Stovetop Crawfish Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce
If you’re looking for the best homemade Crawfish Boil recipe look no further than this stunner right here! Full of Cajun-style goodness and whipped up easily on the stovetop, this seafood boil decadence is an entertaining masterpiece. It’s full of smoked sausage, potatoes, corn, and chock-full of rich and deeply bold flavor galore!
The best time of the year is quickly approaching and I’m thrilled. Late spring into early summer season feels like a long, warm sit in the sun with a piña colada in hand. The grill is getting used every other day and the entertaining is frequent. I’ve got so many really incredible recipes on the way for you and I can’t wait to hit publish on them all eeeeeepp. I hope y’all are well 🫶🏾!
Listen, I’ve been itching to share a crawfish boil recipe for so long now, especially ever since the OG drop of the reader-favorite, Cajun seafood boil hit the web.
The Best Crawfish Boil Recipe 🦞
Friends, when I tell you that you’re going to loveeee this crawfish boil recipe, I truly mean it. The boil itself is deeply, deeply loaded with flavor that the crawfish and other boil elements soak up. All of the succulent crawfish and accouterments are deliciously doused in a Cajun-forward, buttery garlic sauce to send it into orbit a bit further, mmm.
While most crawfish boils are cooked outside in a boiler pot with propane; this stovetop recipe is perfect for home cooks who want their crawfish boil fix minus the huge setup. It’s a scaled-down, fuss-free version that hits!
Ingredients You’ll Need Here:
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)
- Main ingredients in boil: Crawfish (live or frozen), andouille sausage, baby red potatoes, and mini corn on the cob aka nibblers. Consider these ingredients the “hearty” elements of the crawfish boil.
- Big-time, flavor building blocks: Louisiana crawfish seasoning packet (dry), seafood stock, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, oranges/lemons, vinegar, and Louisiana concentrated crawfish boil liquid. These different ingredients only bolster and create such a deeply aromatic, flavorful, and well-seasoned “boil” for the crawfish and company to steep/soak in! Remember, if you ain’t sneezing…it ain’t seasoned! 😜🙌🏾
- Garlic butter sauce: Butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, Cajun seasoning, and fresh chopped parsley. It serves as the finishing, rich touch to toss with the crawfish boil ingredients…finger-licking good!
How To Make This Crawfish Boil:
(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)
>> This boil recipe is easy, let’s break it down!
- Build the boil with flavor agents. In an extra large stockpot over medium-high heat, combine water, dried boil seasoning, seafood stock, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, oranges, lemons, vinegar, and liquid boil. Stir all the ingredients well to thoroughly combine. Bring the liquid mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture continue simmering for 25-30 minutes for the flavors to meld.
- Add the andouille & potatoes. Add the andouille sausage pieces and baby potatoes into the pot and stir to combine with the boil. Let the andouille and potatoes cook until the potatoes are just about fork-tender.
- Add the crawfish & corn. Gently drop the crawfish into the boil along with the corn. Make sure that everything is fully submerged under the boil and carefully stir to ensure all ingredients are well combined. Continue boiling for 5-6 minutes or until the shells are bright red. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic butter sauce.
Finishing Your Boil:
- Make the garlic butter sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Simmer the sauce until the butter melts and the sauce is well combined. Then remove the sauce from heat.
- Assemble the crawfish boil with sauce. Line an extra large baking sheet or large platter with foil/parchment paper. Use a spider strainer to remove the crawfish boil contents from the pot and place them onto the prepared vessel- remove and discard the onion, celery, bay leaves, and orange/lemon bits. Pour the garlic butter sauce over the seafood boil ingredients. Then use your hands (fitted with disposable gloves if desired) to toss the sauce with everything until nicely coated.
How To Serve Your Crawfish Boil:
Serve your crawfish boil as-is with everyone just grabbing what they’d like from the baking sheet/platter directly or you can divide the boil up and make individual boil bags for folks. Serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing (some like it to cut the richness of the sauce). I also like to have a bit of crusty bread on the side to sop up any runaway garlic butter sauce, gahhh 👅!
If you love seafood boil recipes, don’t miss my Shrimp Boil Foil Packs recipe, too. It’s also one of my top communal recipes to make this season!
How To Eat Crawfish:
Crawfish meat is found within the tail area. You’ll want to gently twist the head of the crawfish away from the body, carefully twisting while pulling. You can suck the juices from the head as there is lots of flavor up in there, too. I like to gather the tail meat out in a pinch and pull method, pinching the tail and pulling it away from the body. Once you’ve gathered the tail area, feel free to peel away the tail shell or gently pull the tender tail meat out of the shell and enjoy! 😛
>> Pro tip: Save the crawfish heads and make homemade seafood stock when combined with vegetables and herbs!
