Howdy!

I'm a little early but I'm just excited. Got a new pot for crawfish from our wedding registry and want to know the best place to buy cheapest crawfish near Houston.

And what the hell. What is the best recipe for flavorful spicy crawfish?

Thanks and gig em

Unless you are having a big time boil, probably best to just hit up HEB on the weekends. They sell them live by the sack.

Theres a general market price for crawfish. Most of the time you won't see crazy fluctuations in price from one place to another as long as your comparing similar size grades. As the season goes on prices will drop, some places faster than others. Grocery stores are a good place for a sack especially if theres one near you.

smstork1007 said:

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Unless you are having a big time boil, probably best to just hit up HEB on the weekends. They sell them live by the sack.

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HEB's live Crawfish weren't very lively last time we got them and they weren't purged. I much rather deal with an individual that stands behind their bugs. I use two different people out of Bay City. Cost is equal to/less than HEB and quality has been much better in my experiences with them.

Mind if I ask who you use in bay city?

North side I use Nicks Crawfish. Helps that it's a mile from my house but I have been really happy with them.

Charlie Murphy said:

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Mind if I ask who you use in bay city?

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Cornelius Crawfish or Ryan Ashcraft. I believe Cornelius grows their own and Ashcraft brings his in from LA weekly. Ryan has gotten more into Catering them as of late. I usually try Cornelius first.

Codes12 said:

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smstork1007 said:

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Unless you are having a big time boil, probably best to just hit up HEB on the weekends. They sell them live by the sack.

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HEB's live Crawfish weren't very lively last time we got them and they weren't purged. I much rather deal with an individual that stands behind their bugs. I use two different people out of Bay City. Cost is equal to/less than HEB and quality has been much better in my experiences with them.

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If they do a true 12-24 hour commercial style purge, then thats a heck of a deal. I personally get all my bugs from a La via a friend with deals in place with all the farmers. Having said that, if i wanted to cook up a quick batch of bugs, 10-30 lbs, HEB was just the easy answer, especially for someone just beginning to boil. Btw, Bay City is NOT the Houston area imo, but i'll keep that name in mind as i do spend some time a down that way. Thanks for the info.

I just wanted to point out my bad experiences with HEB Crawfish more than make a recommendation. I love HEB but haven't yet had a great batch of crawfish from them. It could be our HEB's in small town don't handle the volume that a larger store does so maybe you would get a good fresher batch from a Houston HEB.

I just threw in Bay City to point out most towns have places that sell Crawfish when in season so you don't have to settle for HEB.

Kemah Seafood markets

HEB is hit or miss. Try buying one of their red bags. They won't sell those. Reserved for the paying customers out front.

angryocotillo said:

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Kemah Seafood markets

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When I lived in League City this place was the best.

This is all great! Thank yall!

I eat a ton by myself so I would be getting minimum 30 lbs if that makes any difference.






What is a recipe yall enjoy?


DO yall put anything in there special?

Garlic?
Olives?
Okra?
Mushrooms?
Bacon? (Would be weird)

Let me know as i know a guy who runs a crawfish delivery service. Used them last year and the bugs were huge!

Southeast Texas Crawfish Farm out in Winnie. He doesnt overfish his ponds, and rotates through out the season, so the crawfish stay big all season. Also he purges them for you, so they are ready to go in the pot straight out of the sack. Some of the cleanest tasting crawfish I've had. Anytime I plan on a boil, I make the drive from Katy. http://www.texascrawfish.com/index.html

I like Rose's Seafood in Kemah. Call to reserve your crawfish and go pickup on the morning of your boil.

Southern Louisiana is near Houston.

dragonslayer said:

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This is all great! Thank yall!

I eat a ton by myself so I would be getting minimum 30 lbs if that makes any difference.






What is a recipe yall enjoy?


DO yall put anything in there special?

Garlic?
Olives?
Okra?
Mushrooms?
Bacon? (Would be weird)

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Boiling sausage and chickens afterwards in the mix is great. For our catering events, people loved Brussels sprouts, Muchrooms, artichokes, and occasionally sweet potatoes.

We made our own seasonings, but as a rule of thumb compared to what u buy in the store,its about 3x concentration on dry seasonings. Rolling ur boil with salt, onions, garlic, seasoning is a must imo.

Also, if you are a newbie let me dispel a rumor that half the world still believes. Real farmers DONT USE SALT to purge...it would kill them. Best way to purge aka WASH (if u dont buy a prewashed product) is to open the sack up in a cooler, put a hose in and run the water with the drain open. When the water is clear, shake the *******s up and keep watering. When water is clear out the drain, you are ready.

Boyds is a great option for buying. HEB is too for the sake that its there and its close and its cheap. HEB uses 3 vendors for each region and unfortunately, they get a downgraded field run most of the time. As mentioned above, they get a washed graded product for the locations that do onsite boils. Everyone and their mother can offer nice cheap crawfish after April 15. Million Chucks in a Truck out there.

My recommendation is you wait until it gets real cheap and spend some time experimenting. Check out the Quench method. Find a method YOU like, write it down, have a good time.

If your schedule is flexible, many HEB's will sell their craw fish for 99 cents a pound later in the afternoon on Saturday if they felt they ordered too many. Always worth a quick call.

Great information guys I really appreciate it.





Have yall ever used frog bone seasoning for crawfish?


So a premixed cajun seasoning and a liquid seasoning and additional cayenne for extra heat?
Maybe a cajun pepper sauce too?

Anyone ever use puree onion/celery for additional cooked in flavoring?

houstonLBD said:

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Southeast Texas Crawfish Farm out in Winnie. He doesnt overfish his ponds, and rotates through out the season, so the crawfish stay big all season. Also he purges them for you, so they are ready to go in the pot straight out of the sack. Some of the cleanest tasting crawfish I've had. Anytime I plan on a boil, I make the drive from Katy. http://www.texascrawfish.com/index.html

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I came here to post this exact thing. Every time we have a boil I drive from Champions out to Winnie to buy from them, 150-200 lbs at a time.

I believe he owns a seafood restaurant in Baytown but I can't remember the name of it.

swampfire for seasoning. They sell what they call the sak pak which is dry seasoning. pretty simple, one bag seasons one sack of crawfish. It's pretty close. Maybe it's just me, but IMO when you use only dry seasoning it can get really salty especially as the day goes on. I use some of the swampfire liquid plus the dry seasoning.
don't ask me exactly how much as I've been doing it long enough I just eyeball. Depending on your set up (aka how big your pot is) if you end up running for a long while with multiple rounds of crawfish thru the same water you'll need to add some seasoning.
I actually just order my swampfire directly from the vendor and they ship it to me.

it ain't rocket science, it's boiling crawfish and everyone has their own taste/spin.

most important ingredient is beer....lots of it while you cook!

In Houston area:

Spanky's
4106 FM 723
Rosenberg, Texas
(832) 334-9342

Agree that HEB is hit or miss. Mid to late in the season, their size is comparable to other suppliers, and their price is always a touch better.

SquirrellyDan said:

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If your schedule is flexible, many HEB's will sell their craw fish for 99 cents a pound later in the afternoon on Saturday if they felt they ordered too many. Always worth a quick call.

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More likely on a Sunday. They have buy back agreements now thru Sunday.
They do .99 crawfish anyway for a large part of late season.