Low Country Crawfish & Shrimp Boil

Low Country Crawfish & Shrimp Boil

quantities may very depending on number of people! This is 4-6

large package of frozen crawfish (unless you live by the coast, we all know fresh is better!)

large package shrimp (Can be peeled or unpeeled, peeled makes one of the items easy for the kids)

6-8 potatoes, red or yellow & halved (at least 1 per person)

4-6 ears of corn, shucked & halved 

1 package hot sausages, fresh & uncooked

1 lemon, halved

1 package crawfish boil seasoning (mine came with the package or ask at meat counter)

3 tbls Old Bay Seasoning

1 very large stock pot, filled 1/2 way with water!

Oh yeah.... and lot's of melted butter & wipies!

Well... I finally did it!  Don't ask why it took me 18 years of marriage, but this Midwest girl finally got up the nerve to make her southern husband a Low Country Boil!  Well, I did use frozen crawfish, which I wouldn't tell a native from Louisiana about, and that made the whole process a little less frightening!  (That was very unlike the live crab I attempted to fix some years ago in Spain. Without realizing you should slowly bring the crab to a boil, I threw him in a hot pot of water & he grabbed for the sides & the rest of the story just isn't pretty!)

So, get your largest stock pot & bring it to a boil 1/2 way with water.  Add your lemon, crawfish boil seasoning (or crab if that's in the budget) & the Old Bay as well.  Now, boil potatoes for 5 minutes.  Then, add in the sausage for 5 minutes longer, followed by the corn for ... you  guessed it, 5 more minutes.  Now, it's time to add your rinsed and cleaned (pick loose parts & shells) crawfish to the pot!  They are also going in for 5 minutes, followed by the shrimp for 2-3 minutes.  Now, turn off the pot & remove from the heat.  (true southerners usually let it all sit for a good 30 minutes now, but I prefer to drain & eat... up to you) 

It's time to give it a drain in a colander & then dump it in to your platter of choice!  If you want to stay in the true tradition of things, line your table with newspaper and just sling it across the middle of the table.  I remember the first time Russ' Aunt Pat did that for us, with crab from the coast of Georgia, & it was a sight to behold. (just like me trying to crack the crabs!)

That's it!  I like to serve it with melted butter & cocktail sauce too!  It's so fun, crawfish are super economical & a great cultural experience.  Don't forget to pass out bowls to discard the shells & having wipies on hand isn't a bad idea either!  Believe it or not, I can't wait to do it again!