Boiled Crawfish Using an Outdoor Gourmet 90qt Crawfish Boiler

I've been wanting a dedicated crawfish cooker for a long time and got one a few years back.  It's an Outdoor Gourmet 90qt Cooker I got from Academy Sporting Goods.  There are a number of crawfish cookers made by different manufacturers in different sizes, but I saved a bunch by buying this one at my local Academy  in the summer when crawfish were out of season.  This thing makes cooking so much easier, but it also required a few changes.  Here is what I came up with to make delicious crawfish that are very easy to cook.  These directions are specific to my cooker but, with a few adjustments, I'm sure they will work with virtually all 90qt crawfish cookers. Lastly, Where we live, most grocery stores and all Walmarts carry Zatarain's® liquid crab boil in gallon containers.  Gallon containers are easier to use and it's cheaper. I cook everything before guests arrive and it goes in an ice chest to stay hot. It will stay hot for hours and I'm not stuck cooking while everybody mingles.

Fill the crawfish cooker to 1½” below the max fill line marked on the outside of the strainer basket on the side that is opposite the handles you use to roll the cooker around.  The max fill line is hard to find, an easier way is to just lower the strainer basket and fill the cooker until the water reaches the bottom of the 4th row of holes from the top. It will use approximately 12 gallons of water and you will have plenty of room for a 40 lb. sack of crawfish and all the fixings that make a complete crawfish boil.  The red valve on the regulator turns counterclockwise to turn the propane off and clockwise to turn it on.  While you are cooking, hang the wire that holds the regulator hose for storage on the valve you use to empty the pot.  Rinse the crawfish in a cooler until the water runs clear before you cook them.

Lastly, whenever I cook crawfish, there are always a few people that don't eat them. For them I cook shrimp, but shrimp are different. We figure 3 to 4 lbs of crawfish per person, but just 1 to 1¼ lbs of headed shrimp per person.  Also, shrimp cook faster, and if you over cook them, they are hard to peel and get soft and mushy. Cook your shrimp first, after step 2 but before step 3. After you have discarded the onions, lemons and oranges, don't turn the heat up, just drop the shrimp in. Unless you are cooking 15 lbs or more, there will be plenty of heat in the water to cook them. Let the shrimp soak for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes of soaking, lift the strainer, strain them, and put the shrimp in a separate cooler or container. Make sure the cooler or container is open so that the heat can escape. Stir the shrimp occasionally as they cool down or shrimp in the bottom of the container will continue cooking. Do not put the shrimp in a cooler with hot crawfish or the crawfish will over cook the shrimp.

For the First Batch

1.    Use the handle to set the lid so it opens to the horizontal position. Add the water, liquid and bag crawfish boils, salt, onions, lemons, and oranges to the basket.  Close the lid, bring everything to a boil, and let it boil for 5 minutes.

2.    After the 5 minute boil and before you add the crawfish, lift the basket and dump the onions, lemons, oranges, and bagged crawfish boil onto the lid.  Turn the heat down while you discard everything on the lid.  They have done their job and they are too messy to serve.

3.    After discarding the onions, lemons, oranges, and bagged crawfish boil, add the crawfish, potatoes, and garlic, turn the heat all the way up, and close the lid.  When the water comes back to a boil, turn the heat down to keep the water at a strong simmer and start timing.  Don’t let the cooker boil over.  Boil the crawfish, potatoes, and garlic for 7 minutes, then turn the heat off.

4.    Add the frozen corn, sausage, and mushrooms.  Use the paddle to stir everything and try to push the mushrooms under.  (They float)

5.    Wait 10 minutes, then add the carrots and Brussels sprouts.  Stir everything and and try to push everything under again.  Let the vegetables soak in the hot water for 5 minutes.  It takes a total of 22 minutes after the crawfish start boiling to cook everything.

6.    During the last 15 minutes while everything soaks, move the handle so that the lid of the cooker goes to the down position when it is opened.

7.    After the 22 minutes are up, lift the basket and put the paddle handle in the first set of notches.  Let the basket lean on the paddle handle and drain.  While everything drains, slide a large cooler under the open cooker lid.

8.    Dump the crawfish onto the lid and let them fall into the cooler.

9.    Use the following recipe for your first batch.  

For EVERY succeeding batch follow the directions above.  Don't add any water but do add the following:

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