How to Care and Boil Crawfish

Caring for Live Crawfish

• Do NOT take the crawfish out of the sack.

• Put the sack of crawfish in an ice chest with a drain.

• Cover with a wet towel and cover the towel with ice.

• Prop up one side so the water from the melting ice will drain.

• You can keep the crawfish alive for several days if needed. Just make sure the ice chest has a drain, leave the drain open, and replace the ice as it melts. You will need to turn the bag of crawfish over a couple of times during the day to keep all the crawfish evenly cold.

Note: A crawfish that is dead but is not mushy, can still be cooked and eaten. Many crawfish die from the shock of the purging water. They have not been dead long enough to start to decay. Also, crawfish kept on ice are hibernating and might appear to be dead until they warm up. Remember, they all die when they hit that boiling water. Some may die just a few minutes sooner.

Purging Live Crawfish

• Take the crawfish out of the sack.

• Put the sack of crawfish in an large ice chest with a drain.

• Do not use salt to purge, it increases mortality rate.

• Rinse crawfish thoroughly until the water is clear. (This process takes awhile if crawfish are really dirty)

• Make sure not to store crawfish in direct sunlight after cleansed

Steps to Boiling Live Crawfish

Use these steps to start your boil.

• Fill your pot halfway with water, just enough to cover the crawfish depends on the size of pot you'll be using 

• Add about one bag of your favorite boil seasoning, along with other ingredients and stir. 

• Light your burner and wait for the water to begin boiling.

• Add the crawfish once the water is rapidly boiling, then cover them with a lid. Wait for the water to return to a boil.

• Let them boil for no more than 3-5 minutes. Then turn off burner and reduce heat to 165 (The longer the soak, the better the taste)

• After soak, take basket and dump boiled crawfish into your clean ice chest. Add a layer of seasoning on top. Make sure that you do it in increments, typically 1 pound of seasoning for every 15 pounds of crawfish.

• Close your ice chest and shake it to thoroughly mix everything together.

• Keep the ice chest closed for around 15 minutes and let the flavors settle

• Serve everyone at the table