With my crawfish boil coming up, I thought I would share the recipe I use. Try not to drool too much.

This list is per sack (Each sack of live crawfish is 30-36 pounds in size.)

• 1 sack of swamp fire mix
• 1 jar of paprika (5-10 oz is good)
• 8 oz cannister of cayenne pepper
• 4 oz. chinese red pepper or other “heat”
• 3 bags of zatarains corriander and peppercorn sacks
• 1/4 o 1/3 flaggon of liquid boil (preferably cajun land brand)
• 3-4 heaping tablespoons of good curry powder
• 6-8 bay leaves
• 8-10 lemons cut in halves
• 4 yellow onions halved or whole if small
• 3 bell pepper cut in quarters (put these in last of the veggies as they will impart flavor no matter what, but they’ll disintegrate if you put them in with the garlic and potatoes)
• 1 bag of new potatoes (approx. 2 lbs.)
• 1 package frozen corn (cut half-cobs)
• 10 heads of garlic
• 1 plastic tray of mushrooms
• 1 package little smokies
• 5 stalks of celery cut into 3-inch chunks

Fill pot half-full with water.
Bring to boil.

Add potatoes and garlic to basket.
Lower basket into boiling water.

Boil for 6-7 minutes.
Remove from basket, set aside.
Add purged & rinsed crawfish to basket.
Lower into hot water and return to a low boil. Don’t over-boil your crawfish.
Christen with a beer. (*failure to do this will create havoc the likes of which even God hasn’t seen)

Two or three minutes following the dousing of the crawfish, add the celery, onions, bell pepper in and return the potatoes and garlic to the basket.

Bring back to a boil and cook for five minutes.
At the five minute mark, add your dry and liquid spices (I find hitting it with the liquid stuff brings the rolling boil down a bit, you can turn the fire lower)

Turn off the fire.
Stir well.
Add the lemons, squeezing a bit of juice as you go. (note: sometimes we add an orange or two, its nice and gives another level of flavor)
Add the corn, sausages, mushrooms, a few good scoops of ice (to bring down the temp).

Stir, let sit 15 minutes, taste, repeat 15 minutes.

If not ready, let it sit another 5 minutes.

Clear the table, dump, enjoy.