Crawdad boil

[Dewayne French]

Okay so I got to do a boil for work next week (small group 12ish). What is the favorite recipes of the group on here. Give me what y'all have to work with. I have never done one, but I have sure ate a lot of those bugs.  I'm used to outside cooking, smoking, fish cooking as we all are around here, so lets have a recipe? 

 

Thanks in advance 

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

I've never done one, nor attended one.    If I get a chance I would like to attend one.  I'm sure someone on here has some tips. 

[gotmuddy]

19 hours ago, Dewayne French said:

Okay so I got to do a boil for work next week (small group 12ish). What is the favorite recipes of the group on here. Give me what y'all have to work with. I have never done one, but I have sure ate a lot of those bugs.  I'm used to outside cooking, smoking, fish cooking as we all are around here, so lets have a recipe? 

 

Thanks in advance 

There are two schools of thought.  

1)boil crawfish in clean water, then steam in cooler with seasoning

2)season boil water and soak crawfish

 

no matter what you do, make sure the crawfish are clean. put them in a tub or cooler and rinse them until the water is clean.

 

Recipe? lots of personal preference required there.  get some of the boil liquid OR put half a pound of butter in the water, then a couple onions cut in half, 3-4 lemons and plenty of your favorite boil seasoning.

[Maverickpro201]

I do not like Crawfish at all. Just my Opinion.

[gotmuddy]

1 hour ago, Maverickpro201 said:

I do not like Crawfish at all. Just my Opinion.

thats the best thing about forums. everyone can share opinions, even when unasked for.

[ness]

I've never had a crawfish boil. But I think a good point, which applies to all shell fish, it to be sure to not over cook them. If I was tasked with doing one, I'd research the appropriate cook time as well as the method and recipe.

Good luck and I'd love to see the results. 

 

[gotmuddy]

3 hours ago, ness said:

I've never had a crawfish boil. But I think a good point, which applies to all shell fish, it to be sure to not over cook them. If I was tasked with doing one, I'd research the appropriate cook time as well as the method and recipe.

Good luck and I'd love to see the results. 

 

absolutely correct!  crawfish are pretty forgiving, but for sure its possible to overdo it.

[Terrierman]

I've done a few. 

Tips:  Big pot and big burner to match;

An appropriate tool to get the food stirred around, drained and served when it's time.

Get the water to a full boil before you put anything in it.  For seasoning I think it's hard to beat Tony Cachere's - and don't skimp.

Lots of crawdads come pre cooked and only need to get good and hot again - be sure to check if yours are cooked or fresh.

Andouille is always part of the way I do it. Other sausage can be used but andouille is traditional for a good reason.

So are small red potatoes and corn on the cob - but now is horrid for corn unless you like the frozen stuff.

Lots of old news papers to spread out on the table.  More than you might think.

Plenty of paper plates.

Plenty of paper towels / wipes.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Devan S.]

32 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

An appropriate tool to get the food stirred around, drained and served when it's time.

If someone has never done a crawfish boil this is the 1 single tip that will cause chaos if not thought about ahead of time to me.

Make sure you think about how your gonna get the inner strainer pot out of the bigger pot when your ready. My inner pot has a hook but if its under water or at the boil level that puppy gets hot. When I do a big boil its hard to pull a pot of 10-15lbs of bug, plus the fixings straight up and out without touching the strainer somewhere, sometime. 

 

[gotmuddy]

On 3/19/2026 at 4:57 PM, Devan S. said:

If someone has never done a crawfish boil this is the 1 single tip that will cause chaos if not thought about ahead of time to me.

Make sure you think about how your gonna get the inner strainer pot out of the bigger pot when your ready. My inner pot has a hook but if its under water or at the boil level that puppy gets hot. When I do a big boil its hard to pull a pot of 10-15lbs of bug, plus the fixings straight up and out without touching the strainer somewhere, sometime. 

 

seems like I always forget leather gloves, and by the time the pot comes out I am a 12 pack in so I end up using paper towels to keep from burning my hands