Louisiana Style Crawfish Boil (Printable)

A Southern boil featuring crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage simmered in a spicy aromatic broth.

# What You Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 4 lbs live crawfish, thoroughly rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 lbs small red potatoes, halved if large
03 - 4 ears corn, cut into thirds
04 - 2 large yellow onions, quartered
05 - 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
06 - 2 lemons, halved

→ Sausage

07 - 1 lb andouille sausage or smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

→ Seasoning & Broth

08 - 1/2 cup Louisiana-style seafood boil seasoning (such as Zatarains or Old Bay)
09 - 2 tbsp kosher salt
10 - 1 tbsp cayenne pepper (optional, for extra heat)
11 - 3 bay leaves
12 - 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
13 - 2 tbsp hot sauce (optional)

→ Other

14 - 6 quarts water
15 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter (for tossing after cooking)
16 - Fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)

# How To Make:

01 - Fill a large stockpot (8-10 quarts) with 6 quarts of water. Add seafood boil seasoning, salt, cayenne, bay leaves, peppercorns, hot sauce, onions, garlic, and lemons. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
02 - Add potatoes to the boiling liquid and cook for 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
03 - Add sausage and corn to the pot. Boil for another 7 minutes to continue building flavor.
04 - Add the live crawfish to the pot. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crawfish shells are bright red and tails are curled.
05 - Turn off the heat. Let everything soak in the seasoned broth for 10-20 minutes (the longer the soak, the more flavor and spice).
06 - Drain the boil using a large colander. Discard lemons, garlic, and bay leaves.
07 - Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a large tray or newspaper-lined table. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The spicy broth infuses every single ingredient with layers of flavor
  • Its meant to be eaten with your hands which makes everything taste better
  • The soaking step is the secret weapon that restaurant cooks never tell you about
02 -
  • Crawfish continue cooking after the heat is off so pull them a minute early if unsure
  • Newspaper is traditional but a disposable tablecloth saves cleanup time
  • The soaking time determines the final spice level so taste as you go
03 -
  • Purging crawfish in salted water for 30 minutes before cooking removes mud
  • Substituting shrimp works perfectly if crawfish are out of season

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