HOUSTON – There are great places around Houston to enjoy delicious crawfish, but if you want to create your own crawfish boil at home, there are easy ways to tackle that task like a pro.
“The most important part of preparing your crawfish is preparing the boil. It’s actually sacrilegious to boil crawfish in water and sprinkle a bunch of seasoning on them on the outside,” said Amanda Vu, owner of Hank’s Crawfish, who stopped by our studio with ingredient suggestions to get the perfect flavor.
She recommends a good mix of fresh ingredients, especially oranges, celery, onion and garlic with added spices. Don’t be afraid to customize it based on your taste preference, but be sure to always include potatoes and corn.
“You want to put your potatoes before the corn in there, because potatoes take longer to cook,” said Vu, who also shared another secret to a perfect crawfish boil.
“This is not something that you deep-fried for, like, seven minutes or something. There is not an actual cook time. You have to pay attention to the shell thickness of your crawfish. You can’t time it, you have to watch it until they rise to the top and turn into a red color,” she said.
She also suggests boiling the crawfish outside or in the backyard, because it can get messy and your home will smell.
For more tips and to see how to peel and eat them, watch the video above.