Pro-Boil.......at any Walmart. Fool proof.

Bring water to a boil. Add crawfish. When the water returns to a boil cook 3 minutes. Turn the fire off and soak for 20 minutes. Fool proof.

proboil, what is that?? a seasoning? it ain't made in china, like everything else they sell, i hope?????

Follow directions to the T. Use the exact water amount. This makes a huge difference.

I do add ice when I do the soak. If I plan to boil multiple sacks, I use ice in plastic jugs. Also hose of the outside of the pot. If you do more than 2 sacks in a pot, change half the water or it gets to salty

Pro-Boil is made by Zatarin's right here in Louisiana.

Hear me and hear me well. I say this because few will change the way they boil, but this is by far the best recipe for crawfish.

Use Louisiana brand powder. Follow directions on bag. When your crawfish begin to soak, add Zatarain's liquid. Do yourself a favor and buy the Zatarain's gallon of liquid--it seems to be a different formula than the small glass bottles.

The liquid has some sweet tasting components, including clove oil and other essence that infuse the crawfish. If you add the liquid while boiling, some of these components will be lost.

1 big jar of ProBoil, 1 box of salt. Boil for 5 minutes, soak for 25. Once you cut the fire off, 4 small bottles of lemon flavored liquid boil and 4 small bottles of garlic and onion liquid boil. Also add 4 sticks of butter, helps them pop right outta the shell.

Atchafalaya Gold Try it and you'll buy another seasoning

I like the Pro Boil but without the box of salt. LOL

talked to my grandson today, he's 18 years old!! he does everything!!! cleans fish, deer, hogs, frogs, ducks, whatever, you name it and cooks it too!! he boils crawfish, crabs, shrimp, hunts, fishes, frogging, whatever, he does it and has been doing it for a few years!!!!! also been riding motocross, since he's been 10 years old!! now he says, he wants to go alligator huntin, watching swamp people!!! talk about a very proud grandpa!!! he is what i call a true outdoorsman and loves it!!! he uses chackbay seasoning, cayenne pepper, box of salt, one half bottle of zatarins liquid crab boil, lemon juice and throws whatever else he got in the pot, all the trimmings he got, at the time!! he boils them for 4 minutes and lets them soak for 25 minutes!! yep!!! i am some proud!!! he's going to college now, hope that don't ruin him?? the crawfish and everything is really super good!!!

2/15 is the secret of restaurants. 2 minute rolling boil and 15 minute soak. Fill boiler with enough water to cover a sack of crawfish. Put whatever brand seasoning you like. Remember the powder seasoning is mostly salt so if you want spicier try cAyenne pepper. When the water boils add whole sack of crawfish and bring back to a rolling boil for 2 minutes. The science is called capillary action. When boiling you boil out the insides of the crawfish and when it cools down the empty void in the shell retrieves some of the liquid of the boil contents. If just lettingsit to soak do it for 15 minutes with the lid off the pot while cooling. Dumping the bag ice in the pot speeds the cooling also causing more fluid to be put back in thecrawfish shell. It also decreases the time necessary to soak. Butter does not help thecrawfish peel better- proper cooking does. Happy cooking and make'm juicy.

just like that guy in the white boots said. pro boil,but i do add garlic and onion liquid too. boil for 3 min. soak for 20-25 after the first 15 i start spraying the outside of the pot with hose until the crawfish sink. also as others has said if your boiling more then 2 sacks dont keep adding powdered boil because it will get too salty to eat, use cayenne.

About inch and half water with salt in your big pot, add some liquid Zatarains shrimp boil to the water. Fill it up to the level top with crawfish. Put the lid on level and turn up the heat. When steam starts escaping under the lid wait three minutes then remove from the heat for five with lid on. Pour em up in a big ice chest and cover and shake with favorite cajun season. Let ice chest set at least 10 minutes without opening and then pour em up!!

beaucoupray, never done this before with crawfish and it sounds great!!! BUT, we bar-b-qued chicken and put them in an ice chest, right off the pitt and melted the ice chest???

drew-b is 100 percent correct

ya, drew -b, i kind of got to agree!! went to atlanta and they had the most beautiful shrimp you ever wanted to see! put them in my plate and oh, what, they taste like you were chewing rubber, absolutely no taste to them!! i actually spit them out in my plate!!! what a waste !! the vegetables were the same thing!! steamed and no seasoning at all!!!

The liquid Zatarains steams into the crawfish, along with the season on the outside, never seen anyone who did not say they loved them. I never had any problem other than it can stain the ice chest and hard to get he smell out. A good quality foam one will do the job also.

I had a buddy of mine in St. Martinville steam them, they were very good, but I'd rather the boil method. I don't care to have cayenne clumps on my fingers.
Someone mentioned steaming crabs, can you elaborate? Never tried that. Also what can I do to make my shrimp peel easier? I'm tired of buying boiled shrimp that dont peel without taking some meat off. Thanks!

P.S. Only in south LA would one have a detailed argument on seafood preparation. Thank God for that.

I've probably boiled over 250,000 lbs of crawfish. I've probably eaten 2 steamed crawfish seasoned on the outside because I couldn't eat any more.

Save the steam for lobster, crabs and tamales.

Drew, the only thing you left out was the beer...mix some beer with the water and vinegar for steaming...I know, I know, you think it's a waste of good beer but it helps the crabs enjoy the cookin' also...and happy crabs are tastier crabs..!!

Just like seafood has to be fresh if you want to best. If you don't have bellriver crawfish forget it. PS Everyone says their crawfish is bell River yea lol. One way to know for sure bell river crawfish turn a bright red when you boil everytime.

