The Louisiana Crawfish Boil Experience

1. When is crawfish season?

• You’ll see them as early as December, and they hit their peak around March-April and disappear come July
• New Orleans has four seasons: Mardi Gras (winter), crawfish (spring), snowballs (summer), football (fall)
• When it’s festival season, it’s usually a great time for crawfish

2. In New Orleans they don’t call them crayfish, crawdads or mudbugs: they’re crawfish.

3. Breaux Bridge, La. is the “crawfish capital of the world.”

4. What to throw in the boil:

• 4-5 pounds crawfish per person

• Basic — garlic, boil seasoning, lemon halves, celery
• Classic – add red potatoes, corn, sausage, artichokes
• Classic redux – add sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pineapple, pork chops
• Asian-Cajun – add orange wedges, lemongrass stalks 
• You’ll also need…

• Newspaper = makeshift table clothes
• Plastic trays
• Rolls of paper towels
• Dipping sauce for potatoes
• Traditionally lots of beer

5. Random tips/facts:

• Don’t eat the straight ones
• Look for the rare blue crawfish and less rare white crawfish
• Make crawfish étouffée with leftover tails (if you have any), spicy potato salad with leftover potatoes, or a garlic mash to spread on bread with the leftover garlic
• Don’t forget to get some meat from the claws!