re: New School or Old School for Crawfish

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I usually have 2 pots going. both are 100 qt. Interesting idea. When I soak, the water does not cool off much. I put into ice chest once soaking is done.

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When the soak is done, we eat them. Are you just putting them in the ice chest for serving purposes or for some other reason?

I’m not sure why people freak out so bad when they hear this or see this. It’s actually much more common than people think, and nearly every single person who has bought crawfish at a restaurant or boiling place has had crawfish boiled (or steamed) in clean water and transferred to a lukewarm bath of seasoned water at least a few times.

First, just like when frying fish, or shrimp, or crawfish, or just about anything, the cooking process rids the meat of moisture. This is why crawfish float when they are cooked (just like fish float when they fry). When actively cooking, liquid is not penetrating into the shell. Moisture is leaving the shell. Try a crawfish the second you turn off the fire next time and see what kind of flavor is inside the shell if you want confirmation. Being as this is the case, it doesn’t matter what water you use to boil it in. Seasoned or not, they will have the same flavor essentially when you cut the fire.

The reason crawfish end up sinking is because they have cooled enough that the membranes shrink and allow the water to enter the shell. So, once all things are equal, the weight of the crawfish pulls it under. This is why there are gadgets made to cool the pot, why people dump ice in, or why people stand there with a water hose and spray off the pot. The faster crawfish cool, the faster they take in water, and the faster they take in seasoning and taste right. If you transfer crawfish from a 220° pot and put them in a 150° seasoned water bath, they will cool much, much faster.

Is any of this really practical for a weekend boil where you are doing a sack or two? Eh. Just depends on how much you want to drag pots out. It’s a fun novelty, especially seeing how much people on this board freak out about it. Lol. For commercial operations, most of them see it as absolutely essential. The “clean” water cleans the crawfish, and the seasoned water can do 4-5 times the amount of crawfish they would normally be able to do without having to change water. That saves them a ton of money in the long run, in addition to being able to turn out the exact same product in half the time or less. You can almost accomplish the same thing by pulling the basket out of your regular boil when you cut the fire next time, and throw them back in the water after 5-10 minutes.

New school is steaming them, then putting them in another 120 degree pot with your seasonings and butter and puréed vegetables and letting them soak for 30 mins.... frog bone has a video show the process.

That being said iv only ever and probably will only ever do old school.

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"Old " Old school: use so many boxes of salt, bag seasoning, liquid seasoning, and a couple bottles of Louisiana cayenne pepper.

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Truth! Pops would use two boxes of salt, 6 bags of seasoning (one would bust every once in a while), couple bottles of liquid and a jar of cayenne. That's the "real" old school.

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I must be old because I've never seen anyone with an ice chest of seasoned water. I've seen people put them in an ice chest and pour a bag of dry seasonings on them and pronounce "wa laa!"

And I just eat a sandwich when I am at those places.

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