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This crawfish boil recipe is simple and delicious. For a fun and festive presentation lay colored food-safe tissue paper over the newspaper where your boil will be served.
Ingredients
- 2 whole lemons, plus 2 more lemons cut into wedges for serving
- 12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 3 large onions, peeled and quartered (I use sweet ones, like Vidalia)
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp whole all spice berries
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp salt
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 big handful of fresh parsley, divided
- 2 and 1/2 lbs whole small red potatoes, larger potatoes cut in half
- 14 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 12 pieces
- 6 cobs of corn, shucked and broken in half
- 2 lbs fully cooked frozen crawfish*, rinsed
- hot sauce (for serving)
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of water. Cut the whole lemons in half. Squeeze the juice into the water and add the squeezed lemon halves as well. Add the garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, allspice, bay leaves and salt. Tie the thyme and half of the parsley into a bouquet using kitchen twine. Add it to the water. Stir well. Cover and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes. Cover and cook until they’re just tender, 9-10 minutes. Add the sausage and corn. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Gently add the frozen crawfish and cook covered until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the remaining parsley leaves.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crawfish, sausage and vegetables to a large platter. Discard the herb bouquet.
- To Serve: Cover a table with newspaper (top with food safe tissue paper if desired). Pile the crawfish, sausage and vegetables right on top, or leave everything on the platter. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Put out the lemon wedges and hot sauce. Squeeze the garlic cloves from the skin as a condiment as well. Make sure there are a lot of napkins on hand before you dig in!
Notes
*This crawfish recipe calls for fully cooked crawfish which are available at the fish counter in many states. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on live crawfish, follow a reputable source for information about how to clean and prep the crawfish. Proceed with the above recipe with this adjustment: Before adding the crawfish to the pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the crawfish. When water returns to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 10-15 minutes, until the crawfish have turned red and have started to float. Crack one or two open and make sure that the meat is white and that all yellow fat is no longer runny.
Do you put crawfish in frozen or rinse them thawed?
Hi Chanelle, They go in frozen and you just cook them until they’re defrosted and heated through. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thanks for the question. I’ve updated the recipe to make this more clear. -Christine
I’ve never thought of using frozen crawfish like this. How easy!
Cheryl, Let me know if you give it a try. It sure makes a crawfish boil into an easy dinner for anytime!
So, did you suck the heads???
Lol! I tried one. I don’t think I was doing it right. Next time I’ll watch more How-to videos before dinner.
How fun! I actually got to go to a real-live, authentic crawfish boil in the BAYOU when I was in Louisiana last year. Such a neat experience. I love what you’ve created at home though too!
Yum! This looks fantastic!
yum! I’ve never had a crawfish boil before. I have enjoyed crawfish before (not like the peeling/sucking their heads kind of way), but in gumbo and jambalaya. I think I need to dive right into this cajun classic dish! Great job!
My country is surrounded by sea and all seafood is in my weekly table. I love the way you cooked the crawfish!
★★★★★