looking to do a Crawfish boil this summer on the North East coast(NJ)… has anyone used any of the online fresh live Crawfish guys???
I found a few, but would like to hear some reviews good or bad and most of all Hints on how to make sure its a successful party in the backyard
We did one about 10-12 years ago, can’t remember who we ordered the crawfish from, but we used somewhere around 50 lbs.
You may need a small kiddie pool to wash them off. Poke a few holes in the bottom to let it drain, don’t want to drown them before you cook them. Used a large pot like those sold for frying turkeys, you will also need a basket to load up that goes into the pot, load it up with the crawfish, potatoes, corn, etc… and boil away.
We also ordered up a bushel of Maryland blue crab from a local NJ supplier, alternated between boiling the two.
thanks Cris for the info…any chance you remember who you got the blue crab from or the crawfish from??? was it GOOD? worth doing?
Scott - if you are contemplating a large order, you may want to look contacting any good seafood wholesalers if you have any good ones nearby. May be a bit more expensive (or a lot, although overnight delivery for bulk-ordered shellfish is not cheap), but you are likely to get them alive
I used a local seafood supplier, Archar Seafood in Somerset. He has a small retail operation, not very attractive inside, but does most of his business selling to restaurants. Told him what I was looking for and he had a delivery that came up in the morning, picked up the bushel around noon time.
We had a great time, just make sure your guest know what they are doing with the crawfish and crabs.
THANK YOU… wonder if If I should use him or the Online next day delivery from the buyUUUU guess i’ll have to price them both out etc…thanks again for the heads up
Just an FYI summer isn’t crawfish season. It is shrimp and crab season. Crawfish are starting to get decent sized now and should be peaking in the next month or so as oysters wind down.
The seasons are Oyster, Crawfish, Shrimp, Crab, Softshell, Fall Shrimp and Football.
so you would suggest I wait till September for this broil??? if I must do crawfish?
Milton???
Pretty sure we did ours in the first couple weeks of May, so still in season.
No. Season is the winter months into the spring. It’s in full gear right now and boils around Easter are tradition in S. Louisiana. We’ll be doing 220 lbs. the Saturday before Easter. My BIL handles it all, so I’m not much for cooking or sourcing advice. He sources his locally (Lafayette, LA) and fresh (alive). Smelly dirty creatures until you wash and purge them. Tremendous eating when done right!
The season typically starts in late November and fades out around May to June. But, the crawfish early and late aren’t as good for different reasons.
From what I have gathered, from group down south when we used to go to Bama, for ball games.
I guess after you do your boiling you need to dump ice in to the pot, this helps with the up take of flavor.
I don’t know that is just what the said they did?
Paul
I’m from Houston, the nation’s number one consumer of crawfish. The colder season this year has had crawfish a bit more scarce then usual. People seem to be lining up early and even fighting over availability. Last weekend I hosted a boil, and decided to place an order online with LACrawfish to avoid the madness and am glad I did. It was easy and they quality was better than what was available at most sources here in town.
Down here we eat them Vietnamese style. Along with the usual culprits (zataran’s pro boil, lemons, onion, sausage, corn, and potato) you add to the boil 1 can of orange juice concentrate, 3 sticks of butter, a bit of fish sauce, and tons of garlic. Do not underestimate the amount of garlic to use, it may seem like too much but after its boiled the flavor is much more mild. The idea is to get a bit of minced garlic with every tail. If you’re feeling like being a great host you can also pour a bit of melted butter over the finished product after removing from the boil.
A group of about 15 people went through 90lbs in 4 or 5 hours because the Vietnamese style crawfish are that damn good.
Scott- as others have mentioned season starts in cold weather and usually wraps up towards end of May. April and into May can be peak and pricing will come down depending on supply. We do several boils a year and these guys are the best.
I live in Tampa so they pick a direct Southwest flight and it goes right into the SWA cooler at air cargo. I usually pick them up within a day and they are just fine. Fishermans also has an outstanding seasoning mix that I now use although I add salt to it( many folks underestimate the amount of salt to use) Salt is critical for flavor. Cayene just adds heat. I also add orange and lemon to the normal celery, onions, and garlic.
Have fun
Oysters get started in October and peak Thanksgiving through Christmas
Crawfish Start in February and peak in April
Spring Shrimp start april
Softshells June
Crabs peak in July
Fall Shrimp start in August, a couple of weeks before football season
Long as you use Alabama wild shrimp, nothing wrong with a shrimp boil in the Summer. Remember when you think they are done, they are already overcooked. So you have to season the hell out of the water since they don’t spend much time in it.
I bought some crawfish the other day and dumped some cajon seasoning in a pot, added sausages, mushrooms, potatoes, corn, and some shrimp. Super tasty and will need to do it again soon.