Crawfish boil seasonings

[krw]

Thread on Pots went so well, lets get on the seasonings now.
1 what brand boil seasoning do you start with?
2 do you add lemons, onions, butter, whatever xtra?
3 do you add any xtra pepper to spice em on up??
Thanks for input, if Academy has SS pot will own one by tonite!!

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I've always ordered from LA Crawfish Co

They ship with the seasoning. I go lighter than what's recommended as most people I associate with aren't huge fans of spice.
The first go round, I bought Slap Ya Mama seasoning and it's pretty damn good. They also sell a cajun seasoning, and to spice things up, you can sprinkle it over the top of the good stuff after dumping on the table. I also put this stuff on just about everything.

I add the following:

Corn on the cob, cut into thirds
Baby reds or smaller red potatoes cut into pieces about 2-3 bites in size
halved lemons and I squeeze the juice into the pot before adding
quarted onions, they usually separate during the boil
garlic cloves, whole. and lots of them because they are a huge favorite
andouille sausage cut into bite size chunks

I don't think extra pepper is necessary. You can get the spice out of the boil seasoning if done right.

 

[vh20]

Slap Ya Mama is good, so is Zatarain's. An old Cajun catfish/crawfish farmer I know said he seasons according to how many crawfish-to-people he has. The more people/less crawfish he has to work with, the more seasoning he puts in. Makes 'em go further! ?
(Note that emogee is laughing, but his eyes are watering for an entirely different reason).

 

[XLR308]

One note on the Cajun seasonings they can be to damn salty so keep that in mind.
I eat very little salt and don't even have a salt shaker on my table but the Slap yo Mamma seasoning is good just use the same as you would salt to taste.
There is also a reduced sodium for the Zaterans seasoning.

 

[krw]

I like em spicey!! My buddies always put whole mushrooms in boil also. They really suck up flavor!! Seems Zatarain’s spice of choice where I live. Road trip to buy it so easier to order off Academy w free shipping

 

[Northfl]

I like em spicey!! My buddies always put whole mushrooms in boil also. They really suck up flavor!! Seems Zatarain’s spice of choice where I live. Road trip to buy it so easier to order off Academy w free shipping

i was gonna mention the whole mushrooms also. They for sure suck up the spices.
I have been to one and only one where the folks put whole eggs in. Boiled and cracked and were actually really good

 

[tansinator]

Green beans are great as well. Add butter, half a tub, tails will come off easier. After you bring them back to a boil, turn off and spray off the outside of the pot with a water hose too keep them from over cooking and the ditch crickets will suck up the juice a little better, think "quench" be patient and let them soak, 30 mins is good.

 

[Crews]

A 4# bag of Louisiana Brand Crab boil and some extra salt is just about all you need unless it’s a pretty large sack. I boil them for a very short time(5 minutes or under) and soak them for a good long while. (As long as 30 minutes.) great tip on using the water hose to cool the pot during soak time. Folks get way too cute will all the extra junk, and run right past the fundamentals of cooking something well. If you sprinkle anything on the outside of them after they’re cooked, you’re automatically a clown. And for the love of God, don’t make them so spicy you can’t enjoy the flavor.

 

[Waorani]

Been years since I've done crawfish but used to use Zatarain's Pro Boil.

 

[tansinator]

Oh yeah, I say the use the powdered spice for sure, if you are going to use any liquid, use it very sparingly.

 

[smoooth1]

Thread on Pots went so well, lets get on the seasonings now.
1 what brand boil seasoning do you start with?
2 do you add lemons, onions, butter, whatever xtra?
3 do you add any xtra pepper to spice em on up??
Thanks for input, if Academy has SS pot will own one by tonite!!

I’ll be surprised if you find a 5-10 gallon SS pot, Aluminum yes, and it’ll work great and save you big $$.

My uncle uses the rounded end of a propane tank to boil crawfish. It probably holds around 20 gallons or so and works great.

As far as seasoning go, Zatarains crab and seafood boil bags, salt and cayenne to taste. Added Potatoes and sweet corn are really good, but if you have lots of crawfish ? you sure don’t need fillers.
I hear the crawfish in south LA are huge this year!

 

[j-huskey]

Bump for AJ

 

[bogeybrown]

Zatarains Extra Spicy, sometimes mixed with a bit of their Pro Boil. The Extra Spicy is the most concentrated heat/flavor I have found without unwanted additional salt and I've tried just about every dry blend on the Gulf Coast.
With their Original and Pro Boil I was still adding a full jar or two of cayenne. The Extra is amazing for a store-bought mix. It's also the best I've found at truly seasoning blue crabs

 

[j-huskey]

@ArmyJerry

Wants to know about CRAYfish seasonings.

