Boiling crawfish technique Boil in clean water

what the hell is the point?

Is he using the seasoned water for cooling the crawfish? Why not have two pots of seasoned water with one hot and one cold?

I've tried it before. Read about it in a Frank Davis cookbook.

The theory is that while crawfish is actually boiling, a barrier is created between the shell and the meat. During this time, the meat is not picking up any seasoning. Once the boiling process stops, the barrier releases and at that time the seasonings.

This is the same reason people put ice in the pot when they cut off the fire. So you could technically use two pots of seasoned stock, but it would be more work making two batches of stock.

I actually think the crawfish tails taste more seasoned and the heads pick up a lot more juice by doing it this way. The downfall is the crawfish are not piping hot when you dump them out. Try it out for yourself.

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Ever seen the operation at Tonys Seafood?




No. Do tell.

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From what I heard about people that used to work there, they just boil in clean water and soak in seasoned water. It's just on a much bigger scale than what the above poster said. Much bigger pot.

Like another poster said.. Same pricipal as using ice. If you did put seasoning in both pots you would be wasting a lot of seasoning. The crawfish doesnt absorb anything until you kill the heat. Cooler water stops the cooking process and allows the seasons to soak in. That is why you have a soaking time and the longer you soak the spicier it is. The only reason you would use two pots would be if you made a butt load and didnt have large amounts of milk jugs of water frozen or you didnt want to dilute the seasoning with ice.

I do something similiar when doing multiple batches, but I do put a little seasoning in the "clean" pot just to add color. "Clean" crawfish water looks pretty gross.

It's gotta work better than that dumb method of boiling it them clean water, then taking them out, putting them in styrofoam ice chests, and then covering the crawfish with dry seasonings.

However, I've never really seen a problem with just boiling them in seasoned water. If done properly, I've always found they came out perfectly fine. So, I don't really get why anyone would go through any extra hassle.

cooling off stops the cooking process which is what is most important. Then let them soak. Does the hot to cold change make the soaking supercharged? Who knows, not like a bunch of coonass drinking beer would figure out the science of it. All I know is once I am done boiling, I set the pot aside and cool it off with either some ice or a water hose to the side of the pot. It will not make the crawfish cold. It just stops the cooking process and give them time to soak.
I did however try this method with shrip on the stove once. It worked ok. But I prefer to boild my seasonings. I would never cook a dish let it cool, and then add all my seasonings when cold.


sounds like too many steps to make you look like some kind of crawfish boiling engineer that has a degree in crawfish boiling. Kind of like adding salt to purge them.

Just dump a couple of bags of ice on after you kill the heat, put the lid back on, and hose down the pot for a few minutes. Lot less work and same damn thing. Also your crawfish won't be as cold when you go to eat them.

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It's gotta work better than that dumb method of boiling it them clean water, then taking them out, putting them in styrofoam ice chests, and then covering the crawfish with dry seasonings

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I want to punch people that do this. Total waste of good crawfish.