# Crawfish cooking question



## Twitch-Twitch-Boom (Jun 24, 2011)

Guys,

I'm no expert when it comes to cooking crawfish, but I have made my fair share. This past Superbowl I cooked up 40 lbs of what I thought were the best crawfish I had ever cooked or had anywhere. The one thing I did differently was the soaking time and boy did it make a difference.

I used (1) bag of Swamp Dust, small bottle of liquid crab boil, 4 onions, 8 lemons, Butter, That's it...

I cooked in a rolling boil for 5 minutes then cut off the heat and let the 1st batch soak for 20 minutes. They were good and pretty juicky.

The next batch I cooked for 5 minutes, but let soak for 30 minutes. Man, what a difference that extra 10 minutes made. These had much, much more flavor and 10x juicier. 

I know it's not easy to to soak for 30 minutes when doing a large boil for people, but boy was it worth it. 

I was curious to how long you guys boil for, and how long you soak. I never tried the ice trick on top of bugs after you turn the heat off. Any of you do that as well?

Boil on....


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## Diesel57 (Jun 1, 2009)

The ice really help seal in the flavor in my opinion. This past weekend we did one batch without to test and everyone said the next batch with ice was much more flavorful.


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## slimeyreel (Mar 15, 2011)

Boil water, add crawfish, return to a boil for 5 minutes, soak for 20 min. if the kids are eating 30 for the beer drinkers ;] but you already know this.


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## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

i agree! usually while everyone is chowing down, i have one or two pot fulls just sitting there soaking. everyone else is full and moving away from it and that's when the serious eaters start getting ready. that long soaking time really gets the flavors going!

i try and have two pots ready and one burner. they over lap a little bit during soaking time, but it helps keep people happy.


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## deano77511 (Feb 2, 2005)

I soak them untill they all sink .


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## Knotty Fly (Jun 29, 2012)

I agree with the soaking time and ice after the boil, but if you are a spicy ******* like me and wanna heat them up a little extra, try purging them when alive with salt, water and cayenne pepper for 30 min before you drop them in the boil. Getty Up


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## fishnsurf (Oct 24, 2009)

*ice advice*

dont add ice directly so you dont dilute the soak. freeze a couple of two liters and drop in when you cut the heat off.


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## KDubBlast (Dec 25, 2006)

Will yall explain the adding of ice to the boil? I love cooking crawfish and am always looking to improve.


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## dbarham (Aug 13, 2005)

deano5x said:


> I soak them untill they all sink .


What he said


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## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

KDubBlast said:


> Will yall explain the adding of ice to the boil? I love cooking crawfish and am always looking to improve.


The theory is the ice stops the bugs from cooking and helps them soak up the boil mix.

I agree the ice stops the bugs from cooking but I'm not sold on the soaking up the mix part.


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## Bozo (Jun 16, 2004)

In theory since heat transfers to cold, the steam/heat from within the thorax will move to the cooler water which then causes a lower presure in the bug which allows the boil water to penetrate when the presure equalizes.


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## LA Cox (Oct 19, 2004)

I fill 4 ziploc freezer bags with ice to do my shocking...that way it doesn't dillute the boil and you can get it rolling again without having to spice it up. I take the bags out after 20 minutes...wash them off...and fill them up again with ice to be ready for the next pot. It has made a tremendous amount of difference. And no...I've never had a Ziploc freezer bag bust in the pot.

Late,
Cox


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## hippyfisher (Mar 24, 2009)

I throw in my frozen corn when i turn the heat off to act as my ice. Corn doesnt get all soggy and It works about as well as the ice.


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## luckystrike3 (Sep 14, 2007)

*Question*

Once you put the crawfish in the boiling pot how long should it take for the water to start boiling again? Does it matter ??? Lets say about 20 - 30 pounds of crawfish in one of the big boiling pots.
When I boil crawfish they seem to be sorta stuck in the shell a little. 
Any thoughts??
Thanks


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## dbarham (Aug 13, 2005)

luckystrike3 said:


> Once you put the crawfish in the boiling pot how long should it take for the water to start boiling again? Does it matter ??? Lets say about 20 - 30 pounds of crawfish in one of the big boiling pots.
> When I boil crawfish they seem to be sorta stuck in the shell a little.
> Any thoughts??
> Thanks


Add two bottles of Italian dressing to the boil they will slide right out


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## Captain Dave (Jul 19, 2006)

Never had to ice em down to stop cooking.. Purge em first and cut off their cooking time before than after the fact. There is no one way to correctly cook a batch , but im sure there a 100K plus ways to cook em. Main part is to cook em your way..


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## goodwood (Mar 30, 2009)

heat- expand
cool- contract

cool/ice them and they contract to soak up the juices. 

Doesn't take long to boil. Depending on your burner you should be rolling in about 5 minutes or less. 

I like that frozen corn idea. 

I normally soak for 10 minutes then throw them in a cooler with boil in there but it won't be completely covering the bugs for another 10-15 minutes before they are served. Sometimes I add some "extra" ingredients.  And by then the next batch is ready for the cooler. I might give this 30 minute soak a try.


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## Cutter42 (Nov 19, 2004)

luckystrike3 said:


> Once you put the crawfish in the boiling pot how long should it take for the water to start boiling again? Does it matter ??? Lets say about 20 - 30 pounds of crawfish in one of the big boiling pots.
> When I boil crawfish they seem to be sorta stuck in the shell a little.
> Any thoughts??
> Thanks


** A little vinegar or cooking oil the last few minutes of the boil makes them alot easier to peel- I personally add sausage to my pots ( along with the corn and potatoes )- 1. Spicy sausage is great 2. The oil from the sausage makes it easier to peel the crawfish as well- like most said, whatever you like and to taste..


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## bbgarcia (Mar 23, 2008)

X2 on the sausage. Also add some shrooms for a little lagniappe


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## Neumie (Oct 28, 2004)

We did corn, sausage, mushrooms, 1/2 head of garlic, and seasoning. Let that go for a bit before adding the bugs for 3-5 minutes. Then we strain and dump into the cooler to cool down and re-dust the bugs with seasoning. They tasted great at St. Patty Day.


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