Frozen Crawfish Boil – How to cook Frozen Crawfish

The Best Crawfish Boil

If you’re a fan of Crawfish, you’re going to love this recipe. The problem is that there are a lot of places that don’t have access to live Crawfish, if they have access to them at all. If you’re lucky, you can at least find them frozen in your seafood department at your local grocery store. “Lucky” may be a loose term because any good cook knows that any pre-cooked anything, let alone frozen, is a recipe for disaster. But, if you consider the fact that King and Snow Crab legs don’t get shipped, practically, any other way, then believe me when I say, you’re in good hands with this post. The trick is to reconstitute and reheat these mud bugs without over cooking them and to be sure to add enough flavor. When it’s done right, no Cajun will ever know the difference.

How to Season Crawfish

Just to be clear, this recipe can be used for both Live or Frozen Crawfish. It will flavor and season them both, properly. The only difference will be the amount of time live Crawfish need to cook before they soak and to get good flavor into either/or you definitely need to soak. Frozen crawfish are the easiest to prepare because the cleaning and purging have already been done for you. All you need now is the right ingredients and they’ll get the re-heat they need, along with a good soak, and all of the flavor you would expect great Crawfish to have in just a matter of minutes.

So, you need to make a broth that is out of this world and it’s generally made with a ton of spice. The good news is that these ingredients can be purchased in an all in one product, so you don’t have to dive deep into your pockets for every individual spice. Companies like Slap Ya Mama, Zatarain’s or Old Bay have put together excellent Crab, Shrimp and Crawfish Boil Seasoning packages that are great for this sort of thing. And you can buy the liquid too, if you prefer. My only complaint is that the suggested water to seasoning ratio amount is generally way to spicy for most folks. I mean, it’s too spicy for me and I even like foods hot. A simple solution would be to add less seasoning but then you loose to much flavor. So I came up with the idea of adding bouillon and, let me tell you, it makes all of the difference in the world. It’s got the right heat, with a nice medium kick and all the flavor you need from a good Crawfish Boil.

I use Knorr Tomato Bouillon, because it just makes sense. You should know that I’m not affiliated with them in any way, I just like their product. Why Tomato, and not Chicken, Beef or Vegetable? Well, I have found that some of my favorite recipes that have a good spice usually have a tomato base. Mexican and Indian food are both great examples of this so, you’re just going to have to trust me. Besides, I add an Onion and full stick of butter as well. Crab Boil seasoning has Onion, Garlic, Paprika, Cayenne, Pepper, Lemon and Salt so you really don’t have to add anything else, unless you want to. Ginger is a nice addition if you want more of an Asian flavor. But, what’s great is you can really control the flavor and the heat by seasoning your Crawfish Boil this way and preparing them the way I show you in the video.

And, what ever you do, be sure to strain and save the broth for other recipes. It can be used in sauces, soups and many recipes that require broth. And if you’re looking for more Cajun recipes, be sure to check out my Crawfish Etouffee, Jambalaya, Oysters Rockefeller, Bourbon Chicken or Boudin Recipes. I have more Cajun recipes than this and, if you’re interested, you can search for them by category on this website or just watch and flip through this Cajun Playlist I have on YouTube.

Crawfish Boil Ingredients:

5 lbs Crawfish
1 Gallon Water
1 Onion
1/3 cup Tomato Bouillon or more
1/8 cup Crawfish Boil Seasoning
1 stick Butter

Be sure to watch the short video Tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy this boil is to make.

Fried Frog Legs – Extra Crispy Recipe

Frog Legs are Sexy

This Extra Crispy Fried Frog Legs recipe is awesome, sleek and, yes, SEXY! I put together a marinade and breading that would make any finger licking fried chicken fan go Goo-goo for Frog Legs. So if you’ve never tried frog legs or you’re a die hard fan, this Recipe is for you because this is the absolute best way to have them. Just look at this pic straight out of the fryer and try not to drool.

Frog Legs in Restaurants

My personal experience with Frog Legs has been, up close and personal, in the South, where all good things seem to get bigger, better and bolder with egos and good old fashioned Southern Hospitality(which is amazing by the way). Frog Legs are on the menus at many of the localized restaurants, including Chinese Buffets. So I’ve had my fair share of recipes out there and I have learned a lot about what folks expect them to taste like. So trust this recipe, because, I think you’re really going to enjoy it!

If you’re interested in another bizarre recipe, check out my Fried Chicken Feet. And while you’re busting out the fryer for these frog legs, consider making my Crispy Fried Onion Rings or my Sweet Potato Fries. Both recipes are excellent.

Fried Frog Legs Ingredients:

6 whole Frog Leg halves or 12 Legs total

Marinade
1 egg
1/2 pint Buttermilk
1/4 cup Hot Sauce

Breading
1 cup Self Rising Flour
1/2 cup Corn Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
1/4 cup Panko
1 tbsp Crab Boil Seasoning (Zatarain’s or Slap Ya Mama)
Oil for Frying

Fry the Frog Legs at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Oysters Rockefeller – Cleaning, Shucking and the Recipe

The Best Oysters are Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller are a great way to kick off any celebration. New Orleans Mardi Gras is certainly no exception. And as you may or may not know, the original recipe was developed in the French Quarter at local restaurant called Antoine’s back in the 1800’s. This recipe has since gone platinum. And you as you can see in the picture below, they are fairly inexpensive to buy and with this recipe, they certainly live up to their name, “Rockefeller”. I think I paid about 58 cents a piece is all and the results were spectacularly “Rich”.

What kind of Oysters do you have?

These are West Coast Oysters. You can tell they aren’t from the East Coast because of the Greenish color, instead of brown, and they’re a bit more long gated as well. They should always be scrubbed and rinsed before shucking. This will help eliminate any grime getting into the shell. Personally, I like to rinse them out after anyway. But some folks will freak out if you drain the “liquor” from the oyster before serving because there’s so much flavor there. But for Oysters Rockefeller, there is so much flavor added to it through out the recipe, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that no one breaks a tooth trying to eat them.

Shucking Oysters

I’ll show you, in the video below, how to properly shuck these things and lay them out on the half shell. There’s really nothing to it once you learn the tricks. But it’s important to lay them down on something that will keep them stable so they don’t teeter back and forth. Some people, restaurants included, press the round shell backs down into Rock salt, and that’s great for serving but I just use cup cake pans to keep them from moving and it works great for broiling.

Oysters Rockefeller

To make this recipe, you need a few key ingredients but the main thing is to make it green like money. As the story goes, when this recipe was created, someone in the restaurant exclaimed that these Oysters were as rich as Rockefeller. Others think it has to do with the color of money itself. Either way, the name stuck and now the world can enjoy them for any occasion.

If you’re interested in other Cajun recipes and food celebrated in New Orleans and at Mardi Gras, check out my Boudin, Crawfish Etouffee and my Jambalaya!

Oysters Rockefeller Ingredients:

1 doz Med/Lrg Oysters
2 cloves Garlic, ground
1 Green Onion, ground
1 sprig of Fresh Parsly
4 oz Baby Green Spinach
2 tbsp White wine, can sub ice water or white grape juice
1 stick of melted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp Crab Boil or Crawfish Seasoning (Old Bay is fine)
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Basalmic Vinager
1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs, optional

Be sure to watch the full Oysters Rockefeller Video Tutorial so you can see, step by step, exactly how to make them from scratch.