re: I have a theory...crawfish boil related

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But since we all know that isn't the case, you absolutely have to add seasoning to the water for the second batch to taste anything like the first.

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From my taste test, they tasted no different when we tried it.

Yes, some seasoning doesnt dissolve, and comes off with the food. But, some water also comes out when straining/lifting the pot etc etc

I think it is due to the margin of error being so large when you are talking about 6+ pounds of seasoning and 10 gallons of water. Little changes arent going to make a noticeable difference

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Then you're not using much seasoning at all in the first batch

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1 4.5 pound bag of louisiana seasoning

1/2 cup of cayenne

3.5 more cups of Louisiana power (about half of another bag)

40 quarts of water eyeballed (half of 80 qt pot)


eta: 8oz of liquid zats at soak


Look, you can get mad, but that is what we used and both batches tasted the same

I once boiled 8 sacks in the same water with no additional seasoning. Made coffee out of the left over water the next morning. Didn't taste a thing, but coffee.

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It’s widely accepted that when doing multiple batches, you add seasoning with each additional batch, whether you add water or not. We’ve all done it. But why?

The water in the pot has X amount of seasoning. When you boil, and soak the crawfish, they don’t filter out the seasoning and return water back to the pot. So wouldn’t the next batch be seasoned exactly the same as the first if you didn’t add anything? My theory is that our taste buds actually prime up a bit, and the addition of seasonings only make you think that you needed to add more. But you would see no discernible difference actually if you didn’t add anything and had waited until the second batch to eat. What says the food board? Does soaking crawfish remove everything but the water, thus the need to add to it on the second batch?

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My theory is you are an idiot, and now I've proven that theory so now it is a law.

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I’m sure crawfish work the same way. If a guy is cooking thousands of lbs for an event he isn’t constantly playing with seasoning, he is just dropping seafood over and over again. The end product is consistently the same because the ratio of water to seasoning is constant.

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I don't add seasoning because there is some great quantity being removed.

I add seasoning because people have different tastes, and I have found the best way to accompany that, while using one pot and multiple drops, is to ramp up the seasoning as we move along.

Whenever I boil crawfish, people know the second batch will be spicier than the first, and the third more than the second.

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My theory is you are an idiot, and now I've proven that theory so now it is a law.

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Fair enough, but why? Explain why it is wrong. And please include figures, if you have any, about what percentage of the seasoning is lost from the pot due to adsorption vs how much water is lost due to absorption. Considering the main way you will lose seasoning is adsorption because much of the seasoning won’t permeate meat or vegetables via absorption, but you can lose water that way. I understand that most all of us think it tastes bland if you don’t add more. But is it a reality?

I mean...I get it. Serial downvotes and terrible thread. But no one has given anything other than anecdotal evidence or insults to why it doesn’t make sense.