Spiced Garlic Butter Crawfish Boil
A flavorful crawfish boil featuring a kick of spice and rich garlic butter, perfect for a gathering. This recipe guides you through purging the crawfish, cooking vegetables and sausage, and soaking it all in a seasoned broth.
Equipment
- Large ice chest or tub
- Very large stockpot (80-100 quart capacity)
- Large skimmer
- Serving platter or newspaper-covered table
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 35-40 lbs live crawfish, purged
- 2 bottles (16 oz) liquid crab boil
- 1 bag (4.5 lb) crawfish, shrimp & crab boil seasoning
- 1 cup cayenne pepper adjust to your spice preference
- 10 lbs small red potatoes
- 3 dozen ears fresh corn, halved
- 5 lbs smoked Andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces optional
- 8 large lemons, halved
- 8 heads garlic, halved horizontally
- 4 large yellow onions, quartered
- 1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation
- Clean the live crawfish by covering them with water in a large tub, stirring, and draining until the water is clear.
- Fill a large stockpot two-thirds with water and add liquid crab boil, seasoning, cayenne pepper, lemons, garlic, and onions. Bring to a rolling boil and salt to taste.
Cooking
- Add potatoes to the boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender-crisp.
- Stir in corn and optional Andouille sausage, cooking for another 5-7 minutes until the corn is bright and tender.
- Add purged crawfish to the boiling water, stir well, and cook for 3-5 minutes once it returns to a boil. Immediately remove from heat.
Soaking and Serving
- Stir in melted butter and let everything soak in the seasoned water for 25-40 minutes to absorb flavor and spice.
- Use a large skimmer to transfer the crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a platter or a newspaper-covered table for serving.
Notes
For an even deeper flavor, you can prepare the seasoned water a few hours in advance and let it steep. Adjust the cayenne pepper to your preferred spice level; a full cup is for serious heat lovers!