# Cooling down boiling Crawfish Question??



## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

I usually use ice but i don't like that it dilutes the water and i was thinking about trying the 2 liters of frozen water but here's a thought for yall. Ive read where restaurants use dry ice pellets for cooling down soup quickly as it melts to a gas and doesnt dilute or flavor the soup. Said it can make the soup a tad carbonated but only for a few minutes which wouldn't be a problem with crawfish. Anybody ever tried it??


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

leave em in the ice chest, OPEN. That is the easiest, simplest way to cool them down. It also lets the juices soak in the meat. Also, never understood why people close the lid...only cooks them more.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Ive cooked crawfish for years...usually about 2k lbs a year so ive got my technique i like. What i do is boil for 4-5 min then usually i dump about 10 lbs of ice in the water to quickly drop the temp from boiling to about 140-150 then soak for 15 min. The crawfish does not become tough from over cooking and it shocks them and they suck up a whole lot more of the juice and spice. Then dump into a cooler with 3-4 lbs of butter so the crawfish get some good butter flavor. They are rediculous!!!

So im trying to figure out a way that i can drop the temp quickly without diluting my water and causing the spice expense to jump. Im doing a 500lb boil for a friend in a couple weeks and i need to cut some spice expense for him. By the way i do this for free and don't charge so im not trying to make more money or anything. I just tell my buddies you buy the stuff and ill bring the cooker and cook!


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

Dry ice and a big pot of boiling water? I think I would pass on that idea! 

How big is the pot you are using? You said you are boiling 500lb so that's about 15 sacks of crawfish. How many sacks can you cook in one batch is my first question? I can possibly give you a few tips, if I know what you are working with.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Ive got 2 cookers..one is a blue bug boiler http://www.bluebugboilers.com/products.html and will cook about 45 lbs at a time and the other is a custom that will cook about 100lbs at a time. The custom is just like the blue bug but its just alot bigger!

Both are great!! They will bring the water from room temp to boiling in about 5-7 min and once i dump the water from the first batch (water is around 140 at that time) it brings it back in 3-4 min!

Blue bugs are a really good deal for the money if anybody is looking for an all around great cooker! Ive heard of people using them as a fryer too but i never have!

Like i said the regular ice does great but after every 2nd batch ive got to put about half the amount of original spice that i started with back in the cooker and about every 4th batch i have to drain some water out!

I like the idea of 2ltr soda bottles frozen but im just looking for an alternative! Thanks for the input!


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## BigBay420 (Jun 20, 2005)

Eat them while the are hot. Why do you want to cool them down?


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## goodwood (Mar 30, 2009)

BigBay420 said:


> Eat them while the are hot. Why do you want to cool them down?


I'm wondering the same.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

They are still very hot! Im not making the crawfish cold, i am bringing the temp of the water down quickly from boiling to 150ish so that the crawfish stop cooking while they soak for 15 min. 150 degree water is still hot and the crawfish are very hot when they enter the cooler! If you leave the water at 220 they will continue to cook and be tougher than if you stop them from cooking. Think of how an overcooked shrimp feels vs a perfectly cooked shrimp! The quick temp reduction and long soak makes the crawfish suck up the juice so they are still spicy without having to "sprinkle" them in the cooler. This makes the heat stay in your mouth and not just burn the hell out of your lips!!


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## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

goodwood said:


> I'm wondering the same.


 bingo. i don't use ice either, never understood it. i bring the bugs to a boil for a minute or two take it off the heat and let it soak for 15-20 min. meanwhile i've thrown another pot of boil on the the fire to get rolling before i add another batch of bugs. keep it going and you are constantly soaking, boiling, and throwing them into an open ice chest. they cool pretty quick once you spread them out on the table as people need more but they will still stay hot while waiting in the ice chest. haven't ever had a "tough" one doing it that way either. nothing ticks me off more than cold crawfish when i'm done boiling, gotta keep them hot.


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm familiar with the Blue bug boilers, they are awesome! I have a contact that has 3 pot's designed after the blue bugs that hold about 150lbs each. They sure make boiling a few hundred lbs of craw fish easy work!

First thing, be careful with the the frozen 2 liter bottles. They can and will leach a plastic flavor when you put them in hot water. So, you may want to rethink that idea. 

If your main goal here is to reduce the amount of seasoning used and save a few bucks for your friend, I would suggest the following. 

