Spicy Boiled Crayfish Recipe
Ingredients
| 4 lbs. live crayfish | ||
| Spicy Boil, or 1 (3-oz.) pkg. crab or shrimp boil | ||
| Water | ||
| Lemon juice | 8 Tablespoon | |
| Salt | 2 Tablespoon | |
| Onion | 1 Large, sliced | |
| Celery stalks | 2 , chopped | |
| Garlic | 4 Clove (5gm), crushed | |
| Parsley sprigs | 8 | |
| Butter or margarine, melted | ||
| Whole Cloves | 8 (Spicy Boil:) | |
| 6 whole allspice | ||
| Dry mustard | 1 Teaspoon (Spicy Boil:) | |
| 5 thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme | ||
| Celery seeds | 1 Teaspoon (Spicy Boil:) | |
| 4 bay leaves, broken in half | ||
| Black peppercorns | 6 (Spicy Boil:) | |
| Red cayenne pepper | 1/2 Teaspoon (Spicy Boil:) | |
Directions
Rinse crayfish to remove any sand or mud.
Place in a large bowl or kettle of cold salted water.
Refrigerate up to 1 hour or until ready to cook crayfish.
Prepare Spicy Boil, if used.
In a 6- to 8-quart kettle, combine Spicy Boil or crab or shrimp boil, 4 quarts water, lemon juice, salt, onion, celery, garlic and parsley.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Boil gently 15 minutes to let flavors blend.
Drop 24 crayfish into boiling liquid.
When liquid returns to a boil, cook 4 to 8 minutes, depending on size of crayfish.
Like lobster, crayfish will turn bright red when cooked.
The best way to test for done-ness is to taste the seafood, following directions below on how to eat crayfish.
Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked crayfish from boiling liquid.
Arrange on a platter.
Cook remaining crayfish, adding boiling water, if necessary, to maintain volume of liquid.
As soon as cooked crayfish are cool enough to handle, serve with small bowls of melted butter or margarine for dipping.
Place in a large bowl or kettle of cold salted water.
Refrigerate up to 1 hour or until ready to cook crayfish.
Prepare Spicy Boil, if used.
In a 6- to 8-quart kettle, combine Spicy Boil or crab or shrimp boil, 4 quarts water, lemon juice, salt, onion, celery, garlic and parsley.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Boil gently 15 minutes to let flavors blend.
Drop 24 crayfish into boiling liquid.
When liquid returns to a boil, cook 4 to 8 minutes, depending on size of crayfish.
Like lobster, crayfish will turn bright red when cooked.
The best way to test for done-ness is to taste the seafood, following directions below on how to eat crayfish.
Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked crayfish from boiling liquid.
Arrange on a platter.
Cook remaining crayfish, adding boiling water, if necessary, to maintain volume of liquid.
As soon as cooked crayfish are cool enough to handle, serve with small bowls of melted butter or margarine for dipping.
Chef