We bought the Swamp Dust mix in Breaux Bridge last night and will give it a try. You have to admit, its a great name for a product! I noticed it recommends sprinkling on outside when done and we saw the restaurant do that, too....why put on the inedible shell which then gets on your hands? No sir, we'll skip that part.

i was talking to a friend yesterday, he tells me that he knows someone that puts a jar of honey in the water with the seasonings. has anyone tried honey?

dr. spot, you are right, not on the outside, what a mess! why not put it in a bowl and just dip the tail in it instead?? i would just put it in the water, like usual!! like some people spread out the crawfish when boiled and sprinkle salt all over them, what a mess!! you sure find out if you have any nicks or cuts on your hands!!

Trying find out how to get in touch with Mr. Chauvin that makes the Atchafalaya Gold Seasoning. Looks like he might be out of business but I would like to buy his recipe or have him make up the seasoning for me. Yes, it's that good. Any help will be appreciated.

the science behind the soak is for the liquid and seasonings to fill the body and infuse all that great flavor into them.

the problem most people have is no patience to WAIT FOR IT. adding cold water or ice will speed this up but think about what you just did for a second, you added tasteless fresh water to the pot and THAT is what gets into the bodies NOT the seasonings. as soon as you drop the temperature quickly the bodies suck up the liquid around them which is the ice water or fresh water you just added to cool them down.

as we all know, to soak you need to stop the cooking process so the water must be cooled down and the best way to soak and speed the process up without diluting your flavor is to lift the basket out of the pot and I lean it at a 45 angle and leave it sit there on top of the pot to cool off for 5 minutes and this also lets the water in the pot cool down enough for soaking. then I drop the basket back into the hot water and since the bodies are warm while the water is still hot but not boiling. as we all know, heat travels from warm to cold so the bodies literally such up the hot seasoned water and fill with it. then I let it soak for 10-15 minutes before serving.

so stop diluting your flavors and use my method, you will like how much better they taste. if you insist on adding water or ice then please do it without the basket of seafood in the pot so you can reseason and rebalance the flavor before adding the basket of seafood back in the pot to soak.

if you find the need to rush the cooling then use a hose on the OUTSIDE of the pot to cool it off but don't put ice or water into your seasoned water

1 container of powdered crab boil. Not the proboil. Proboil has too much clove in it.
1 bottle of liquid crab boil. 8 ounce
3 of the bag crab boil. Tear open the bags. (I am looking for spice more than heat)
1 cup of cayenne pepper. If I don't have any kids or fairies eating I will add lots more red pepper. If you want something different then leave out the cayenne and add 1/2 cup of Chinese red pepper. Really good. Be careful with the Chinese red pepper cuz it is really hot.
8 large heads of garlic cut in half. Best thing in the pot. nom nom nom
6 yellow onions cut in half. Second best thing in the pot. nom nom nom
6 lemons cut in half and squeezed. Take a fine grater and grate the shin off of 3 lemons into the water. Adds lemon zest and oil.
Add potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Then
Add crawfish, corn and mushrooms and boil for 5 minutes.
Shut off boil and run garden hose on outside of pot to speed up cooling and condensing of spices for 15-20 minutes.

I use same recipe for crabs except I put the crabs in before heating the water to let them suck in some of the spices. Then I turn on the heat and once it gets to boiling I let it boil for 12-15 minutes. Also add the corn and mushrooms at the last 5 minutes of boil.
And never any Chinese red pepper in my crabs.

1 big jug of Pro Boil, 1 box of salt, 2 sticks of butter. When water boils, add crawfish. Boil til they float, soak til they sink. Once they float and you cut off the fire, add 2 more sticks of butter and 6 bottles of Zatarain's Garlic and Onion liquid boil and 6 squeezed lemons.

A few years ago I found lemon oil at BJ's Seafood in Hammond. An added teaspoon or two a is most tasty addition to the boil water. I even cut up an orange and throw it in too.

I don't consider myself a professional, but I can hold my own. Used to work for a caterer in college and routinely boiled 3,000 lbs a day at some of the plants so I learned some info and my dad was good at boils as well. Don't purge your crawfish in salt. You can kill them. I purge them in fresh water till the water is clear and they go in the pot. I like to fill the pot about halfway up so as to not overfill. Usually after a few boils, the water will leave a mark on your pot to show the right level. I like cajunland seasoning and its just my personal preference. I add salt, but to taste. I usually don't add more than half a container. I add a few lemons, but I found that squeezing lemon juice on the crawfish after you pour them on the table gives them better flavor. After your water comes to a rolling boil add your crawfish. Wait till the water boils again and time it for 3-5 minutes. Whatever your preference is. After you turn it off take the lid off and spray the outside and add ice or a frozen bottle in the boil. Like others have said it does speed it up. Stir your crawfish occasionally while they soak. I usually soak them for atleast 35 minutes. Rule of thumb is when they stop floating and sink they have taken all the season and are ready to eat. I promise you they will peel easy. The butter trick is an old wives tale. Doesn't add any benefit. If your boiling crabs and don't want the claws to fall off I put them in when the water is warm, but not boiling yet. The temperature makes a difference. I know others put them in ice cold into the boil to prevent the claws from falling off. Time them again once they start to boil. Depending on how fat the crabs are determines soak time. I usually let really fat crabs soak for atleast 45-60 minutes unless you strictly want sweet meat and not a lot of seasoning flavor. Hope this tips helped a few people.

Boiling crayfish is like skining a cat , there are 100 ways to do it and still get the same results ----- water to a boil , drop in 'dads ,5 minutes from the drop full blast on the fire , forget the coming to a boil , cool the exterior of the pot and burn with the hose 30 minute soak