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Message
Crawfish Boil - Throw lemon in before or after you cut the fire?
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:17 am
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:17 am
Hi All,
I usually half 6 big lemons, squeeze it in the pot, and throw them in the pot. The last time I boiled, I decided to use a food processor to chopped up the 6 lemons and put it in the boil. It does seem to be more lemony. I always throw the lemons in at the beginning. Does it really make a different if you throw them in afterward?
I'm also interested lemon oil. Pour it in before or after for soak?
Thanks all.
I usually half 6 big lemons, squeeze it in the pot, and throw them in the pot. The last time I boiled, I decided to use a food processor to chopped up the 6 lemons and put it in the boil. It does seem to be more lemony. I always throw the lemons in at the beginning. Does it really make a different if you throw them in afterward?
I'm also interested lemon oil. Pour it in before or after for soak?
Thanks all.
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 10:31 am
7
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:25 am to StrikerZ
Whole lemons you want with the boil. Lemon oil you can put in at the end.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:41 am to StrikerZ
I cut my lemons (6 or so per sack) in half as you said. Juice them then add the juice with my oil first while its boiling. Then add the rinds with the onions and garlic after a few minutes but before the boil seasoning. I always give the onions, garlic and lemon rinds a few minutes to boil by them selves then add my boil and extra salt. Let that go for a few minutes then drop the crawfish. Depending on the ripeness and quality of the lemons, that method seems to give me the best lemon background flavor in my crawfish.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:43 am to StrikerZ
quote:
Does it really make a different if you throw them in afterward?
Yes. The oils inside the lemons are volatile and will boil off if you throw them in early. Add your citrus at flameout. I learned this with brewing beer. The later you add your hops, the more aroma/flavor you retain. The same works for a crawfish boil since hops and citrus contain some of the same oils.
This not only works in theory, but in practice. I boiled Saturday and cut, then squeezed 3/4 of my lemons and oranges at flameout. Noticeable difference in the citrus in the crawfish. Best batch i've made to date, actually.
quote:
I'm also interested lemon oil. Pour it in before or after for soak?
I've never used lemon oil but heard it works great.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 10:54 am to BugAC
quote:
I boiled Saturday and cut, then squeezed 3/4 of my lemons and oranges at flameout. Noticeable difference in the citrus in the crawfish. Best batch i've made to date, actually.
Will try this out. First reasonable crawfish tip I've seen in a while
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:06 am to StrikerZ
I half, squeeze and dump my lemons once water is boiling.
Will try adding them when I cut the fire off next time.
Only been at 1 boil that used lemon oil and the crawfish tasted like Pledge furniture cleaner.
Will try adding them when I cut the fire off next time.
Only been at 1 boil that used lemon oil and the crawfish tasted like Pledge furniture cleaner.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:08 am to Saskwatch
Correct, add lemons after the boil. Think about putting lemon on fish. Do you put it on your fish while you cook it, or at the table? Iced tea too, squeeze into glass, not while steeping.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:10 am to YourHuckleberry
Does make sense, however I never bring mine to a boil so it may not matter.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:12 am to SlickRick55
As far as I know, oil won’t evaporate at the same temps as water. Those saying lemon oil will evaporate, can you explain why? Any data to back this up? I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I don’t have any data to prove it.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:13 am to YourHuckleberry
quote:
Think about putting lemon on fish. Do you put it on your fish while you cook it, or at the table? Iced tea too, squeeze into glass, not while steeping.
That's not the same thing at all though
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:21 am to StrikerZ
Some of you are really overthinking something as basic as boiling seafood.
The same type posts pop up every year when crawfish season arrives. There is no "One Way" to boil seafood. Just do what you like to get the results you want.
I'm certainly not a fan of tossing seasoning over the cooked crawfish in an ice chest , and would never do that, but if that's how you like them, what do I care.
It's really that easy.
The same type posts pop up every year when crawfish season arrives. There is no "One Way" to boil seafood. Just do what you like to get the results you want.
I'm certainly not a fan of tossing seasoning over the cooked crawfish in an ice chest , and would never do that, but if that's how you like them, what do I care.
It's really that easy.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:24 am to LNCHBOX
The point is that higher heat can denature and change the flavor profile of whatever product heat is being applied to. This includes lemon. If you and your guests prefer the flavor of cooked lemon to fresh lemon, please proceed to use it as you wish. Fresh lemon is brighter and more acidic, and I prefer that flavor profile in my crawfish boil. Some may advocate for splitting the difference and putting some in while boiling, and some at the end, which is a sound strategy. But there is no argument about the flavor profile being different if added while cooking vs afterwards.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:31 am to BugAC
quote:
Yes. The oils inside the lemons are volatile and will boil off if you throw them in early.
