Louisiana Style Crawfish Boil (Print version)
Juicy crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage simmered in a flavorful Southern brew.
# What you'll need:
→ Seafood
01 - 4 pounds live crawfish, thoroughly rinsed
→ Vegetables
02 - 2 pounds small red potatoes, halved if large
03 - 4 ears corn, cut into thirds
04 - 2 large yellow onions, quartered
05 - 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
06 - 2 lemons, halved
→ Sausage
07 - 1 pound andouille sausage or smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
→ Seasoning & Broth
08 - 1/2 cup Louisiana-style seafood boil seasoning
09 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 - 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
11 - 3 bay leaves
12 - 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
13 - 2 tablespoons hot sauce
→ Other
14 - 6 quarts water
15 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 - Fresh parsley, chopped
# How to make it:
01 - Fill a large stockpot with 6 quarts of water. Add seafood boil seasoning, salt, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, black peppercorns, hot sauce, quartered onions, halved garlic head, and lemon halves. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
02 - Add halved red potatoes to the boiling liquid. Cook for 10 minutes until potatoes begin to soften.
03 - Add sausage pieces and corn sections to the pot. Boil for 7 minutes to cook through and infuse flavors.
04 - Add live crawfish to the pot. Cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until crawfish shells turn bright red and tails curl tightly.
05 - Turn off the heat. Let all ingredients soak in the seasoned broth for 10 to 20 minutes. Longer soaking time intensifies spice and flavor absorption.
06 - Drain the boil using a large colander. Discard lemon halves, garlic head, and bay leaves from the mixture.
07 - Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a large serving tray or newspaper-lined table. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
# Expert suggestions:
01 -
- Everything cooks in one pot, leaving you more time to gather with people you actually like
- The spiced broth becomes more flavorful the longer it sits, so leftovers somehow taste better the next day
- Eating with your hands is required, so nobody has to pretend to be polite
02 -
- Live crawfish should be active before cooking—if they're sluggish or dead, skip them entirely
- The soak time after cooking is actually where most of the flavor develops, so don't rush this step
- Newspaper or butcher paper on the table makes cleanup infinitely easier
03 -
- Buy an extra pound or two of crawfish—people always eat more than they expect
- If you can't find andouille, any smoked sausage will work, but andouille adds the most authentic flavor