Crawfish season rolls around every Spring. Crawfish boil parties are common around this time as an excuse to spend time with friends and family plus make a big pot of crawfish at the same time. Crawfish is sold live in huge sacks, which can render large batches. Because crawfish is harvested in a few months of the Spring and part of the Summer, it is difficult to find during the winter months, so, what can a crawfish lover do in the winter to satisfy that craving for boiled crawfish?
Where there is a will, there is a way! Perhaps look at the situation from another perspective. With a few minor changes, you can work around this problem:
- Use shell-on shrimp instead. Shrimp are generally sold in smaller quantities and is just as fresh as crawfish.
- Make a smaller batch. Using a large stockpot, you can get the same results on the stovetop.
- Use the same seasoning and vegetables in the boil as you would with crawfish.
There you go! A small batch of boiled shrimp!
Ingredients
4 lbs. shrimp, heads on
3 gallons of water
1 bag crab and shrimp boil powder
2 Tbsp. liquid crab boil
2 Tbsp. cayenne
1 bag small red potatoes
4 whole bay leaves
1/8 cup salt
2 packages beef smoked sausage, sliced in large chunks
2 packages frozen corn tots
2 packages white mushrooms
Remoulade sauce or a good quality cocktail sauce for serving
Instructions
Fill a very large stock pot with water. Add the bag of crab boil, liquid crab boil, cayenne and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Add the corn, sausage, mushrooms and potatoes. Allow boiling for about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and return to a rolling boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to allow the seasoned liquid to permeate the meat and vegetables. Use a large slotted spoon to serve and strain the shrimp and vegetables from the pot when serving.
Serve with remoulade sauce or a good quality cocktail sauce for dipping the shrimp if you wish. Peel the shrimp and enjoy!
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