Boiling a Sack of Crawfish

Key Takeaways

• Rinse the crawfish with fresh water until it runs clear.
• Add seasoning while you’re bringing the water to a boil; once boiling, add sausage and potatoes, and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Add sausage and potatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the crawfish and cook for 2-3 minutes until they’re bright red.
• Turn off the heat and add frozen corn. Soak for 20-30 minutes, until the desired spiciness is achieved.
• Drain and serve on a newspaper-lined table with plenty of napkins.

There’s nothing like a classic Cajun crawfish boil.

At High Performance Cookers, it is our entire raison d’etre, or the reason we exist. We’re passionate about all things crawfish, where the only thing richer than these Louisiana dishes is the history behind them.

You might already have a time-honored family recipe, but if you’re either looking to shake things up or you’re just starting to discover the Bayou’s best, we have plenty of recipes for you to sample and savor.

Here’s how to enjoy this Southern tradition and share it with 10 of your favorite people.

Ingredients:

• 30-35 pounds of live crawfish, purged
• 5 gallons of water
• 1 bag of crawfish boil seasoning (approximately 4 lbs total, or more to taste – see our recommendations below!)
• 2 lemons, halved
• 2 large onions, halved
• 10 garlic cloves
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 4 pounds of small red potatoes
• 8 ears of corn, halved
• 2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into chunks

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serving amount: 10 people

Pro tips: 

• If you’re looking for an authentic Louisiana-style seafood boil from elsewhere in the world, we have you covered with high-quality, live crawfish delivered right to your door. Just go to LAcrawfish.com and tell them HPC sent you.
• The same goes for your seasoning. Nobody does heat quite like Louisiana, which means you can’t go wrong with this special blend of seafood boil seasoning from Boil Boss.

We take our boils seriously, which means if we’re vouching for them, then you better snap these up like a frisky crawfish!

Instructions:

1. Purge the crawfish: Rinse the live crawfish with fresh water until the runoff water is clear (or use a crawfish purger). Some recommend purging in salt water, but this step is controversial and may not be necessary.

2. Prepare the boiling mixture: In your High Performance Cooker, bring 5 gallons of water to a boil. Once boiling, add in the crawfish boil seasoning, lemons, onions, garlic, and for that perfect Louisiana zing, authentic Creole and Cajun seasonings.
   

3. Add potatoes and sausage: Once the water begins to boil, add the red potatoes and sausage to the pot and let them cook for about 10 minutes.

4. Cook the crawfish: Add the crawfish to the pot, stir, and let the water come back to a rolling boil. Cook for about another 2-3 minutes, then shut off the heat.
   

5. Let it soak: After turning off the heat, add in the frozen corn and let everything soak for about 20-30 minutes. The longer they soak, the spicier they will get. Pro tip: to cool the pot, reduce soaking time, and prevent overcooking, use the Boil Boss Cooling Ring!

6. Drain and serve: After soaking, drain the crawfish and accompanying ingredients. Dump everything onto a large table covered with newspaper or serving trays, and let your guests dig in!

Check this guide: How to Eat Crawfish.

Boil Like a Pro With High Performance Cookers

Remember to have plenty of napkins and bowls for discarded shells. For extra fun, provide bibs and laissez les bons temps rouler – let the good times roll!

Order your HPC crawfish pot and burner today and start turning up the heat on your next cookout.