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Message
Crawfish—adding ice
Posted on 4/6/23 at 12:41 pm
Posted on 4/6/23 at 12:41 pm
I’ve never added ice to my boils. I boil ‘til they float; soak ‘til they sink. Which, for my pot, burner, and recipe, usually means about 45 mins of soak time and they never come out over cooked.
If I were to add ice, how much shorter you would guesstimate my soak time to be? Trying to see if it’s worth the trial & error of adjusting my recipe since adding ice means diluting the pot.
If I were to add ice, how much shorter you would guesstimate my soak time to be? Trying to see if it’s worth the trial & error of adjusting my recipe since adding ice means diluting the pot.
14
Posted on 4/6/23 at 12:48 pm to TheDude854
quote:
Trying to see if it’s worth the trial & error of adjusting my recipe since adding ice means diluting the pot.
What some folks do is freeze water in plastic jugs and drop that in the boil. That way the water doesn't get diluted.
As for me, I do just as you do, no ice, no hosing down the outside of the pot to help cool it. Just let them soak in the boil water until I like the flavor with frequent taste tests while waiting.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 12:55 pm to TheDude854
quote:
If I were to add ice, how much shorter you would guesstimate my soak time to be?
At 15 mins into the soak I stir the pot well and then I usually add Ice or frozen veggies. 10 mins after that I simply stir and taste them every few minutes until they're good enough to drop. I have also done the spray the pot method and used a BoilBoss ring.
Cooling the water however you do it, including just waiting, just makes them spicier/juicer faster. It doesnt make them taste any better.
quote:
I boil ‘til they float; soak ‘til they sink
I go by the cut the fire as soon as i see a wisp of white escape the lid and then dump them after ive eaten a few that taste good method
quote:
Trying to see if it’s worth the trial & error of adjusting my recipe since adding ice means diluting the pot.
I always add more seasoning for the next batch, so this isnt a big deal and a small bag of ice in a 120Qt pot wont make a difference to the crawfish soaking.
God I love crawfish boils. Cant wait for tomorrow.
This post was edited on 4/6/23 at 12:58 pm
Posted on 4/6/23 at 12:56 pm to TheDude854
Grew up never icing and they tasted great.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:06 pm to TheDude854
I think icing or hosing down is a fallacy. The amount of ice it would take to cool the water down enough to no longer "cook" the bugs is more than anyone puts in. Go stick your hand in that water after it is iced and see how hot it remains.
Hosing it? Yeah that's just not doing a thing.
I used to do the ice in empty soda bottles routine believing it made a difference. After a while I realized that broth was still damn hot, so I just stopped doing it. I have not noticed any changes in the final product as a result
Hosing it? Yeah that's just not doing a thing.
I used to do the ice in empty soda bottles routine believing it made a difference. After a while I realized that broth was still damn hot, so I just stopped doing it. I have not noticed any changes in the final product as a result
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:09 pm to Midget Death Squad
quote:
Hosing it? Yeah that's just not doing a thing.
I though this too. Then I put a thermometer in the water and hosed down the pot. It cools the water. Big difference if you use a garden hose and your thumb in one spot or a sprayer with a shower setting.
The BoilBoss will cool your pot so much your crawfish come out at basically room temp if you let it run for longer than a minute or two.
This post was edited on 4/6/23 at 1:12 pm
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:16 pm to TheDude854
I used to do a cold soak with ice and they always came out well seasoned and full of juice. I recently started adding frozen cut up sausage and frozen corn in place of ice for my cold soak and surprisingly everything comes out perfectly cooked.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:17 pm to Richard Grayson
quote:
Cooling the water however you do it, including just waiting, just makes them spicier/juicer faster. It doesnt make them taste any better.
No - it allows the cooking to stop so that you can soak as long as you wish...
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:18 pm to TheDude854
if it ain't broken, don't fix it !
crawfish tails are cooked and safe to eat once they achieve 160 degrees. The longer the "soak", the juicier the heads will be and the tails will absorb more flavor. Do your own experiment and taste the crawfish at various 15-30-45 minute intervals. Crawfish soaked for 15 minutes will be cooked, yet not as juicy or flavorful IMO.
crawfish tails are cooked and safe to eat once they achieve 160 degrees. The longer the "soak", the juicier the heads will be and the tails will absorb more flavor. Do your own experiment and taste the crawfish at various 15-30-45 minute intervals. Crawfish soaked for 15 minutes will be cooked, yet not as juicy or flavorful IMO.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:24 pm to LSUisKING
quote:
No - it allows the cooking to stop so that you can soak as long as you wish...