Where does this come from? What makes them "volatile" and how do oils "boil off" more than other ingredients, like your seasonings, crawfish boil liquid, etc?
quote:
The later you add your hops, the more aroma/flavor you retain.
I understand that is the case with hops. But why is it the same for lemons? Is this just the case for anything aromatic?
ETA I see your last post.
quote:
If you and your guests prefer the flavor of cooked lemon to fresh lemon, please proceed to use it as you wish.
But it's not "fresh lemon" if you are throwing it in at a high temp and letting it soak with all the other things in the pot for 20-30 minutes. "Fresh" would be just squeezing it directly onto the cooked crawfish tails.
I see where you are going with it but am just skeptical. I'll give it a shot though at my next boil.
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 11:39 am
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:36 am to gumbo2176
quote:
Some of you are really overthinking
Wish I could like this more than once
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 11:37 am
Posted on 4/6/22 at 11:56 am to SixthAndBarone
I boil shrimp and halved lemons first.... 1 minute.... dump them in the cooler.... lid stays open. then return the lemons to the pot. I add oranges after I boil the shrimp.
some say not to squeeze them.... I squeeze some but not all.... not sure if it matters or not.
Thread wasn't about shrimp but I add them back after I cool the pot and let them soak.... why?
because if you don't "Yo shrimp won't peel doooood"
some say not to squeeze them.... I squeeze some but not all.... not sure if it matters or not.
Thread wasn't about shrimp but I add them back after I cool the pot and let them soak.... why?
because if you don't "Yo shrimp won't peel doooood"
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 11:58 am
Posted on 4/6/22 at 12:12 pm to gumbo2176
quote:
Some of you are really overthinking something as basic as boiling seafood.
The same type posts pop up every year when crawfish season arrives. There is no "One Way" to boil seafood. Just do what you like to get the results you want.
I'm certainly not a fan of tossing seasoning over the cooked crawfish in an ice chest , and would never do that, but if that's how you like them, what do I care.
It's really that easy.
Fair point. But you've come to a food and drink board. If folks want to talk about how to improve their recipes on a food and drink forum, what do you care?
Posted on 4/6/22 at 12:36 pm to Fonzarelli
quote:
what do you care?
AYYYY, Sit on it Fonz
Posted on 4/6/22 at 1:16 pm to SUB
quote:
Where does this come from? What makes them "volatile" and how do oils "boil off" more than other ingredients, like your seasonings, crawfish boil liquid, etc?
Science.
LINK
quote:
, so the simple act of boiling hops, even for a few minutes, eliminates these oils. Also most of these oils are prone to oxidization (from exposure to air) so adding them early in the boil can also oxidize the oils from both oxygen still in the wort and also oxygen in the air during the boil, as well as when we aerate the wort before fermentation.
These volatile flavor compounds are referred to simply as “hop oils” or “essential oils”.
List of essential oils in lemons
Hop Oils
Oils shared by both hops and citrus:
Myrcene
linalool
a-terpinine
etc....
quote:
I see where you are going with it but am just skeptical. I'll give it a shot though at my next boil.
It just made sense to me when brewing. If the same hop oils that are boiled off during a brew day, are also in citrus. Well then adding citrus early, you will retain less of that aroma/flavor when boiling crawfish.
It seemed to work well Saturday. You still have some heat so you some of those oils are retained in the flavor as well. And as we know, aroma/flavor are linked.
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 1:17 pm
Posted on 4/6/22 at 1:20 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:
Those saying lemon oil will evaporate, can you explain why? Any data to back this up? I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I don’t have any data to prove it.
See my links above. Most of the data i know of is brewing data. If you want real life examples: West Coast IPA's vs. Hazy or New England IPA's. You can extract some of the oils from the hops in the boil, but majority is extracted post boil either in the whirlpool hop or more importantly in the dry hop.
And if you are wondering about hops vs. citrus, they contain some of the same essential oils, which is where the citrus/grapefruit/lemon/orange flavors some IPA's throw off.
Posted on 4/6/22 at 1:31 pm to BugAC
quote:
Yes. The oils inside the lemons are volatile and will boil off if you throw them in early. Add your citrus at flameout. I learned this with brewing beer. The later you add your hops, the more aroma/flavor you retain. The same works for a crawfish boil since hops and citrus contain some of the same oils.
This not only works in theory, but in practice. I boiled Saturday and cut, then squeezed 3/4 of my lemons and oranges at flameout. Noticeable difference in the citrus in the crawfish. Best batch i've made to date, actually.
Makes sense, will try it.
I've always been traditional, add everything in and let it boil for a long time before adding the crawfish, but this is as much or more just enjoying the hangout time than anything. May need to rework that process based on the ingredient, some add earlier, some later. Always good to tweak the process as needed based on new info.
This post was edited on 4/6/22 at 1:36 pm
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