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re: Official Crawfish Recipe Thread

Posted on 3/14/10 at 2:39 am to
Posted by TigerInAllenTx
Member since Jul 2009
874 posts
Posted on 3/14/10 at 2:39 am to
quote:

I find that crawfish peel easier when iced after boiling.


I thought we "pinch the tail and suck the head" when we eat crawfish.
Posted by AreJay
Member since Aug 2005
4186 posts
Posted on 3/14/10 at 5:16 am to
quote:

Why is it that people are obsessed with adding ice/water...etc. after boiling? All you are doing is dilluting the seasoned water. I've been boiling for close to 20 years and I've never once had peeling problems due to them being in the water too long.


it's diluting the seasoned water, but you can make it 'extra' seasoned beforehand so when you dilute it, the final amount of seasoning is where you want it. the final flavor of the crawfish meat is dependent upon several factors (seasoning concentration, temperature, time), so you can fool with all of them to adjust the taste.

that being said, i have never actual seen anyone do the ice-thing, so it does seem like an extra step to me
This post was edited on 3/14/10 at 5:18 am
Posted by maxeaux
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2009
42 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 1:41 am to
quote:

Why is it that people are obsessed with adding ice/water...etc. after boiling? All you are doing is dilluting the seasoned water. I've been boiling for close to 20 years and I've never once had peeling problems due to them being in the water too long.


The "ice thing" is designed to speed up the process of the capillary effect... ie: get more 'juice' in the head and between the shell and meat. As the crawfish sit and the liquid cools it flows back into the cavity of the head. You probably have seen people let there crawfish soak for 30 then start to hose the outside of the pot to cool it down... same thing.

Most people that practice the ice method over-season the boil to compensate. If you have the time, then slow cooling until the crawfish sink is the best tasting method i have found. If you are feeding 300+people and they are hungry now, over-season and ice down, this will cut 20-30 mins of soaking.


This post was edited on 3/15/10 at 1:47 am
Posted by LSUbroker
Member since Oct 2008
1610 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:00 am to
Who gives a shite about the icing process. Either you do it or you don't. Post some recipes dammit. That's the purpose of this thread.
Posted by Me4Heisman
Landmass
Member since Aug 2004
5512 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:04 am to
And some of y'all f*ckers use too much salt.
Posted by jmtigers
1826.71 miles from USC
Member since Sep 2003
4989 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:45 am to
Does tony's have plenty of live crawfish availible on the weekends now?
Posted by Jason9782003
Member since Aug 2007
3724 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:48 am to
quote:

Why is it that people are obsessed with adding ice/water...etc. after boiling?


+1

I add the frozen corn when I kill the fire. It cools the water some. Sometimes I spray the side of the pot with water to cool it down. I never add ice and never had a problem with crawfish being unseasoned, hard to peel, or not being juicy
Posted by yellowfin
Coastal Bar
Member since May 2006
98763 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:53 am to
quote:

Post some recipes dammit. That's the purpose of this thread.

I don't have a recipe, I season the water until it taste right then add the crawfish.
Posted by Jason9782003
Member since Aug 2007
3724 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 8:56 am to
(no message)
This post was edited on 3/15/10 at 9:04 am
Posted by CarRamrod
Spurbury, VT
Member since Dec 2006
58309 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 9:09 am to
i would say 1 outta 10 people that think they know how to cook crawfish can actually cook great crawfish consistently. the others might get lucky sometime but i have seen WAY to many people frick up a wet dream when it comes to crawfish. your fingers should never prune when eating because there is so much salt. Most seasons already contain too much salt. and the ice to cool it stupid. i'll drench the pot with a hose but ice is a waste of money IMO.
Posted by yellowfin
Coastal Bar
Member since May 2006
98763 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 9:21 am to
quote:

and the ice to cool it stupid. i'll drench the pot with a hose but ice is a waste of money IMO.


It's a dollar
Posted by CarRamrod
Spurbury, VT
Member since Dec 2006
58309 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 9:42 am to
quote:

It's a dollar
in a time where people have to have the gubment pay for a cell phone, maybe people should be saving that dollar.
Posted by JasonL79
Houston area
Member since Jan 2010
6424 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 10:05 am to
Main thing with crawfish that I found is do not overboil them! They will get soft and fall apart when peeled. I bring to a boil and shut off gas and soak for 20-30 min and spray the outside of the pot. Especially with them being mixed (small to large crawfish all in one sack) right now. If you boil any longer than 2-3 minutes and soak you will have soft crawfish. And I boiled 15 sacks yesterday so I do have a little experience with them.

My recipe is a little different. I use 14 gal of water in a 100-120qt pot and season the water and not the crawfish. The first boil I use full recipe of seasoning, the second boil I use 1/2 of the first recipe, the third boil I use 1/4 of the first recipe. I usually like to only boil 3 times in the same water. If I have to boil 4 times I don't add seasoning the fourth time. If you don't add seasoning the second and third batch will not be seasoned as much. I make my own mix. Ground crab boil (contains no salt and I think can only be bought commercially), salt, cayenne, and chinese red pepper. Adding onions, garlic, and celery definitely helps the flavor.

Boil my potatoes 12-15 minutes (depends on how many potatoes you have in the pot) remove, add crawfish bring to a boil shut gas off, add corn and let the corn soak with the crawfish.
This post was edited on 3/15/10 at 10:19 am
Posted by Bussemer
Heading South
Member since Dec 2007
2578 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 10:10 am to
quote:

here is one way to cook them

and yes they come out pretty damn good



Posted by Catman88
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Dec 2004
49125 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 10:24 am to
I just think its amazing that someone has been boiling for 20 years and hasnt figured out the benefit of cooling down the pot. In one way or another you want that pot to cool down and stop cooking the crawfish. It has nothing to do with peeling.

The thing people use to make peeling easier is generally lemons and a stick of butter. But it really has more to do with how thick the shells are in your batch of crawfish.

Posted by CarRamrod
Spurbury, VT
Member since Dec 2006
58309 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 12:48 pm to
quote:

there is one way to cook them

and yes they come out pretty damn good
Thank you, im glad you like them
Posted by TexasTiger34
Austin, Kind of
Member since Mar 2008
11344 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 12:56 pm to
quote:

Thank you, im glad you like them
Posted by Kajungee
South ,Section 6 Row N
Member since Mar 2004
17033 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 1:24 pm to
just a few tips my way...

I have been using frozen 2 liter bottles to ice down, also spray the outside the pot with the hose.

As for timing, It might be differant for some people depending on pot size and the burner, How fast do you get it back up to boil.

My I usually go 2-3 minutes after returning to a boil.

Soak 15-20 minutes then I search out the smallest crawfish in the batch and taste test it.

peel the smallest one and if its over cooked pull them out now..If its not ready I let it soak longer.

The small ones will cook faster than the large ones.

Do not over cook them, what ever you do

I also agree most people use to much salt.
Posted by OTIS2
NoLA
Member since Jul 2008
52209 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 1:29 pm to
quote:

most people use to much salt.
I'm one of those oddballs. I don't use much salt in many dishes, but for boiled crawfish, I like a good bit.
Posted by Nawlens Gator
louisiana
Member since Sep 2005
5946 posts
Posted on 3/15/10 at 2:38 pm to

The guy who catered our company CFBoil (hundreds of people) cooked them in water in one tank, then lifted the basket (many sacks) with hydraulics and lowered them into spiced/iced water in another tank to soak. They were excellent. I'm sure he did 2 or 3,000 lbs. These were big tanks/burners/hydraulics and trailer mounted.

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