I don't know what type of seasoning you are using. The best bang for your buck is to use liquid seasoning like Zatarans Liquid Crab boil. Obviously the liquid will penetrate the crawfish faster than a dry seasoning mix will. So, you don't have to use as much per batch. If you are using a dry seasoning then just reduce the amount of dry mix you would normally use and add some of the liquid seasoning to compinsate.

Also, you don't have to add ice to the pot to cool the crawfish down to soak. I know it dose work great and makes an exelent final product. But some times you have to change your process to accomidate what you have to work with. The way I have done it in the past when dealing with a large amount of dad's is this. Bring your water to a boil and add your crawfish, crank the heat all the way up! As soon as the water comes to a rolling boil, kill the fire and let them sit in the water for about 7-8 minutes. Then you can dump them into an ice chest and butter them like you normally do. Of course you have to taste them to check the seasoning. If they need more spice you can add a little of your dry seasoning to the ice chest and shake them up. You don't have too add much of the dry seasoning once they are cooked. just a little will go a long way. After the first batch you can adjust the saesoning in your pot accordingly. 

These are just some ideas that might help you out. If you are like me, you will hate the idea of changing your recipe and method for boiling dad's. But belive me, when I cook 50lbs at home for the family I do it my way. When I have to cook 2000lbs for an event, I do it the best way I can with the equipment I have to work with. I hope this helps!


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

I will promise you the crawfish never get cold!!!! Im using 10 lbs of ice in a cooker that cooks 100lbs of crawfish! I put 3-4 1lb blocks of butter in my cooler and they are hot enought to melt all the butter in about 5 min so i promise you they are not cold of even slightly cool. Its a simple techinque to lower the temp by about 60-70 degrees. Any of you ever stuck your finger in 150 degree water and though that was cold??


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## roundman (May 21, 2004)

NO COOL DOWN,LOL, put in ice chest pour more boil powder on top ,let sweat and spice up, get plenty cold beers and enjoy, that is all


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## Charlie2 (Aug 21, 2004)

*Cooling Crawdads*

I put mine in a plastic bag hten place the bag into ice. This cools them but doesn't dilute the juices. C2


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

no seasoning once they are out of the pot, at least that's not the coonarse way we do it. And those of you saying no cool down, I seriously doubt you eat the crawfish straight out of the pot- they are scolding hot even after I let them soak for min 20+mins


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## gitchesum (Nov 18, 2006)

First time I heard about people cooling down crawfish was when I moved to Texas. Been to a few boils where they swear by it. But considering crawfish aren't watertight one way valves, they aren't going to just "suck up" extra flavor because you cooled them down a little. The flavor comes from the amount of seasoning in the water.


Just boil them for 5 minutes, kill the fire and soak for 15-20 minutes. Drop them in an ice chest if you aren't ready to eat the right away, otherwise just throw them on the table.


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## Treble J (Mar 18, 2011)

Jeff SATX said:


> bingo. i don't use ice either, never understood it. i bring the bugs to a boil for a minute or two take it off the heat and let it soak for 15-20 min. meanwhile i've thrown another pot of boil on the the fire to get rolling before i add another batch of bugs. keep it going and you are constantly soaking, boiling, and throwing them into an open ice chest. they cool pretty quick once you spread them out on the table as people need more but they will still stay hot while waiting in the ice chest. haven't ever had a "tough" one doing it that way either. nothing ticks me off more than cold crawfish when i'm done boiling, gotta keep them hot.


 this is how we do boils. once it tries to boil again, cut fire and let soak. they will just cook slower than a rolling boil while soaking in flavors.


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## SmokinQuack (Sep 8, 2005)

The ice is *NOT* used to make the crawfish cool enough to eat. It's used to make all of the crawfish in the pot soak up the juice in the pot and sink to the bottom. This helps them soak up more seasoning when soaking. It sure makes them spicy when sucking the heads too.

I started using this method a few years ago and it really does make a difference. Give it a try.

I usually only cook a couple of sacks at a time, so I don't normally have the problem you are facing with the ice watering down the seasoning.


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## goodwood (Mar 30, 2009)

Jeff SATX said:


> bingo. i don't use ice either, never understood it. i bring the bugs to a boil for a minute or two take it off the heat and let it soak for 15-20 min. meanwhile i've thrown another pot of boil on the the fire to get rolling before i add another batch of bugs. keep it going and you are constantly soaking, boiling, and throwing them into an open ice chest. they cool pretty quick once you spread them out on the table as people need more but they will still stay hot while waiting in the ice chest. haven't ever had a "tough" one doing it that way either. nothing ticks me off more than cold crawfish when i'm done boiling, gotta keep them hot.


