Louisiana Boiled Crabs Recipe

[Derwood]

Subject says it all. Use this thread to post your favorite Louisiana style crab boil recipes.

I'm from Maryland so don't worry...I already know steamed crabs with JO #2 as the spice and a mixture of light beer and vinegar is the ONLY way to go.

...but sometimes it's appropriate to try new things!

I've been interested in trying out the Louisiana style that involves Zatarans crab boil, crab spice blend, lemons, garlic, sausages, etc. I've watched about a dozen youtube videos and everyone has their own way of doing it but they seem to fall within that basic structure of ingredients. However, understanding what these cajun people are saying is another matter all together. So if anyone is willing to type out their method, I'd love to try it out! Thanks in advance.

[Wallco99]

If you want to try something different, then try Old Bay, it's better. Don't ruin the crabs by boiling, just steam them with a BETTER seasoning. And pre-clean the crabs, so the seasoning actually gets into the meat, and your whole body is not covered in crab guts. Some ninnies will call it "mustard", but it's nothing more than GUTS, no matter how much you fake it and want to believe it.

[tattoo]

Check with Capt Ron he lives there and has s0ome killer recisipes

[Derwood]

If you want to try something different, then try Old Bay, it's better. Don't ruin the crabs by boiling, just steam them with a BETTER seasoning. And pre-clean the crabs, so the seasoning actually gets into the meat, and your whole body is not covered in crab guts. Some ninnies will call it "mustard", but it's nothing more than GUTS, no matter how much you fake it and want to believe it.

100% if I don't use JO, I do a blend of Old Bay and Kosher Salt. And of course I eat the mustard

But I would like to try the Louisiana way some time, which I think is more or less the same way they do crawfish.  Like this:

[SHELLFISH]

Derwood, I just posted a thread about cooking crawdads. I recently attempted this and learned a few things!
Maybe you could try this with your Louisiana steamed Crabs! Fot me though I like my Crabs steamed with JO#2!
I then eat them with a little butter for dunking the meat and JO#1!

[capt. ron]

                                                                                                  OMG

I can't believe what I'm reading.  I totally understand WHY people from the East coast don't eat boiled crabs.  They don't know how to cook them!  I don't think I had any complaints when I boiled crabs at the WYE party.  An individual can use the same recipe for crabs and crawfish but the method and cook times are different.

No matter if you boil or steam if you want your crabs to come out perfect you MUST wash the crabs before cooking.

I've been boiling crabs for 50 years,  think I know a thing or two.

[flatfish4x4]

                                                                                                  OMG

I can't believe what I'm reading.  I totally understand WHY people from the East coast don't eat boiled crabs.  They don't know how to cook them!  I don't think I had any complaints when I boiled crabs at the WYE party.  An individual can use the same recipe for crabs and crawfish but the method and cook times are different.

No matter if you boil or steam if you want your crabs to come out perfect you MUST wash the crabs before cooking.

I've been boiling crabs for 50 years,  think I know a thing or two.

when u say wash do u mean back them first

[Derwood]

                                                                                                  OMG

I can't believe what I'm reading.  I totally understand WHY people from the East coast don't eat boiled crabs.  They don't know how to cook them!  I don't think I had any complaints when I boiled crabs at the WYE party.  An individual can use the same recipe for crabs and crawfish but the method and cook times are different.

No matter if you boil or steam if you want your crabs to come out perfect you MUST wash the crabs before cooking.

I've been boiling crabs for 50 years,  think I know a thing or two.

Could you please share how you do it? How you wash them, the spices, herbs, boil mixes etc that you use and the cook time? I bet in five minutes you can teach me a lot of what you learned in 50 years of experience and I'd love to have some of that wisdom. I'll try it and post the results. Thanks in advance!

[capt. ron]

give me some time and I'll make a short video for everyone.  Maybe 2 weeks before I get out again.

[moc]

give me some time and I'll make a short video for everyone.  Maybe 2 weeks before I get out again.

I cannot wait for your video Capt. Ron!

[Derwood]

Update: I have now figured out how to boil crabs and make them good.

