Crawfish Boil

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 gallons water
• 10 bay leaves
• 1 cup salt
• 3/4 cup cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup whole allspice
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon dill seed
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 4 celery ribs, quartered
• 3 medium onions, halved
• 3 garlic heads, halved crosswise
• 5 lbs live crawfish (throw out the dead ones)

Directions

1. 1

   Add 1 1/2 gallons water to a 19-quart stockpot; bring to a boil over high heat.

2. 2

   Add bay leaves and the next 12 ingredients; return to a rolling boil.

3. 3

   Lower the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Add crawfish; bring to a rolling boil over high heat; cook 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove stockpot from heat; let stand 30 minutes (if you want spicier crawfish, let stand 45 minutes).

6. 6

   Drain crawfish; serve on large platters on newspaper lined table with lots of napkins.

7. 7

   Cold beer or iced tea is a must.