I boil mine for a few minutes. Throw them in the cooler with hot boil in there and pull out whenever someone is ready to eat. They are never overcooked. And they never get stuck in the tail either. I try to cook them just right where the "head" portion comes out perfectly when you break off the tail.

I guess it depends on how big the pot is. I use an 80 qt and doesn't take long for the water to roll after dumping in live crawfish.

Also another factor is the stage the crawfish are molting. The darker colored bugs have thicker shell and thus a little more difficult to get done right with the right amount of seasoning absorbed into them.

I guess I've never had the problem of cooling them down to prevent overcooking.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Fishy and Jeff, I will have to try the idea of bringing to a boil and shutting off immeadiately.

Fishy i use a combo of both liquid and Swamp Dust. There is a meat market here in Conroe http://www.majkszaksmeatmarket.com/ that has there own brand of Liquid boil that is by far the best ive found. For the 100 lb I use about 1/2 gallon of liquid and maybe 10 lbs of dust to the first batch along with all the garlic, onions, lemons ect. Im just ANTI addiding spices after they are out of the water. I feel it puts the heat to the front of the mouth instead of the back where it needs to be.

I learned my way of cooking about 12 years ago from a friend in Baton Rouge and changed it a little here and there seeing how other people cook em' and asking questions. Thats why i asked this. It sounds like you are a cater'er and i have no problems when doing up to 200 lbs or so because i only spend about 50 on seasoning but when doing big boils is where it becomes rediculous so im glad you replied!

There are some things like you say that im not open for change on but there are always some tweaks that can be done to make it easier, cheaper and most of all better! Thanks for all the replies!


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## BIGMIKE77 (May 2, 2009)

Just add a couple handfulls of chili pepper and a few jalapeno's, it will be so spicy they wont know the difference, LOL..... but seriously, I have had some outstanding bugs but the best, and ohh how i remember, was when my sister moved back here from Mississippi ... she had learned this inexpensive method: go to the farmers market and buy and put in a blender your own spices.... half the price when we cooked like 200 lbs, i will ask her for the recipe and see if she lets it out..... also, she would boil them for 2-3 minutes, put them on the side to soak for about 12-15 minutes, and then dump them in the ice chest with the drain open, she made alot of seasoning so she had some that was water down and she would pour over the top some room temperature, a little more watered down seasoning


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

roundman said:


> NO COOL DOWN,LOL, put in ice chest pour more boil powder on top ,let sweat and spice up, get plenty cold beers and enjoy, that is all


This is the way my **** *** papa that fed 6 kids pretty much off what he could catch or grow in the river pits, swamps and bayous taught me to do it. I know there's some bias but his bugs were the best I ever had, I sure do miss him.


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

BigBay420 said:


> Eat them while the are hot. Why do you want to cool them down?


When you cook shrimp or craw fish or any whole muscle, the heat causes the muscle to contract and release moisture. When you cool the muscle down, stop the cooking process, it will expand and absorb moisture. Along with the seasoning and such in the water.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Sorry forgot the pic....Fishy this is similar to what i have. Not exact but very close. Are these the ones your friend makes?


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

Ruthless53 said:


> Sorry forgot the pic....Fishy this is similar to what i have. Not exact but very close. Are these the ones your friend makes?


 That's the one! He don't build them, but he has 3 or 4 of them. I have used them a couple of times and love them. It beats the heck out of having to pull a basket out of a regular craw fish pot!


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## TheSamarai (Jan 20, 2005)

Sure fire way for great crawfish. Water to boil throw seasoning in and then crawfish. Bring back to boil ( takes about 2 minutes on my boiler). Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. If you want it real spicy, put half a bottle of liquid boil in otherwise, just 1/4 bottle. Take out and enjoy. 1/4 of the crawfish is already finished while they are still soaking on the pot. If you want to add some more seasoning, mix half cayenne pepper with Tony's and sprinkle on top.
My in law's family is in the crawfish boiling business and none of them use any form of cooling concotions for there restaurants.


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## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

Think about this.....10lbs of ice is just more than an 8lb gallon of water. How much extra seasoning does it take to season a gallon of water to desired standard....maybe 1/2 cup dry, teaspoon of cayenne, and a teaspoon of liquid....less than $1.00 per sack?

