How to Boil Crawfish on the Stove (Louisiana & Cajun)

When it comes to seafood, some favorites you might hear about are lobster and crawfish. Both are essentially similar, with crawfish often being mistaken for the former and being called lobsters in many different parts of the world. Crawfish, or crayfish, are a culinary delight in the same way that lobsters are. They can be used in a number of different kinds of dishes and are sure to wow many with their taste. Although different people might have different ways of consuming crawfish. For example, boiling is one popular method. To do that, you need to know how to boil crawfish.

As mentioned, these crustaceans can be cooked and consumed in more ways than one. What’s more impressive is the fact that they can be boiled in a number of different ways as well. Let’s take a look at how you can boil crawfish generally, in Cajun style, in Louisiana style, and how you need to wash them.

How to Boil Crawfish (Step-by-Step Guide)

The general recipe for boiling crawfish involves a simple process that will get you the crawfish you desire if you just follow it. The quantities of ingredients mentioned in this recipe are relative to each other and should be changed in case of the need to boil more crawfish or making additions to them. The recipe for boiling crawfish normally goes as follows:

Step 1: Add 1.5 liters of water to an empty utensil

This quantity of water is strictly necessary for this particular recipe. If you wish to change the amount of crawfish you want to boil, or make the crawfish boil longer, you will need to increase the amount of water you use and vice versa.

Step 2: Add a piece of onion

A single onion can pack in a lot of natural flavor and give whatever you’re boiling some needed bitterness and sweetness. Onions release their flavor into water quickly, especially if the water is being heated. This makes them a great fit for this recipe. Moreover, you can just add the onion without cutting it first. It’s just the flavor you need and that comes out into the water on its own.

Step 3: Add half a tablespoon of black peppercorns

If onions bring the bitterness, black peppercorns bring much more and do not carry any sort of sweetness with them. They are a great addition to any boiled item since they pack a fair bit of flavor and get their taste across to the food that is being boiled. They are bound to add more taste to your crawfish.

Step 4: Add one tablespoon of dried dill

Dill is a great aromatic herb that gives your food the airy flavor it needs. When it comes to boiled food, dill works better than most other herbs as it spreads through the water and gives the entire mixture an aroma as the boiling continues. Dried dill is also used as a spice and is what needs to be used here.

Step 5: Add 2 pieces of Bay Leaves

Bay leaves are another great ingredient to use when you want your food to feel cooler and be light when you’re consuming it. Bay leaves are a fantastic thing to add if you want your boiled food to have a pungent and bitter fragrance. They add to the black peppercorns and the onion in this case, adding a lot of flavor to your food.

Step 6: Bring to a boil

Place the utensil on a stove and let it heat until it boils. There is no time limit for this step and you have to wait till the water starts boiling.

Step 7: Add 2 pieces of washed crawfish

Once the solution boils, it will have turned a dark yellow. You need to add 2 pieces of washed crayfish to that solution. Make sure to wash your crawfish before this step.

Step 8: Let the solution cook for 15-20 minutes

Leave the crawfish inside the boiled solution and let it simmer there for 15-20 minutes. This cooks the crawfish and makes it suitable for consumption. When you’re done, you’ll see your crawfish with a red exterior. The red skin or shell comes about due to the boiling, with the high temperatures rendering the skin of the crawfish red.

Step 9: Put the crawfish on a plate and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Lemon juice is a great addition to the crawfish as it gives a tangy taste to it and also makes it easier to chew into the hot crawfish. Your crawfish is now ready to serve.

Each and every step of the process needs to be followed as it is to get the very best out of your boiled crawfish. Moreover, the quantities of the ingredients can change depending on the taste you want from your boiled crawfish along with the amount you want to cook.