 

[Snipe260]

@ArmyJerry

Wants to know about CRAYfish seasonings.

Just add lead! That’s his favorite!

 

[bogeybrown]

I missed the question in your OP, I add halved lemons. My buddy uses oranges, its preference. For add-ins, the only limit is your imagination. I've done everything from the usual shit like corn, potatoes, etc to Brussels sprouts (to please a vegetarian friend of mine). She was the one who started me adding mushrooms and I can't believe I ever boiled crawfish without mushrooms.

On bigger cooks (3-800 lbs) I'll sometimes throw some whole hams in the boil while we're getting the bugs going. Have someone cube up the hams and use them as an "appetizer" for all the impatient folks. Ive even thrown a quartered wild hog in the boil to finish it off after a smoker malfunction.

Pretty much everything that could conceivably be boiled tastes great in dry Zatarains. My dad liked their bags, but I quit using them. I just never use liquid boil, but that's my preference

 

[Northfl]

I missed the question in your OP, I add halved lemons. My buddy uses oranges, its preference. For add-ins, the only limit is your imagination. I've done everything from the usual shit like corn, potatoes, etc to Brussels sprouts (to please a vegetarian friend of mine). She was the one who started me adding mushrooms and I can't believe I ever boiled crawfish without mushrooms.

On bigger cooks (3-800 lbs) I'll sometimes throw some whole hams in the boil while we're getting the bugs going. Have someone cube up the hams and use them as an "appetizer" for all the impatient folks. Ive even thrown a quartered wild hog in the boil to finish it off after a smoker malfunction.

Pretty much everything that could conceivably be boiled tastes great in dry Zatarains. My dad liked their bags, but I quit using them. I just never use liquid boil, but that's my preference

Spoken like a true coon ass. If it walks, crawls, swims, flys or fucks eat it
Never imagined low country boiled ham. Sounds bery interesting and i may give it a whirl one day for shits and giggles.
Had a fella from buffalo ny put crab boil bag in a pot of collard greens at a company beer drinking cook out thing we did. Thought it was the stupidest thing i ever heard of. Boy was i wrong. Them sum biches was good. Damn good

 

[300 grainpill]

I like Louisiana and old bay combo ... as for as the add ins I haven’t had any thing out of the pot that wasn’t good!!!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

what size of crowd are ya'll talking about feeding, at 'one time'? The numbers that I'm seeing here aren't 'jiving' with my thoughts and perceptions.

 

[tansinator]

In the south, MS and Louisianna, you figure 3 lbs per person. I usually can knock out about 9-10 lbs myself.

 

[bogeybrown]

what size of crowd are ya'll talking about feeding, at 'one time'? The numbers that I'm seeing here aren't 'jiving' with my thoughts and perceptions.

In the south, MS and Louisianna, you figure 3 lbs per person. I usually can knock out about 9-10 lbs myself.

Sean, it depends on who is showing up, but @tansinator 's numbers are fair for a casual crawfish crowd.

Crawfish are boiled and strewn across a table for folks to stand around and eat communally. In South La it was the norm for folks to eat 7-10lbs apiece over the course of a day. That's eating a while, taking a break and cleaning your hands, sitting down and chatting, having a cig, and going back to the "trough" when a fresh batch comes out or some folks you wanted to visit with were at the table.

A legit crawfish eater on a mission can easily double those numbers in a day. There were about 10 of us that hung out together in Lafayette that all had April birthdays and would do a boil every year. There'd be 50-75 people show up in an avaerage year and we boiled about 500lbs and would shuck or cook two full sacks of oysters. There were never leftovers

 

[Snipe260]

Sean, I normally devour 5 to 7 lbs by myself, without a break!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Incredible. I really GOTTA try this some time.

 

[Northfl]

They are rather tasty. I have to make sure i have gout meds around before i eat any. Last time i ate 5lbs by myself right at the kitchen sink and gout hit hard that night. Maybe it was a combo of them and the beers. But probably not, i drink plenty of beers without getting it.

 

[Crang]

Zatarains plus bay leaves. Half corn cobs, red potatoes, sometimes andouille and sometimes lemons. Lived in NOLA for 12years and went to countless boils and thats pretty much the standard way of doing it.

 

[kthomas]

Definitely need to add mushrooms - my favorite part besides the crawfish!