I decided that while I still prefer steaming them with JO and corn over boiling, boiling with all the other fixins is the way to go if you only have a small quantity of full, heavy crabs. It's a way to make 10-20 crabs into a meal. Or to make a single bushel serve a big crowd.

The first time I boiled them, some of the crabs were a little light and I didn't know the trick about cooling the water for the soaking period. Opening a flooded crab body is no good. So this recipe is best for heavy/full/brick crabs later in the season.

Method:
First boil all of your fruits, potatoes and seasonings. Then add the sausage. Then add crabs and boil for 8 minutes. Then cut off the heat and and 16 lbs of ice. Let soak for 30 minutes. Drain and enjoy.

Elements:
Lemons - 10-20 sliced
Oranges - 10-20 sliced
Onions - 5-10
Celery - 6 stalks
Garlic - 1 big jar of minced or 20-30 bulbs sliced in half
Peppers - Green Bell Peppers, Chili Peppers, Habaneros...depends on how much heat you want
Mushrooms - 1 pound or whatever you like
Vinegar - 1 liter
Zatarans Crab Boil - 4 bags
Zatarans Crab Boil Powder - 4 bags
Zatarans Crab Boil Liquid - 1 small bottle
Hot Sauce -- 1 small bottle (if you like the heat)
Old Bay - 1 Cup
Spicy Smoked Beef Kielbasa Sausage -- 2 or 3 big ones, sliced into 3 inch pieces
Potatoes - 20-30 small ones
Corn -- 10-15 ears, shucked and broken in half, frozen

1) Fill a bushel size steaming pot 2/3 of the way full with clean water. Add lemons, onions, oranges and potatoes. Light fire and put on lid.

2) Put 1/2 bushel of crabs (3-4 dozen) into cooler with ice and clean them with the hose. Spray off dirt, seaweed, etc. Fill the cooler with water and cycle the water a few times until the water stays clear. Dump water, add more ice and let the crabs sit in hibernation until the water boils.

3) Let the fruit and potatoes boil until the potatoes start to get soft. Add the seasonings and return to boil.

5) Add sausage

6) Once potatoes are 80% cooked, add the crabs. The cold crabs will make the water stop boiling. Return to boil, cover and let cook for 8 minutes. Set a timer.

7) Turn off fire. Add 16 lb bag of ice, mushrooms and frozen corn. Set timer for 30 minutes.

Serve and eat it all.

...and that's it. The water should be about 150 degrees -- too hot to keep your hand in but not so hot that it burns you. The 150 degree water and spices will be pulled into the 212 degree crabs. That's the idea anyway! By the end of the soaking period, the crabs should all sink to the bottom and the corn should be floating on top.

If you've got an alternative method, please share. While I still prefer steaming in general, I'm always looking for new ways to prepare crabs. Last weekend I bought a bushel of very nice, heavy #1 crabs from an AA county waterman. I did half the basket with traditional steaming and JO#2, and half as a Louisiana boil. It was all good.

[flatfish4x4]

now that's how you do a SOUTHERN CRAB BOIL

[vw_buggsy]

If I get a whole bunch of crabs I just steam them and we have a crab feast. If I get a couple dozen we do what I call a low country steam boil to fill out the meal.

Red potatoes in the bottom of the pot. Those are my steam tray. Water and/or beer to just under the tops of the taters. Then the crabs (seasoned with jo#2) on top of those.

That steams for about 20 minutes from when the steam gets going. Then I add any combo of (depending on what's on sale or what we want):
Large shrimp (seasoned with old bay)
Crab legs (snow/king)
Sausage
Corn
Eggs (in the shell)

Steam for another ~10 minutes, more of it takes a while for the steam to come back,  less if you're on a real hot jet burner.

Taters are tender and seasoned from all the drippins. Everything else is perfectly cooked. You could do darn near any complimentary seafood or veg like this of course as long as you add it at the right time. I'm lazy so I usually pick stuff that cooks about the same time for my second additions.

The only thing that really boils are the taters though. It's all about figuring out what you and yours like.