Tis the season for a Crawfish Boil, y’all. Ain’t nothing like this seafood, garlic-buttery goodness to enjoy with your crew! Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾
Our fav entertaining-inspired recipes:
- BBQ Short Ribs
- Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Pork Tenderloin w/ Dijon Cream Sauce
- Skillet Peach Cobbler
- Jamaican Beef Patties
- Cajun Dirty Rice
Stovetop Crawfish Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Southern
Description
If you’re looking for the best homemade Crawfish Boil recipe look no further than this stunner right here! Full of Cajun-style goodness and whipped up easily on the stovetop, this seafood boil decadence is an entertaining masterpiece. It’s full of smoked sausage, potatoes, corn, and chock-full of rich and deeply bold flavor galore!
Ingredients
For the crawfish boil:
- 6 lbs live or frozen crawfish, rinsed well
- 10-ounces Louisiana Crawfish Shrimp & Crab Boil Seasoning
- 4 cups seafood stock (or chicken broth)
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into quarters
- 4 celery stalks, cut into rough chunks
- 8 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 oranges, cut into quarters
- 2 lemons, cut into quarters
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Louisiana concentrated Crawfish Crab & Shrimp Boil liquid
- 1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1–2 lbs baby red potatoes
- 6–8 fresh or frozen corn on the cob nibblers
For the garlic butter sauce:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 10 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Creole Cajun Seasoning– homemade or store-bought
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley- optional
Instructions
- Prep the crawfish. For live crawfish, you must clean/purge them first. If your live crawfish has been rinsed already, you’re good to go. If not, rinse your crawfish until the water runs clear and the crawfish are fully clean. For frozen crawfish (I recommend this step even if your frozen bag says the crawfish is “ready-to-eat”); working in your kitchen sink, fill a large bowl/container with cool water. Add the frozen crawfish into the bowl and let sit until thawed. Once the crawfish has been thawed, use your hands to swish the crawfish around, picking out any debris/random crawfish particles, and also remove any dirt you may find- it might help to use a bristle brush. Drain the water and repeat as needed. Afterward, drain the water and let the crawfish sit until we’re ready to add them to the boil.
- Build the boil. In an extra large stockpot or dutch oven (about 10 quarts or larger or you can use 2 different pots if needed) over medium-high heat, combine 1 ½ gallons of water, dried boil seasoning, seafood stock (or chicken broth), onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, oranges, lemons, vinegar, and liquid boil. Stir all the ingredients well to thoroughly combine. Bring the liquid mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture continue simmering for 25-30 minutes for the flavors to meld.
- Add the andouille & potatoes. Carefully add the andouille sausage pieces and baby potatoes into the pot and stir well to fully combine with the boil. Let the andouille and potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes- or until the potatoes are just about fork-tender.
- Add the crawfish & corn. Gently drop the crawfish into the boil along with the corn nibblers. Make sure that everything is fully submerged under the boil and carefully stir to ensure all ingredients are well combined. Continue boiling for 5-6 minutes or until the crawfish shells are bright red. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic butter sauce.
- Make the garlic butter sauce. On a separate burner, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, garlic, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, Creole Cajun seasoning, and chopped parsley. Stir all ingredients and simmer the sauce until the butter melts and the sauce is well combined, stirring often, about 5-6 minutes. Then remove the sauce from heat.
- Assemble the crawfish boil with sauce. Line an extra large baking sheet or large platter with foil/parchment paper (or newspaper if you’d like!). Use a spider strainer to remove the crawfish boil contents from the pot and place them onto the prepared vessel- remove and discard the onion, celery, bay leaves, and orange/lemon bits. Now, this is the fun part! Pour the garlic butter sauce over the seafood boil ingredients. Then use your hands (fitted with disposable gloves if desired) to toss the sauce with everything, smothering every nook and cranny in sauce.
- Serve. Feel free to serve this crawfish boil as-is with everyone just grabbing what they’d like from the baking sheet/platter directly (it’s the chaos and messiness of seafood boils that are so fun!) or divide the boil onto individual plates to serve if you prefer. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired. Be sure to sop up any runaway garlic butter sauce with some crusty bread if you’d like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
- Want your boil extra saucy?: If you like your boil ingredients well-coated and sopped up, I recommend making a double batch of the garlic butter sauce for more indulgent decadence!
Recipe by: Quin Liburd- Butter Be Ready
Photography by: Ashley McLaughlin
