Cajun Crawfish Boil Corn (Print)

A festive Southern dish with spicy crawfish, sweet corn, and tender potatoes combined with Cajun spices.

# Components:

→ Seafood

01 - 4 pounds live crawfish, thoroughly rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 6 ears corn, husked and cut into halves or thirds
03 - 2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed
04 - 2 yellow onions, quartered
05 - 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
06 - 1 lemon, sliced

→ Sausage

07 - 1 pound smoked Andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

→ Seasonings and Aromatics

08 - 1/2 cup Cajun seasoning blend
09 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 - 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
11 - 4 bay leaves
12 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
13 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
14 - 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

→ For Serving

15 - Lemon wedges
16 - Hot sauce

# Directions:

01 - Fill a large stockpot with 5 gallons of water. Add Cajun seasoning, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, onions, garlic, and lemon slices. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
02 - Add potatoes to the boiling liquid and cook for 10 minutes.
03 - Add corn and sausage to the pot and continue boiling for another 8 minutes.
04 - Add crawfish to the pot, stir gently, cover, and let boil for 3 to 5 minutes until crawfish turn bright red.
05 - Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
06 - Drain the boil using a large strainer or by carefully pouring out the liquid.
07 - Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, sausage, and vegetables onto a large serving platter. Drizzle with melted butter and garnish with fresh parsley.
08 - Serve hot with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The moment crawfish hit the table, seasoned perfectly and still steaming, people stop talking and start eating—it's pure magic.
  • Everything cooks in one pot, which means you're not juggling multiple pans while your guests are arriving.
  • It feeds a crowd without making you feel like you're stuck in the kitchen the whole time.
02 -
  • Live crawfish need to be kept cold and moist until cooking—if they're sitting in the sun or drying out, they'll die and spoil, which ruins the whole dish.
  • The moment crawfish turn bright red is the moment they're done—overcooking makes the meat rubbery and sad, so set a timer and stick to it.
  • Your water-to-seasoning ratio matters tremendously because this isn't just boiling water, it's seasoned broth that everything soaks up.
03 -
  • Buy your crawfish the day you plan to cook them, keep them cold and damp, and check a few to make sure they're moving before you leave the market.
  • If your seasoning blend tastes dull in the water, taste and adjust—this is your moment to make it exactly how you want it, not how some recipe says it should be.
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