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How to Boil Shrimp, Crawfish and Crabs - Seafood

Boiled Crawfish

30 pounds live crawfish
15 ounces cayenne pepper, plus 5 ounces additional Lagniappe
2 ounces Tabasco sauce
20 cloves garlic, cut cloves in half, do not peel or crush
3 dozen lemons, sliced in half
1 cup olive oil
20 bay leaves
4 ounces Louisiana hot sauce
2 pounds salt
10 bags of Zatarain's crab boil

First, soak crawfish in cold, fresh, extra salty, water - atleast 2 boxes of salt.

Next, place all ingredients but the crawfish in a large boiling pot and bring to a good boil for about 15 minutes.

After water is boiling, place crawfish in the pot. After water comes to boil again, add 10 ears freshly peeled corn of the cob and 20 small potatoes. Allow 8-10 minutes cooking time. Remove and add a bag or two of ice to cool the crawfish water, and allow the crawfish to soak in the pot for another 10 minutes after turning off the boiling water. Strain and serve the crawfish hot with the garlic cloves, potatoes and corn.

Make a quick dip for crawfish or shrimp with ketchup, horseradish and Tabasco to taste, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Eating instructions: Break the tail off of the crawfish. Peel off the first section of the crawfish tail shell, pinch the bottom of the tail, and the meat pops right out.

Boiled Shrimp - spicy

Shrimp cook in about 3 minutes when boiled. Use 1 pack of Zatarain's Crab, Shrimp and Crawfish Boil seasoning per 5 pounds of shrimp.

Bring it to a boil with whatever else you're putting in with the seafood -- corn, potatoes, onions, lemons, etc. -- and let that boil for about 10 minutes, until the corn and potatoes are cooked.

Add the shrimp and let boil for three minutes - or until they turn pink. Over cooking makes shrimp tough.

Dump the cooked shrimp into a large bowl of ice and let the shrimp soak. The longer they soak in the seasoned liquid, the spicier they taste.

Boiled Shrimp - not as spicy

10 cups water
2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
1 small lemon, quartered
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
8 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

Bring water, vegetables and seasoning to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan.

Bring water to a boil and add 2 pounds of any size, fresh or frozen, unshelled shrimp.

Once boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes exactly. Drain the shrimp, and place in ice for 10 minutes. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

How to Poach Seafood

Scallops, shrimp, shucked oysters, whole fish, fish fillets and steaks work best for poaching. Poached seafoods are prepared by carefully placing seafood in hot liquid, resulting in highly flavored food with no added fat. Choose your favorite - simply water, or combine the water with seasonings, herbs, fish stock or wine.

Use a broad and shallow pan that fits the amount of seafood you plan to cook in an even layer. Place enough water (or other liquid according to your taste) and seasonings in a broad, shallow pan, to completely cover the seafood.

Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat so that you see some movement across the surface, but no bubbles actually break the surface. Be careful not to boil the water. Add the seafood. Do not cover.

Poach seafood until the center is cooked.