How to Boil Crawfish Louisiana Style

The state of Louisiana is known for its boiled crawfish and also its unique way of cooking the crustacean. The people of Louisiana use a very large number of ingredients in their recipe and make boiled crawfish with ingredients such as artichokes and sausages. The recipe for making your boiled crawfish Louisiana style goes as follows:

1. Fill a large utensil one-third of the way with water.
2. Add two heads of garlic to the water without peeling them. The taste of garlic is a key component of this recipe.
3. Bay leaves play a prominent role here just like they did in the previous recipe. Their pungent fragrance and their bitter taste go well with the garlic and the other ingredients that are to follow. Use 5 bay leaves here.
4. Crab boiling seasonings are a great addition, since they mix with the crawfish and enhance the flavor of the mixture by adding their own unique taste. 3 ounces of dry crab boil seasonings and a tablespoon of liquid seasoning are required here.
5. Add a touch of salt and pepper. Both these ingredients vary widely in their use depending on the taste of a person and can thus be added in varied amounts here.
6. Add pieces of lemon, artichokes, and potatoes to the mixture. All three are key components of this recipe and play a major role in making the boiled crawfish in the Louisiana style. Ignoring any one of them will not get you the crawfish that you are looking for. You can vary the amounts based on your taste.
7. Bring the mixture to a boil and once it has boiled, let it cook on heat for around 15-20 minutes.
8. Add in mushrooms, green beans, onions, and corn to the cooking mixture. Be sure to stir it thoroughly and once you do, leave it to cook for 15 minutes.
9. Add the sausages to the mixture and cook it for 5 minutes. Be sure to cut the sausages into several pieces.
10. Finally, add the crawfish to the mixture and let it simmer inside until the crawfish’s shell turns a bright red. Another indication would be to see if the tail can be easily pulled out. You can finally check if your crawfish is done by peeling the shell. All in all, this step takes around 5 minutes. Overcooking will lead to the crawfish losing its tenderness entirely.
11. Drain the utensil well and take out the ingredients to serve them in any way you want, whether on newspapers or on a plate.

This recipe is unique and far more complex than the normal one, but it gets you crawfish like you’ve never tasted them before in the authentic Louisiana style.

How to Boil Crawfish Cajun Style

Boiling crawfish is actually a Cajun tradition. They involve crawfish on many different traditional feasts and dinners. Moreover, since it’s a tradition, you’ll find the Cajun people boiling them quite often. Much like the Louisianans, the Cajuns have their own special way of boiling crawfish. It’s a recipe that involves more lemon than the other recipes. The Cajun style of boiling crawfish goes as follows:

1. The first thing to do is take a large amount of crawfish. It’s the Cajun way to make at least 20 pounds in a sitting.
2. Shrimps almost always go hand in hand with the crawfish when making them Cajun style. They act as sides for the crawfish.
3. Follow the other recipes but make sure to mix in the shrimp well and add a healthy dose of lemon juice to the cooked crawfish once you’re done.

How to Eat Crawfish

Since crawfish are crustaceans, eating them is not the simplest of tasks. There’s the shell you need to contend with, and breaking the crawfish apart into pieces is not the easiest of tasks either. To eat a crawfish the correct way, you need to break it by twisting it. Hold either end of the crawfish’s tail with your hands firmly and then twist.

Next, you need to peel away the shell and get the crawfish’s meat from underneath it. To peel the shell, go the widest part of the tail and start removing the shell gently. It takes some time to peel and you need to do it carefully in order to get the crawfish from underneath. To get the meat away from the shell and skin, you need to hold the farthest part of the tail and remove the meat from it. Do this gently since the meat might end up getting damaged before you even know it.

Your meat is now free from its shell and is ready for consumption. This is the correct way to eat crawfish and if you want to be very authentic, suck the juice out from the head.

How to Wash Crawfish

Crawfish need to be washed since they mostly dwell in the mud. Rinse them with cold water until you can see the water becoming clear and without mud. Make sure that you properly clean the crawfish before you use it.

How Long to Boil Crawfish

There are multiple stages in the boiling and the periods depend on the recipe you are following. Here are some boiling times according to the recipe:

Recipe	Boiling Stage	Duration
General Recipe	Boil before adding the crawfish	Take the mixture to a boil. After adding the crawfish, let it cook for 15-20 minutes before taking it out.
Louisiana and Cajun recipe	Initial boiling and then multiple stages of leaving the mixture to cook	First, you need to bring the solution to a boil after adding a certain amount of ingredients. Afterwards, you need to add more ingredients and leave the mixture to cook for small periods of time.

Calories and Serving Size

Crawfish are incredibly low-calorie, with a single serving of one ounce amounting to 327 calories. It’s an entire meal with two-thirds of your normal calorie intake.