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You can use this same recipe for a crab, lobster,
or shrimp boil. Use 3 - 4 pounds large shrimp; for crab
or lobster, estimate 4 servings based on shellfish's
size. See sidebar about purging crawfish (your grocer
or source will tell you whether or not your crawfish
have been purged).
Boiled crawfish makes excellent party food. It's great
to serve this outdoors on a picnic table, with a spray
hose at the ready so your guests can wash their hands.
Use a giant pot and more crawfish for more guests.
Feeds about 4, more if they're neophytes or drinking
a lot of beer.
1 package of your favorite brand of crawfish
or crab boil (found in seasoning or seafood
aisle)
1 large lemon,
halved
4 bay
leaves
1 head garlic,
separated into cloves
1 onion, quartered.
10 lbs. purged* live
crawfish
2 pounds small red potatoes
4 or more ears of fresh
corn, shucked and broken in half
Old Bay or Tony Chachere's
seasoning
newspapers
ice
 Fill
a large stockpot (see note, below) a little more than
halfway with water. Bring to a boil.
You'll probably want your stockpot to be at least
8 gallons, or big enough to hold ingredients and still
have about 1/3 - 1/4 of the pot's height in extra headroom.
If you're uncertain, toss in the live crawfish, unshucked
corn and potatoes to eyeball it. If your pot is too
small to hold your vegetables and crawfish, don't freak
out. You can always cook the vegetables an additional
5 minutes or so, then remove them from the pot and keep
them covered with foil or a big bowl while you cook
the crawfish.
 Add
crawfish boil, lemon (press lemon halves over water
before adding), bay leaves, garlic, and onion quarters.
Wait about a minute.
 Add
potatoes. Let cook about 10 minutes. While the corn
is boiling, cover your table (preferably outdoors) with
thick layers of newspaper.
 Add
corn. Let cook about 5 minutes.
 Add
crawfish. Boil 4 minutes (use a timer). Remove from
heat and let soak an additional 3 minutes. Soaking longer
will overcook them.
 Dump
in a few cups of ice to cool the water. Drain the pot,
using the lid, and keeping a strainer basket underneath
to catch anything that slips out.
Spill the contents of the whole drained pot onto the
center of your newspaper-covered table. Eat with your
hands, and serve with shakers of Old Bay or Tony Chachere's
for extra seasoning. For instructions on peeling crawfish,
see our step-by-step
how-to guide.
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