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Message
re: Crawfish Boil Water
Posted on 3/11/15 at 10:48 am to ColoradoAg03
Posted on 3/11/15 at 10:48 am to ColoradoAg03
I've been to a number of boils in which the first batch are not seasoned well at all, but the following batches are very well seasoned with no additional seasoning added. I've been to plenty where all batches are adequately seasoned, though the last ones are spicier.
What's the cause?
What's the cause?
Posted on 3/11/15 at 10:52 am to ColoradoAg03
quote:
1 lb bag of SYM boil seasoning, 24 oz of Zat liquid boil, some cayenne,
Is the SYM bag supposed to be for one whole sack of crawfish? If so, that is ALOT of heat.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 10:54 am to patnuh
quote:
Is the SYM bag supposed to be for one whole sack of crawfish? If so, that is ALOT of heat.
I think I'm going to do 2-3, probably 3, sacks.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 10:57 am to ColoradoAg03
You can't put all that in at once with the sides. If you are doing one sack at a time, dont put all the seasoning in the first batch. Rule of thumb is to do 1/2 the amount of seasoning on 2nd batch bc your water will already be spiced a good bit.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 11:08 am to SUB
quote:
Ok, excluding lemons and garlic. That's fair. But the onions, potatoes, corn, etc don't really add to the flavor.
Gotcha.
This post was edited on 3/11/15 at 11:10 am
Posted on 3/11/15 at 11:35 am to patnuh
quote:
You can't put all that in at once with the sides. If you are doing one sack at a time, dont put all the seasoning in the first batch. Rule of thumb is to do 1/2 the amount of seasoning on 2nd batch bc your water will already be spiced a good bit.
Not true. When crawfish soak up seasoning they are soaking up seasoned water. It's not like they are soaking up the seasoning itself and leaving clean water behind. Season your first batch for how you want ALL of the batches to taste, then don't add anything for subsequent batches. The water does not lose flavor with each batch.
If someone's first and second batch tastes differently it's an indicator that they don't know what they are doing.
Edit: the only exception would be if you are boiling so many sacks that you have to add more water, in which case you need to get a bigger pot.
This post was edited on 3/11/15 at 11:38 am
Posted on 3/11/15 at 11:40 am to Houma Sapien
quote:
Not true. When crawfish soak up seasoning they are soaking up seasoned water. It's not like they are soaking up the seasoning itself and leaving clean water behind. Season your first batch for how you want ALL of the batches to taste, then don't add anything for subsequent batches. The water does not lose flavor with each batch.
If someone's first and second batch tastes differently it's an indicator that they don't know what they are doing.
Edit: the only exception would be if you are boiling so many sacks that you have to add more water, in which case you need to get a bigger pot.
Yep. The only thing I add for the 2nd batch is a little more cayenne and lemon and maybe a little salt but that's it.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 11:50 am to Shamalamadingdong
The meat is soaking up salt and seasoning from the water. This why they drop when they are done. They weigh more at that point bc of what they soaked up. Pretty sure they have also reached a saturation point relative to the amount of seasoning they soaked up. I have played with this back and forth (soak time, pre and post drop). I noticed that early crawfish with softer shells soak faster and subsequently drop faster. Later season crawfish with harder shells take longer to drop. I use time only as a reference point to check on whether they have dropped. I pull them once they have all dropped.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 11:59 am to michael corleone
The salt and seasoning are dissolved. The meat is being flavored by the water.
Think of it this way. Take a bowl of water and add food coloring. Then dip a peice of bread in the water. Keep doing this with new peices of bread. You will see the water level drop but the color of the water will not become lighter.
Think of it this way. Take a bowl of water and add food coloring. Then dip a peice of bread in the water. Keep doing this with new peices of bread. You will see the water level drop but the color of the water will not become lighter.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 12:02 pm to ColoradoAg03
quote:
I'll probably go with 2 boxes/canisters of salt, on top of the 1 lb bag of SYM boil seasoning, 24 oz of Zat liquid boil, some cayenne,
Holy hell that's a lot. You may want to experiment first. Remember, salt does not equate to spice (heat). cayenne will get you there, or other fresh peppers, like I mentioned before. I like the combo of cayenne and fresh peppers.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 12:05 pm to Houma Sapien
quote:
Think of it this way. Take a bowl of water and add food coloring. Then dip a peice of bread in the water. Keep doing this with new peices of bread. You will see the water level drop but the color of the water will not become lighter.
Your analogy doesn't really apply, because eventually you will run out of water. If you are doing several batches, a lot of water will:
- boil off
- get soaked up by veggies and crawfish
You have to add ice / water to have enough water to boil the next batch. This dillutes the seasoning which is why you need to add more.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 12:06 pm to Motorboat
quote:
Let me simplify this for the OP: 1 sack crawfish 5 lbs Louisiana Powder 1 small jar of Zat's liquid at soak follow instructions on the Louisiana bag. If you want veggies, add them to water 10-15 minutes before adding crawfish.
Hard to beat IMO. I like keeping it simple.
This post was edited on 3/11/15 at 12:09 pm
Posted on 3/11/15 at 12:42 pm to BigErn
quote:
I would just wait and throw all the seasoning on the crawdads after they come out the boil. Taste better that way in my opinion
shiny
Posted on 3/11/15 at 2:38 pm to Odinson
Cajunland in BR = Winn Dixie
Posted on 3/11/15 at 2:40 pm to BigErn
quote:
I would just wait and throw all the seasoning on the crawdads after they come out the boil. Taste better that way in my opinion
Seconded, but do it in a cooler to lock in the flavor. Dipping sauce is also a must. I find Canes to be the best, but a cocktail sauce/mayo/hot sauce combo is also great.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 2:45 pm to Houma Sapien
quote:
Season your first batch for how you want ALL of the batches to taste, then don't add anything for subsequent batches. The water does not lose flavor with each
I could not disagree more with this post.
U drop a big bag of zats, a cup of salt, a bottle of liquid zats in pot.... And boil 4 sacks in that water, the 3rd or 4th sack will not taste like the first.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 3:09 pm to Houma Sapien
We can politely agree to disagree. I think basic chemistry dictates that chemicals dissolved in water will move across a membrane into areas of less concentration until they reach a point of equal concentration or the others "saturation point"(which ever occurs first). If the crawfish meat were simply a sponge type material (like the bread in your analogy) I would agree. It is not. It is cellular and as such has a membrane that the solvents are passing across. No big deal. Let's get it to Mr. Brown and suggest that he create a food science episode to answer the question. I will bring the beer.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 3:16 pm to Motorboat
quote:
1 sack crawfish
5 lbs Louisiana Powder
1 small jar of Zat's liquid at soak
This but,
I put the liquid in first, why wait.
I like to add one or two Zat bags for old time sake.
Onions,garlic and lemons as well.
Add a little more Louisiana powder between batches due to the ice I throw in to help cool down for the soak.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 3:28 pm to ColoradoAg03
don't listen to all these guys who drop sausage in the boil with the bugs. all that does is coat the shells with grease. cook them separately or drop them in the pot after you're done boiling all the crawfish.
Posted on 3/11/15 at 3:40 pm to TH03
I don't put enough sausage in a batch for the grease to be noticeable
And anyone who would complain about that would get an eyeroll
And anyone who would complain about that would get an eyeroll
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