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Know the Formula for a Delicious Crawfish Boil

The seasoning added to the boil is the reason why Louisiana crawfish differs from anywhere else.  The secret is in the water! Like any other cuisines like Korean, Indian, Chinese and Thai foods, Cajun dishes are also known for their spicy and hot flavors. Although not every dish is very hot and causes runny nose, many of Cajun dishes are generously seasoned.   True Cajun crawfish boils causes irritation in the eyes when fingers get too close.  First, we ought to know the seasonings for us to safely and accurately estimate the right amount.

Recipes or seasonings can either be made from scratch or from prepared mixes.  A good example is the Cornbread that can be brought from corn meal and/or corn flour, or from a blend of dry ingredients box.  Both cases are turned from a raw material into a finished corn bread.  This is the same in Crawfish boil. If you fancy to, you can make your own ratios of ingredients like salt, cayenne, herbs seeds and spices by your own choice.  Truth is, even most Cajuns don’t do this.  They’d rather use pre-made mixes and/or make adjustments until they encounter the formula they like.  But Cajun cooking is an art and not exact science.

Many Crawfish boil mixes cannot be bought on local grocery stores and can only be bought online.  For you to choose which is the best, you have to try them and find which suits your taste. Major brands such as Cajun Land, Konriko, Louisiana, Rex, Slap Ya Mama, and Zatarain’s offer seasoning blends specially for Cajun style boil.  To minimize the guessing of measurement, products come in specific amounts with corresponding amount of crawfish to be boiled.  Currently, the buzz seems to go on a brand called Chackbay.  Some parts of the country are known to add Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning on the top of the crawfish boil before eating.

Whatever brand you prefer, you should be aware that seasoning products come in three different forms; mesh bags, liquid and dry or powdered.  Some recipes call for a mixture of seasoning forms.  A little of this and a little of that.  Much worse is that some recipes made by experts recommend not to follow the directions on the spice package.  If you like better to follow the directions, just add the amount of seasoning proportionate on the amount of crawfish you would boil.  Keep in mind that the seasoning will be absorbed by whatever you are cooking so if you are cooking more than one batch, you will need to add more, about one-third and two-thirds of the original amount.

SALT.  Salt is important, especially the proper amount. Salt as a seasoning is more crucial as other flavor profiles increase.  Flavor profiles are the overall taste in a dish; sweet, sour, bitter and salty.  Together they balance the dish.  Salt in this case, will intensify the flavor of the crawfish itself and balance the intensities of the other flavors.  How much salt? Salt, in general is very subjective. The best we can offer is to give you a hint on range to stay within. It is easy to add salt and trying to subtract salt would involve expensive and complex desalinization equipment. For a sack of crawfish in a large crawfish pot (60 to 80 qt) filled two-thirds full of water (40 to 53 qt) you will use between one and two “cylinder” boxes of salt, that’s 1.5 to 3 pounds.  It is normal that the water will be much saltier and much spicier than the crawfish because they aren’t going to be immersed for very long.  Try cooking a whole box, and try a crawfish. It will at least be a good early reference point for adding more salt to taste. You can also add potatoes first to gauge the right amount of salt, especially while the crawfish isn’t added yet. Salt additions may be necessary on cooking batches because salt would be absorbed during cooking.

Mesh bag seasoning. These bags (3-4 oz.) come packaged a few to a box and are usually enough to season 4-5 lbs of seafood each.  Like a teabag, it is soaked in the boiling water, but stay contained in the bag itself.  The bag contains whole or flake form and is good for smaller batches and for moderate amount of flavor without too much spicy heat.  Put the contents of the bag into a blender and the resulting powder would add more flavor and spice to your boil. The bag doesn’t contain salt so you would have to add it yourself.  Bag contains some or all of the following: pepper flakes, peppercorns, whole cloves, dried citrus peel, herb leaves (basil, bay, laurel, oregano, thyme), and whole seeds (allspice celery, coriander, dill, mustard).

Liquid Seasoning. This comes in 4 oz., 8 oz., 16 oz., and crowd dispersing 1 gallon bottles. They are distinct, quick acting and powerful when added in a crawfish boil. You will want to use liquid seasoning as a spice and flavor booster, in addition to the mesh bags or dry seasoning. This is because as a lone seasoning, it doesn’t bring well rounded taste.  It also does not contain salt. It is worth keeping around the house to be used in other recipes in addition to pest control and fending off home invaders.

Dry or powdered seasoning. Available in 1lb. bags capable of cooking 10lbs. of seafood or large 3-6 lbs jars for a whole sack of crawfish. This is the seasoning of choice to start out with.  Preferably, the powder is used with a little extra liquid or bag for well rounded flavors. It has salt in it but not enough. Dry or powdered seasoning blends will contain some or all of the following: salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, paprika, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, celery seed, lemon flavoring, ground herbs (bay leaf, thyme, oregano, basil) dextrose, MSG.

Straight cayenne pepper. In its pure form, ground red cayenne pepper is the staple ingredient for making adjustments to spicy heat. If premade mixes aren’t hot enough for you, refer from this.

We hope we helped you with your boil in reading this article. The idea here is to familiarize you with seasoning ingredients and their various forms.  With this knowledge, you can make your own adjustments based on how you think your crawfish should taste in terms of salt and seasoning.  The best thing you can do to improve your technique is to practice.  You'll make a whole lot of friends and have some great memories along the way to crawfish boil perfection.  You also want to keep journal of your crawfish boil.  Some people do this for wine tasting, but this is way cooler.  In it, record the important things: pounds of crawfish, which cooking pot, amount of salt, seasoning, lagniappe extras, cooking times, soak times, batches, etc.  Before you enjoy too many beers, write down your overall impression and what others thought; too spicy made me cry; not salty enough; my fingers are swollen now I can't get my ring off; potatoes turned into mashed potatoes; not enough beer, just right, thank you crawfish.com; etc.  This way if you are one of the unfortunate ones who only gets to have boiled

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