Makes sense. I'm not a scientist. I'm just a regular dude. Rock, Flag, and Eagle, right Charlie?
I just know that when i cool the pot with ice or veggies or a hose or whatever they get juicer and spicier and never overcook.
Crawfish if cooked right are always going to be awesome. All the little sutff like icing the pot, etc are really just trying to bring crawfish up from an 8/10 into the 9-9.9/10 range lol.
Its not necessary for the average guy, and i get the who cares sentiment, but for the perfectionist that loves cooking more than any other hobby I'll debate how many cubes of ice to quarts of seasoned water make a difference all day.
This post was edited on 4/6/23 at 1:30 pm
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:28 pm to TheDude854
I always add ice. Soak time is usually 30 min or less.
Soak time can also depend on how well the water is seasoned too, I think?
Soak time can also depend on how well the water is seasoned too, I think?
Posted on 4/6/23 at 1:40 pm to TheDude854
I no longer believe in any of the associated "magic methods" that people believe in. The biggest difference you can make is having a correctly functioning boiler, and not overfilling the pot, thereby dropping the temperature too much when you drop the crawfish.
Rolling boil
Drop
Cut gas at first sign of white smoke escaping
Leave them be until they are completely sunk.
It's that simple.
Rolling boil
Drop
Cut gas at first sign of white smoke escaping
Leave them be until they are completely sunk.
It's that simple.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:02 pm to Richard Grayson
quote:
Makes sense. I'm not a scientist. I'm just a regular dude. Rock, Flag, and Eagle, right Charlie?
I just know that when i cool the pot with ice or veggies or a hose or whatever they get juicer and spicier and never overcook.
Crawfish if cooked right are always going to be awesome. All the little sutff like icing the pot, etc are really just trying to bring crawfish up from an 8/10 into the 9-9.9/10 range lol.
Its not necessary for the average guy, and i get the who cares sentiment, but for the perfectionist that loves cooking more than any other hobby I'll debate how many cubes of ice to quarts of seasoned water make a difference all day.
I hear ya! It's hard to mess up. I like it all - except the burn your mouth off stuff!
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:05 pm to Richard Grayson
quote:
The BoilBoss will cool your pot so much your crawfish come out at basically room temp if you let it run for longer than a minute or two.
Yeah my buddy uses this and swears by it. I'm definitely curious
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:08 pm to Got Blaze
quote:
crawfish tails are cooked and safe to eat once they achieve 160 degrees
Pretty sure most seafood is well done at 145 including crawfish?
Water boils at 212 and no higher. I don't bring it up to a boil, only till maybe a puff of steam. That's usually the 180s mark.
I am of the camp that doesn't boil but rather poaches them in the hot water while they soak. They still float and I soak till they sink (30-45min). I will also take the pot and lift it out the water some and let it drop back a few times. I feel it is mixing up the water and helping it cool some and move water around the bugs and fill em up. You could get the water to 145 and let them sit for a hour and not over cook them like a sous vide IMO.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:10 pm to Midget Death Squad
I used my beer wort chiller on my last batch. brought it down quick then let them soak for 20-30 min
This post was edited on 4/6/23 at 2:11 pm
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:24 pm to TheDude854
PSA: You can’t rinse/clean your bugs too much, but you certainly can too little.
Had some at my buddy’s boil a few weeks back and while pretty good, they could have used some more cleaning for sure. Definitely took away from the taste.
Had some at my buddy’s boil a few weeks back and while pretty good, they could have used some more cleaning for sure. Definitely took away from the taste.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:26 pm to NOLAGT
quote:
Water boils at 212 and no higher.
Salt stabilizes H20 in liquid form. A lower temp is required to freeze saltwater as compared to pure water; and a higher temp is required to boil saltwater as compared to pure water.
So when a pot full of salty, seasoned water is boiling, the temp is actually higher than 212°.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:28 pm to Havoc
quote:
You can’t rinse/clean your bugs too much, but you certainly can too little.
Totally agree. I think this is the main step that ppl rush and it can severely impact the quality of the boil. Clean the hell out of them.
Posted on 4/6/23 at 2:34 pm to TheDude854
quote:
Salt stabilizes H20 in liquid form. A lower temp is required to freeze saltwater as compared to pure water; and a higher temp is required to boil saltwater as compared to pure water. So when a pot full of salty, seasoned water is boiling, the temp is actually higher than 212°.
Now that’s the kind of science shite I’ve been wondering about
Does the presence of the veggies also have the same effect?
Or maybe they make cooling slower since they’re all acting as pieces of dense heat sources slower to cool down?
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