFISH BOIL
2 1/2 gal. water
1 1/2 cups Old Bay Seasoning or Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 lemongrass stalks, smashed
2 lemons, halved
2 heads garlic, halved horizontally
3/4 cup kosher salt, divided
2 pounds small red potatoes
6 pounds live crawfish, cleaned
3 ears fresh corn, halved
BUTTER SAUCE
2 cups (1 lb.) unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons very finely chopped lemongrass
1/2 cup chopped garlic (from 16 cloves or 1 large head)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne
3 tablespoons lemon juice
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT
1/2 bunch cilantro sprigs
How to Make It
Step 1
Prepare the crawfish boil: Place water, Old Bay, fish sauce, lemongrass, lemons, garlic, and ¼ cup of the salt in a large stockpot. Cover and bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes. Add potatoes, and cook until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add remaining ½ cup salt. Increase heat to high, and bring to a rolling boil. Add crawfish and corn; boil until crawfish are bright red, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes.
Step 2
Prepare the butter sauce: Heat ¼ cup butter in a stainless steel saucepan over medium-high heat until foamy. Add lemongrass; sauté 4 to 5 minutes or until very soft, stirring very frequently. Add remaining butter, garlic, salt, and cayenne. Cook until butter is melted and garlic is just softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Cover to keep warm.
Step 3
Drain crawfish mixture. Discard garlic, lemons, and lemongrass. Place crawfish, corn, and potatoes in a huge bowl. Toss with half of the butter sauce and cilantro; serve with remaining sauce.