Plan your own crawfish boil

    It won’t be long until that familiar crustacean from the Bayou takes center stage during many spring events all across the South.    

    Here’s a basic recipe to start testing now to get ready to impress during Crawfish Season 2015! Enjoy!

Crawfish Boil  

1 1/2 gallons water

10 bay leaves

1 cup salt

3/4 cup ground red pepper ¼ cup whole allspice

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon dill seeds

1 tablespoon dried crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole cloves

4 celery ribs, quartered

3 medium onions, halved

5 pounds whole, fresh crawfish

    Bring water to a boil in a 19-quart stockpot of high heat. Add bay leaves and next 12 ingredients to water. Return to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add crawfish. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat; cook 5 minutes.  

    Remove stockpot from heat; let stand 30 minutes. (if you like it spicier, let stand for 45 minutes.) Drain crawfish. Spread on newspaper on a large table with all your friends gathered around. Begin the “Art of Eating Crawfish”.

    • For those unfamiliar with the “art” of eating crawfish, here’s a quick guide.

Begin by snapping apart the head and tail. If you’re not a fan of the head, toss it aside. (Many like to suck the head for the fiery spice thrill). Peel the tail by working your thumbs down the sides of the hard shell, releasing the meat.