Crawfish, Crayfish, Crawdaddies- Give 'Em To Me!

It's that time again folks- #FoodDayFriday is here and I am super excited to tell y'all about our Crawfish Boils!

Spring is always over-packed super busy for us. There are tons of birthdays, events, and travel. We also wrap up school and get ready for summer vacation. Last year my honey wanted a crawfish boil for his birthday-- in the middle of all of our craziness! So what did we do? Move stuff around of course, and started making plans for a crawfish boil! We had never done it before and actually had never been to one either, but with the help of our dear friends we had great food and a great time!

If you've never had a crawfish boil, I highly recommend having someone in your party who has. It can get a bit overwhelming, but in the end it is fabulous and so much fun! If you add other stuff into your crawfish boils, I'd love to hear how and what you do!

Where to begin?  (for 10-12 people)
Necessities:

• 20 gallon crawfish pot or turkey fryer pot with basket 
• propane stand and full tank
• lifting hook to set and remove basket from pot
• 5-7 gallons of water
• Table covered with newspaper (we used a big roll of white butcher paper from Lowe's)

Ingredients: 

• 5lbs small red potatoes
• 12 ears of corn, halved
• 1 sack of cleaned crawfish, 15-20 lbs
• 1 (4.5 lb) bag of Crawfish, Crab, and Shrimp Boil seasoning

Optional Add-Ins:

• andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4in pieces
• 5 large lemons, halved
• 5 large sweet onions, peeled and quartered
• shrimp in the shell
• bell peppers
• garlic, unpeeled and separated
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter

Options For The Kids:

(if they don't want crawfish)

• corndogs, baked and cut into quarters
• frozen hamburger sliders, cooked and halfed
• french fries
• cheese puffs
• anything else you want to throw on their table that they will love :)

What To Do!

1. Rinse your crawfish in a colander until the water runs clear to remove any debris or dirt.
2. Add water and seasoning to pot and begin to heat to boiling.
3. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes and corn (and sausage if you chose to add it) to the basket.
4. Using the hook, lower the basket into the boiling water.
5. Stir and boil for 10-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
6. Carefully, using the hook, bring the basket up, and add the crawfish and any of the other optional add-ins you chose.
7. Boil for additional 5-7 minutes.
8. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. 
9. Dump pot onto paper covered table and enjoy!

*Depending on how many people you have and how many add-ins you choose, you might want to have another burner and pot, or work in batches.