Sorry I have to post some last year pics....I am starved for some mudbugs! :smile:


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

essayons75 said:


> Think about this.....10lbs of ice is just more than an 8lb gallon of water. How much extra seasoning does it take to season a gallon of water to desired standard....maybe 1/2 cup dry, teaspoon of cayenne, and a teaspoon of liquid....less than $1.00 per sack?
> 
> Sorry I have to post some last year pics....I am starved for some mudbugs! :smile:


Great pic's Essay!

Did you boil that watermelon with the craw fish to?:wink:


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## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

i don't know why but i can't stand boiling the taters, corn, whatever else with my crawfish, it gets in the way! i do the "moocher food" first to get it out of the way and so they get full on that stuff and leave more crawfish.


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

to shock the flavor in, while still in the big pot( after its cooked) and in water, toss a big bag of ice in and wait....BAM!


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Jeff SATX said:


> i don't know why but i can't stand boiling the taters, corn, whatever else with my crawfish, it gets in the way! i do the "moocher food" first to get it out of the way and so they get full on that stuff and leave more crawfish.


I do too! I do them first with a little less spice. Start with the corn, then 10 min later add the potatoes and mushrooms! As much spice as i use it makes the corn almost to spicy to eat. I cook them with the garlic onions and lemon as well to flavor the water then i add a little more of the lem, gar, onion every 150 lbs or so. to keep that flavor alive as i go along.

I do cook the sausage with the crawfish and that brings me to another question...whats yalls favorite sausage. I haven't really found a brand that just knocks my socks off!


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## jamisjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

Use frozen corn on the cob instead of ice.


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## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

sausage - again, for the sake of the moochers, throw in a few dozen little links of Opa's jalapeno cheese sausage and be done with it. i threw in a few links of my deer sausage one time and regret it still to this day! haha, man that was horrible. i had a boil once where they used some home made whole hog sausage and it was really good, the flavor of the pork with the seasoning was top notch. and like my deer sausage, that cheap arse oakshire farms junk is a big no-no. if i see that stuff at a boil, i start questioning the people hosting it.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Jeff SATX said:


> sausage - again, for the sake of the moochers, throw in a few dozen little links of Opa's jalapeno cheese sausage and be done with it. i threw in a few links of my deer sausage one time and regret it still to this day! haha, man that was horrible. i had a boil once where they used some home made whole hog sausage and it was really good, the flavor of the pork with the seasoning was top notch. and like my deer sausage, that cheap arse oakshire farms junk is a big no-no. if i see that stuff at a boil, i start questioning the people hosting it.


I normally use eckrich skinless jap and cheese which is what i prefer to grill if i don't have any deer sausage and its good but im a foodie and would like to find something that is really really good! I don't waste stomach space on it when there are bugs but alot of the women prefer it over bugs when i don't buy any shrimp! I will try Opa's...thanks for the rec!


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## gitchesum (Nov 18, 2006)

Slovacheks is what I've used for years. Tastes great in the boil.


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

For sausage I like Richards spicy pork sausage. But, I do have a tough time finding it here in Texas. I use Beasley's pork sausage when I can't find the other. Beasley's is not bad, but not as good as Richards. I have not found a really great smoked sausage since I moved back to Texas. Every body in this area eats Zommo sausage. In my opinion Zummos is about good as a smoked hot dog weenie!


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## live2fish247 (Jul 31, 2007)

Zumos Party Time sausage from HEB is the best I've used. The greasier the better.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk


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## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

Jeff SATX said:


> i don't know why but i can't stand boiling the taters, corn, whatever else with my crawfish, it gets in the way! i do the "moocher food" first to get it out of the way and so they get full on that stuff and leave more crawfish.


We put all the veggies in those red crawfish sack, divide between long time and short time cook. We cook the veggies first, remove the bags, boil the bugs then add veggies back to warm. Best thing in the other than the bugs and watermelon (jk) are the carrots.


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

I am down to have a boil ANYTIME...name the place and I will happily put my crawfish up against anyone in this town. I'll gladly supply jello shots, too!


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Blue Water Breaux said:


> I am down to have a boil ANYTIME...name the place and I will happily put my crawfish up against anyone in this town. I'll gladly supply jello shots, too!


I'm always up for a good crawfish showdown!!! I'm cooking 200 Saturday for a friends bday, 200 on Sunday for my wifes bday, and 500 next month for another friends party. Pick you one and come cook half  save me some work!!! Your pics do look good!!


