ironmanag said:

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What does dusting mean? Can you do this with shrimp?

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it means you've spiced it to the point that your lips burn and 3/4 of the crowd won't like it.

ive never tried it but instead of throwing in frozen bottles try frozen corn on the cob. it should shock it and its a necessary ingredient

I do a boil every year...usually 4 sacks...so it's a juggling act....everybody does it relatively the same with small tweaks....my deal is like this...

3 lbs crawfish per person....when doing a large group some eat more some eat less
sausage
red potatos
corn
mushrooms
swamp fire both powder and liquid

for the bugs I just open the sacks and let crawfish in cooler and run water over them several times to get the mud off. no salt. usually do this several hours prior to the boil. And then one last time about an hour prior.

I buy the red potatos in those 3-5 lb sacks that are the perfect eating size as they are just a few bites each. they cook up quick, are a big hit, and most importantly cut down prep time

I also buy the frozen corn. Look, when I'm cooking a batch for just me and my buddies I like to take it off the fire and cool it down with ice (add extra spice if doing ice) and let them soak. But for my big boil letting each batch soak is tough to time/juggle so you don't overcook. This is where frozen corn helps.

But then again, if you've seasoned the water well enough the soak helps somewhat but most folks won't know the difference. And soaking can lead to overcooking if not done right.

For your first time, don't over do it....go simple....put water in pot, season (liquid seasoning has less salt and why I use a lot of it), then put in potatos, let those cook on rolling boil for a bit, then add in bugs. As soon as it's back to a boil add sausage and mushrooms, then just a minute or two later add the corn. Pull off fire and let sit for a few minutes. Then dump in cooler with ice scoop and let people dish up.

Using the frozen corn already cut, small potatos, and serving it all together helps make the work easier.

if doing multiple batches thru the same water remember to add seasoning between batches. Not as much as your initial seasoning but best to put some in.

and keep in mind, when I say "minutes" that starts to get blury because I'm drinking from the keg before I even start!!

when it comes to putting spices on top when in the cooler, to me folks have to do that when they haven't seasoned the water properly. All this does is get spices on peoples fingers when they are peeling the bugs and then that's where they taste it from.

Do NOT add sausage. Best tip I can give you.

Been many years since I boiled crawfish, but I used to help a buddy of mine do it as a side-gig... we boiled ~ 2,500 lbs every weekend from mid-January to early June and sold them out of a liquor store parking lot in Longview. Great times. Here's what I remember...

Rinse them really well with water... no need to brine them. Our boil consisted of water, Louisiana Crab Boil (liquid), big scoop of butter, a couple of quartered white onions and about a cup of Chinese red pepper (powder). Our pot was probably 10-12 gallons.

Crawfish - 6 minutes and then ice chest
New potatos - 20 minutes
Frozen Shrimp 3 minutes
We also did corn and mushrooms (awesome)

We tried boudain one time... the ones that didn't explode were great.

Ag_of_08 said:

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We purge In a cooler on kiddie pool, but we purge batch to batch in salt. Makes for much much cleaner bugs Imo, but again, that method is not popular here


The poster who's dad was from Crowley and working rice- what era? If it was late 40s to 50s, we're either kinfolks or they would have known my pawpaw and dad. Ask him if "slim" sounds familiar

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We also purge in salt. Didn't know that caused such an uproar until a few years ago.

My dad was born in '49, so I'm guessing in the late 50's to late 60's he spent a lot of time in the fields. Even went to McNeese State there in Lake Charles. I'll ask him next time I'm over there.

My grand father lived in the area (midland/crowley/lake Charles) his whole life, even in the military. Buried at Hanks Cemetery.

They left before your dad was very old, but your grandfather probably would have known slim well.

Leftovers tip:

I like to cook extra corn and bugs so I have some for the next day. Tell all the people who don't suck their crawfish heads to throw them in a spare pot. Once you're done eating throw an onion and some garlic in that pot and let it simmer to make broth. Peel the leftover tails while you make your broth.

The next day I use the broth, leftover corn, and tails to make a corn soup similar to this. http://our-southern-roots.com/lousiana-shrimp-and-corn-soup/
I like to mix in some ocra to the soup as well.

When you're done with your last batch, take two whole chickens and place them in the seasoned water, boil till done. Pull them out and cut them up for chicken salad.

Ate at a boil last night. Crawfish were really good and a little different than I'm used to. I asked the "cook" what he did differently...he used oranges. Never thought of that, but they were so good that I'll squeeze some oranges in next time and throw a few in the pot.

I dont know that purging with or without salt really causes much of an uproar. Used to the salt was used to clean them out internally, with potable water today salt isnt really necessary as the chlorine will do it anyway.

Salt, no salt - really not much difference.

The System said:

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Ate at a boil last night. Crawfish were really good and a little different than I'm used to. I asked the "cook" what he did differently...he used oranges. Never thought of that, but they were so good that I'll squeeze some oranges in next time and throw a few in the pot.

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I learned from my wife's uncle in Beaumont who caters them on the side.

Oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, liquid boil, dry boil, salt, butter. I have two orange trees that grow terrible oranges. Full of seeds. The oranges drop off of the trees during crawfish season, so they go in the pot.

I don't have a specific soak time. The spice/soak time/cook time is just an equation with three variables, so it depends. If they soaked too long and overcook and weren't spicy enough...add more seasoning. If they cooked just enough and are hot AF, too much seasoning. I just sample out of the pot every few minutes until they are done and properly seasoned.

The worst thing you can do is overcook them IMO. Total pain in the ass, meat breaks apart and sticks to the shell. You can always throw some seasoning on top of underseasoned bugs, but you can't uncook them. I err to less soak if I'm not sure.

schmellba99 said:

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I dont know that purging with or without salt really causes much of an uproar. Used to the salt was used to clean them out internally, with potable water today salt isnt really necessary as the chlorine will do it anyway.

Salt, no salt - really not much difference.

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Oh you one of dem fancy people with city water. My well isn't chlorinated lol

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

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ive never tried it but instead of throwing in frozen bottles try frozen corn on the cob. it should shock it and its a necessary ingredient

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That's what I do.

willie wonka said:

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When you're done with your last batch, take two whole chickens and place them in the seasoned water, boil till done. Pull them out and cut them up for chicken salad.

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I'm going to try it.