Cajun Crawfish Boil

It's a party in a pot.

By
Marianne Williams
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Marianne Williams
Marianne Williams is a recipe tester and developer who has been working in the Dotdash Meredith test kitchens since 2016. Her recipes are featured in Food & Wine, Southern Living, Real Simple, Rachael Ray, Health, Cooking Light, and in various other publications and digital platforms.
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and
Sharon Hsu
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Sharon Hsu
Sharon Hsu is an enthusiastic recipe and technique developer best known for her expertise in crafting visually appealing cafe and bakery-style treats. She thrives on exploring new concepts in the culinary world, seamlessly blending traditional baking methods with innovative flavors and techniques to create culturally rich creations. She appreciates how food has consistently been at the heart of countless cherished memories and aims to inspire others to bake and cook for their loved ones as an expression of love.
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Published on 03/1/24
Tested by
Spruce Eats Test Kitchen
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Tested by Spruce Eats Test Kitchen
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios, home of the Spruce Eats Test Kitchen, is housed in a 40,000-square-foot facility based in Dotdash Meredith’s Birmingham office, is a hub for food content creation for the nation’s top food and lifestyle publications.
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Boiled crawfish, sausage, potatoes, and corn laid out in a newspaper, served with lemon wedges and beer

The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 6

Creamy potatoes, sweet corn, spicy sausage, and a spicy boiling liquid all surrounded by bright red crawfish is an appetite-eliciting sight to behold. But a crawfish boil isn’t just about the food—it’s a fun and communal experience where you’re invited to dig in, eat with your hands, and get messy. This boil recipe has something for everyone and makes sure all your guests will leave feeling happy and stuffed.

Finding Crawfish

Depending on where you live, finding crawfish can be the tricky part of this recipe. Fresh crawfish can be found during certain seasons, usually January to May, but prime crawfish season is mid-March to mid-May. You may also be able to find them at some Asian live seafood markets. 

Otherwise, look for frozen crawfish, which are sold whole or just as peeled crawfish tails. If you’d like to use frozen crawfish tails, substitute one pound of the tail meat for six pounds whole crawfish. Finally, look for packages of frozen crawfish that contain only crawfish—avoid pre-seasoned packages or else the end product will be too salty and won’t be pleasant to eat.

The Best Method for a Crawfish Boil

To ensure that everything in the boil is perfectly cooked (adding the potatoes, corn, sausage, and crawfish at the same time is a recipe for overcooking), this recipe staggers the cooking process. You’ll start by boiling the potatoes for 10 minutes, then add the andouille sausage and corn for five minutes, and finally the crawfish go in. The result is tender, not broken potatoes, sweet, crisp corn, tender sausage, and well-seasoned but not tough crawfish tails.

Get Your Equipment Ready

This recipe makes a large quantity. Be prepared for how big a pot (16-quart minimum) and bowl (13-quart minimum) you’ll need. Your regular soup pot and standard home mixing bowl will be too small. This is catering-size equipment, which you can buy at a restaurant supply store, or rent from a catering rental outlet. 

You may also want to rent or buy a large outdoor propane burner. While you can cook a crawfish boil indoors, it will generate a ton of steam, and a very large pot can be difficult to bring to a boil on a regular kitchen stove.

Ingredients

  • 5 quarts (20 cups) water

  • 16 ounces clam juice

  • 2 (3-ounce) packages boil-in-bag crab, shrimp, and crawfish boil (such as Zatarain’s)

  • 2 large lemons, halved crosswise

  • 2 tablespoons Old bay seasoning

  • 2 tablespoons fine salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into quarters, leaving root end intact

  • 6 dried bay leaves

  • 1 bunch fresh thyme

  • 3 heads garlic, halved crosswise, plus 1 small clove, divided

  • 2 pounds small red potatoes (about 14 potatoes)

  • 2 pounds andouille sausage, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch chunks

  • 4 ears yellow corn, cut crosswise into thirds

  • 6 pounds whole crawfish (fresh or frozen)

  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces; 113 grams) salted butter, melted

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for a crawfish boil

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  2. Combine 5 quarts water, 2 (8-ounce)bottles clam juice, 2 (3-ounce) packages boil seasoning bags, 2 large lemons, halved, 2 tablespoons Old Bay, 2 tablespoons fine salt, 1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into quarters, 6 bay leaves, 1 bunch fresh thyme, and 3 heads garlic, halved crosswise in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to medium-high to maintain a steady boil. Let boil, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.

    A large pot of Water clam juice, boil seasoning bags, halved lemons, Old Bay, salt, quartered onions, 6 bay leaves, thyme, and 3 heads garlic, halved crosswise

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  3. Add 2 pounds small red potatoes and cook, covered, for another 10 minutes.

    A large stock pot with red potatoes added to the seasoned broth mixure

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  4. Add 2 pounds andouille sausage, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and 4 ears yellow corn, cut into thirds and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes.

    A large pot with andouille sausage and corn on the cob added to the stock

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  5. Stir in 6 pounds whole crawfish and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let sit, covered, until the crawfish are bright red and well seasoned, about 15 minutes.

    A pot of crawfish boil with bright red crawfish, andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  6. While the crawfish are steeping in the boil mixture, combine 1/2 cup melted butter and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon in a very large bowl. Grate in the remaining 1 clove of garlic and stir to incorporate.

    A metal bowl with lemon, melted butter, and garlic

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

  7. Once the crawfish have steeped, use a large spider or skimmer to transfer the crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to the bowl with the butter, tossing to evenly coat; discard the onion, garlic, herbs, and spice bags. Serve the crawfish boil with plenty of ice-cold beer and wet naps.

    A large bowl of crawfish boil, topped in lemon butter sauce

    The Spruce Eats / Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster

How To Store

If you have leftovers (this should not happen if you have the right kind of people in your life), refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to three days. Save some of the boiling liquid separately, and to reheat gently poach the leftovers in the boiling liquid until just heated through. In fact, just bring the liquid up to a boil, take off the heat, and add the leftovers to avoid overcooking them.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
949 Calories
61g Fat
52g Carbs
49g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 949
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 61g 78%
Saturated Fat 24g 121%
Cholesterol 305mg 102%
Sodium 4110mg 179%
Total Carbohydrate 52g 19%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 49g
Vitamin C 29mg 145%
Calcium 102mg 8%
Iron 4mg 22%
Potassium 2281mg 49%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)