What kind of equipment do I need to boil crawfish?

This recipe feeds 2-3, and the equipment needed includes a large Dutch oven (or stock pot) for boiling the crawfish, corn and potatoes, a spider or strainer, and a second large pot or container with lid for steaming the hot crawfish in Cajun butter sauce, when finished.

When is crawfish season?

In the United States, Louisiana crawfish season begins as early as December and ends around July. Although you can find quality frozen crawfish and crawfish tails year-round.

What can I do with leftover crawfish boil?

My favorite day-after meal is to dice up the potatoes and onions and garlic, cut the corn off the cob, and make a crawfish hash with poached eggs for brunch. I usually make extra potatoes and corn just to be sure I have enough leftovers on day 2.

Can I add other seafood to the boil?

My favorite addition is jumbo shrimp to make a crawfish and shrimp boil with all the delicious sides. Crawfish bring a very particular flavor and shelling / eating experience to the party. But shrimp can do a lot of heavy lifting in filling up hungry bellies! There's just a lot more meat in a shrimp than a crawfish. Snow crab and Gulf shrimp will also add a lot of flavor to your Viet-Cajun crawfish boil.

What other vegetables can I add to the boil?

In addition to the onions, garlic, corn and potatoes, other popular veggie add-ins include mushrooms, artichokes, celery and fresh green beans.

How many pounds of crawfish should I buy per person?

My rule of thumb: if serving the crawfish as an appetizer or with other hearty meats, 2 pounds per person will suffice. If crawfish is the main course and star of the event, 3-5 pounds per person is your best bet. For more details, see my full post on Buying Crawfish for a Boil .

What should I serve with boiled crawfish?

Obviously you'll need a delicious sauce or two. This Vietnamese Crawfish Sauce is a remarkable mash-up of Cajun and Vietnamese flavors popular in Houston. And I love serving a spicy aioli sauce for dipping crawfish and potatoes. For a side dish, napa cabbage slaw adds freshness and crunch to the party.

Can I make a spicy Viet-cajun crawfish boil?

The spice mix and cajun butter sauce you use will likely contain some level of heat. To dial it up, add an extra half teaspoon of cayenne pepper to your butter sauce, or another chili pepper. Adding more Cajun seasoning to the water will dilute the spice. But adding it to the butter sauce will keep it concentrated. Serving your crawfish with Spicy Aioli would add another spicy spark to your boil.

How to store leftover crawfish boil?

To store, keep butter sauce separate from your crawfish boil ingredients. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, check out my recommendations in How to Reheat Leftover Seafood Boil .

Vietnamese Cajun Crawfish Boil Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For the crawfish boil:

6 pounds crawfish

2 onions, quartered

1 head garlic

8-10 small red potatoes

2-3 ears of corn on the cob

2 tablespoons sea salt

2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning

2 bay leaves

Lime wedges, for serving

Viet-cajun butter sauce (for serving)

2 sticks butter

8 cloves garlic

1/2 cup green onions (white and light green parts)

2 tablespoons diced red chili

2 tablespoons fresh ginger

2 tablespoons lemongrass

2 tablespoons Old Bay or Cajun seasoning

1 cups seafood stock

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons cilantro

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Instructions

To begin, make your butter sauce for the Viet-cajun seafood boil. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic, green onion, red chili, grated ginger, diced lemongrass, Old Bay or cajun seasoning, white pepper and fish sauce to the butter. Saute the vegetables for 5-6 minutes until they are tender and fragrant. Add 1 cup of seafood stock and lime juice and bring the Viet-cajun garlic-butter sauce to a simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. I like to use an immersion blender to emulsify the butter sauce at this point - I think it creates a far better dipping sauce and soaking product for the seafood. So I use the immersion blender right in the saucepan and mix for about 10-15 seconds, until the sauce turns a creamy orange color and is fully emulsified. Add in the diced cilantro. Taste again and adjust seasoning, as needed. Set aside.
If using fresh crawfish, wash crawfish very well under running cool water. (Anything they call "mud bugs" will require a good cleaning) Fill a stock pot or Dutch oven about 3/4 full of water (for 6 pounds of crawfish I used a very large Dutch oven.)
Add 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt, 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning, 3 quartered onions, two bay leaves and a head of garlic cut in half to your pot of water. Bring the entire mixture to a boil over high heat.
Add tiny red potatoes and corn. Cook 8 minutes (if your potatoes are larger, cut them in half, or plan to boil at this stage for 10-12 minutes and wait to add the corn until the potatoes have boiled about 5 minutes). Add crawfish. Bring the mixture back up to a boil. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, until the crawfish float to the surface and turn deep red.
Transfer cooked crawfish, potatoes, corn, onions and garlic to a second stock pot or large container with a lid. Pour over the Vietnamese cajun butter sauce.
Cover and let the crawfish soak in the butter sauce for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with additional fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges. Serve with extra sides of Viet-cajun butter sauce and spicy aioli.

Notes

After making seafood boils for years, I heard a Louisiana chef say that seasoning the crawfish boil recipe water didn't do very much to season the crawfish - that was the job of the cajun butter sauce. Seasoning the water just makes it smell delicious as your guests arrive. Ever since, I've cut way back on the crawfish boil seasoning I add to the boiling water. I want the water to be seasoned lightly, but I focus much more on adding flavor and spicy seasonings to the Viet-cajun butter sauce. And it's been a winning philosophy for me!

All of the crawfish I've seen in fish markets around our village are whole, in the shell, and already blanched and bright red. But since live crawfish have such a short cook-time (about 3-5 minutes) - reheating these blanched crawfish require the same process. So the pictures below show bright red crawfish at the beginning of the process, and if you're in the US using live or raw crawfish, your starting product will be a darker brown color when you first add them to your large pot of seasoned water at a rolling boil. Once they are cooked, they will float to the top of the pot a bright red color, and that's how you know they're cooked.

Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 20
Category: Easy Recipes
Method: Stove Top
Cuisine: American, Cajun