Cooking crayfish by boiling them, then serving them as a main dish at outdoor parties, is the traditional way to enjoy crayfish in Louisiana and other parts of the southern United States. Read the instructions below to learn how to cook crayfish perfectly.
Ingredients
- 9-13.5 kg live crayfish
- 8 lemons, cut in half
- 450 grams of boiled shrimp seasoning.
- 8 onions, peeled and cut in half.
- 4, 5 kg of fresh potatoes
- 20 pieces of corn, cleaned and cut in half.
- 40 cloves of garlic, peeled
Step
Method 1 of 4: Preparing the Crayfish for Boiling
Step 1. Buy live crayfish
Plan to order enough crayfish so that everyone at the party gets 1-1.3 kg of shrimp. Some of the weight of the shrimp will be lost when eaten because the weight of the shell is also calculated when you buy it.
- Get crayfish from seafood and grocery stores or crayfish trucks, which sell crayfish in season.
- If there are no crayfish sellers in your area, purchase crayfish online such as Louisiana Crawfish co., or from a shrimp vendor who can ship crayfish to your home.
- When you take home or receive a shipment of crayfish, make sure you store them in a cool place away from light and heat, so the shrimp will stay fresh when cooked.
- Boiled crayfish after freezing won't taste as good as live crayfish.
Step 2. Clean the crayfish
Since fresh crayfish are freshly harvested, you will need to remove any silt and debris from the prawns before you cook them. Clean the crayfish with these few steps:
- Clean the sack. If you buy shrimp and carry them in a sack, start by cleaning them so that the mud and dirt outside the sack won't get inside.
- Pour the shrimp from the sack into a large holding container, such as a children's pool or cargo container, and fill the container with clean water.
- Use a stirrer to stir the prawns, then let the prawns sit in the bowl for 30 minutes.
- Discard the dead shrimp, which will usually float to the surface after a few minutes.
- Discard the water in the container, then rinse the shrimp with clean water. Leave the prawns in a cool, shady place until you are ready to boil them.
Method 2 of 4: Preparing Equipment for Boiling Crayfish
Step 1. Turn on the fire that will be used for outdoor cooking
Use an outdoor gas compost, patio stove, or propane stove to heat the water that will be used to boil the shrimp. The most important thing is that you must have sturdy equipment to heat a pot of about 227 liters of water.
Step 2. Fill a 227 liter pot half full with water
Place the pot on the stove or stove and allow the pan to heat until the water boils. Add some of these ingredients, then let it boil again.
- Juice of 8 lemons, and lemon zest.
- 450 grams of boiled shrimp seasoning.
Step 3. Add the vegetables
Boiled crayfish are delicious when paired with many types of vegetables, but the most popular vegetables used in boiling crayfish are potatoes and corn. When the water in the pot has returned to a boil, add the following ingredients:
- 8 onions, peeled and cut in half.
- 4.5 kg fresh potatoes (or regular potatoes, cut into easy-to-chew sizes)
- 20 pieces of corn, cleaned and cut in half.
- 40 cloves of peeled garlic.
Method 3 of 4: Cooking Crayfish
Step 1. Put the crayfish into the boiling water
Place the crayfish in a special basket, which is made of wire with handles for inserting them into the pot. The shrimp basket is useful for boiling the shrimp on the surface of the water while cooking the vegetables on the bottom. Let the prawns simmer in boiling water for 5 minutes.
- If you have a large drain that is the right size for the top of the pan, then you can use it instead of a prawn basket.
- Shrimp baskets can be found online or at any grilling supply store.
Step 2. Turn off the heat and let the prawns cook
When the prawns are in the pan, turn off the heat and cover the pot so the prawns can cook slowly for another 30 minutes.
Step 3. Check the braised prawns
After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the pan and check if the prawns are cooked. The best way to determine this is to take a shrimp and eat it.
- If the texture of the meat is chewy, then you have to boil the shrimp longer.
- If the texture of the shrimp begins to crumble, immediately remove the shrimp from the pot, because the shrimp may have been boiled too long.
Method 4 of 4: Serving Boiled Shrimp
Step 1. Spread the newspaper on the picnic table
It's possible that your dining table will fall apart when you eat boiled shrimp, so use newspaper sheets for easy cleaning. Line up picnic tables and other outdoor tables, then spread out napkins and tissues. You may need a bowl to hold the shrimp shells and legs.
Step 2. Serve the boiled prawns
In a traditional stew, the vegetables are placed directly on the table, then the prawns are served on top of the vegetables. If you don't want to do it this way, ask guests to line up in front of the pot with paper plates, then take the vegetables straight from the pot to the guests' plates.
Step 3. Add additional seasonings
Butter, salt, and Cajun seasonings are a delicious complement to a crayfish stew.
Tips
- Add the andouille sausage to the pan before you add the extra flavor and protein.
- You can add more salt and pepper in the boiling process if the taste is still not good enough.
Warning
- Keep a fire extinguisher within your reach for safety reasons.
- Do not salt the crayfish alive. The salt cleaning method is effective when used on crabs and other seafood, but will kill the crayfish before they are cooked.
The Things You Need
- Ingredients listed above
- Gas stove or outdoor stove
- A large pot for boiling shrimp and a special basket that can hold up to 18 kg of crayfish
- Long spoon or stirrer made of metal or wood
- A large table covered with newsprint