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## goodwood (Mar 30, 2009)

oooo 2cool crawfish cookoff


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

goodwood said:


> oooo 2cool crawfish cookoff


Craw fish cook off...hummmm?? That has all the makings of a beer drinking contest waiting to happen!:cheers:


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Right, I thought crawfish boil was code for beer drinking contest.


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## FishyChef (Jun 22, 2011)

Is Craw fish one word, or two? Crawfish or Craw fish? Spell check don't recognize it as one word. But it dose recognize Crayfish, spell check is a Yankee!


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## goodwood (Mar 30, 2009)

longest keg stand wins a custom made doohickey


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## gater (May 25, 2004)

roundman said:


> NO COOL DOWN,LOL, put in ice chest pour more boil powder on top ,let sweat and spice up, get plenty cold beers and enjoy, that is all


X2, I don't use no ice and I don't turn down the heat and let them sit. When they are done it's straight to the ice chest. I don't like spicy food so hot you can't eat it as do many others. You can always make it more spicy but you can never make it less spicey.

Gater


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## msf62000 (Aug 24, 2007)

Why not get your water to a boil with all the seasoning and set to the side. Then cook your crawfish in another pot. When they are done cooking remove and put in the other seasoned pot to soak. The hot crawfish will keep the seasoned pot hot all day but will not be hot enough to cook.


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

Ruthless53 said:


> I'm always up for a good crawfish showdown!!! I'm cooking 200 Saturday for a friends bday, 200 on Sunday for my wifes bday, and 500 next month for another friends party. Pick you one and come cook half  save me some work!!! Your pics do look good!!


Man that would be fun! Unfortunately, between the weddings in Houston and the shenanigans up here in Denver, I'm not even sure when I would have the free time! sucks!

Y'all enjoy em for me...they're like aliens up here sans the LSU bar


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

Blue Water Breaux said:


> Man that would be fun! Unfortunately, between the weddings in Houston and the shenanigans up here in Denver, I'm not even sure when I would have the free time! sucks!
> 
> Y'all enjoy em for me...they're like aliens up here sans the LSU bar


so first you want a showdown ANYTIME but now you don't have anytime. :spineyes: :rotfl:


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

Gilbert said:


> so first you want a showdown ANYTIME but now you don't have anytime. :spineyes: :rotfl:


Who knew you would still be around? I'd personally take the PJ down just to give you a swift kick in the arse. I guess I could boil while I'm there...thinking another beach party like last summer in Isla or JB


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## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

Gilbert said:


> so first you want a showdown ANYTIME but now you don't have anytime. :spineyes: :rotfl:


 sounds like he is the "crawfish" king.


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

Blue Water Breaux said:


> Who knew you would still be around? I'd personally take the PJ down just to give you a swift kick in the arse. I guess I could boil while I'm there...thinking another beach party like last summer in Isla or JB


come get it handed to you, April 14 in Sea Isle. Won't be hard to find the party. :cheers:


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

FREON said:


> sounds like he is the "crawfish" king.


anyone is King compared to Gilbert


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## Sow Trout (Jun 28, 2004)

Put liquid seasoning in the water. Bring the water to a boil and put the bugs in it. When it gets back to boil take the bugs out and put them in a styrofoam ice chest. Spinkle granular seasoning to taste and cover. Don't leave the cover on too long because they wil continue cooking. You don't need to put ice in the water.


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

I cool my mudbugs down by throwing cold jello shots and ice cubes made from liquid seasoning in the boil.


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## jamisjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

PS I got the frozen corn tip here last year and it worked like a charm. Frozen corn wasn't quite as spicy as the bugs either and makes good filler.


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## Bluwave1 (Sep 5, 2011)

I've tried all the cool down,not cool down, throw frozen corn on top,spray the pot down with the hose. They all work good. I boil 5 minutes soak about 20. One thing I do is pour a bottle of lemon juice in the pot during the soak time. I find it gives the dads a little different flavor. Here, hold my beer and watch this...


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

Never thought about cooling them down just throw them in an igloo and let folks get after them


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

anybody ever dumped a hook of whiskey into a pot of crawfish while it soaked?


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## Blue Water Breaux (Feb 6, 2008)

apple cider shine...come on now, J! The sweet and spicy just tastes sooooo goooood!!


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

good idea!


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