Louisiana crawfish, spicy seasoned onions, potatoes, corn on the cob, and smoked sausage are at the base of this Cajun recipe, but it’s the crawfish stock and cream thickened with a blond roux that brings this Crawfish Boil Chowder all together magnificently.
But first, the Louisiana crawfish industry needs your help! First came the 2020 pandemic, and now the deep freeze of 2021; crawfish farmers and retailers are hurting. At the peak of what was forecast last year to be an “epic” crawfish season, COVID-19 shut down channels of distribution threatening the livelihood of Louisiana crawfish farmers and the future of the industry. And as hopes for a new and more successful season is underway, the crawfish supply has been temporarily sidelined as mudbugs disappear from the frigid temperatures.
Louisiana crawfish farmers need your help! (All photos credit: George Graham)
But as spring approaches and the industry regains its momentum, you can help our farmers and retailers by supporting Louisiana’s $300 million industry.
Here’s how you can help:
- Dine at restaurants that are open or purchase boiled crawfish from your favorite Order/Pick-up boiling station or market location. Many have drive-thru windows for your convenience. Check out this long list compiled by Candy Domengeaux, the Crawfish Ambassador with links, phone numbers and addresses.
- Download the app and order from a WAITR affiliated restaurant and have a 5-pound order (or more) delivered to your home.
- Go to Candy’s Crawfish Tales and find a crawfish farmer, seafood market, or supermarket that sells live crawfish by the sack and boil your own. You can also order online by searching for “live crawfish.”
- Buy more crawfish than you need now and freeze the tails to enjoy year-round. From my friends at LSU Ag Center, here’s a tutorial on peeling and freezing.
Here at Acadiana Table, we believe in faith, family, and food as the holy trinity of our Cajun and Creole culinary culture. During this challenging time, we all need to support the many local businesses that make our food culture unique and help preserve and promote our rich heritage. And to do our part, here’s a tasty crawfish recipe to make in celebration of our 2021 season–Crawfish Boil Chowder.
Thick and spicy chowder with the flavor of a Louisiana crawfish boil.
And this recipe comes from my newest cookbook Fresh From Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking. Be sure to order your autographed cookbook today and receive a 15% discount off the retail price.
240 pages of great stories and delicious recipes. Click through to order.
Making soup with Louisiana seafood is a familiar recipe for most Cajun cooks, and crawfish is no exception. But, the brilliance of this little Cajun recipe for Crawfish Boil Chowder is that there are no ingredients to buy and very little to cook since the leftovers are already boiled and seasoned.
A spicy combination of ingredients.
But I clearly understand that some of you do not have the luxury of attending a crawfish boil, and accessing these boiled ingredients may not be readily available. Not to worry. I have two alternative recipes for this easy Crawfish Boil Chowder, with or without leftovers. Either way, the Cajun recipe is simple to follow and just as tasty.
- 5 pounds seasoned and boiled whole Louisiana crawfish
- 4 medium seasoned and boiled yellow onions
- 6 ears seasoned and boiled corn on the cob
- 6 small seasoned and boiled potatoes
- 2 links seasoned and boiled smoked pork sausage
- 1 quart water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more if needed
- 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Hot sauce, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 whole crawfish, for garnish, optional
- ½ cup diced green onion tops
- 1 cup dry crawfish boil seasoning mix
- 4 medium whole yellow onions
- 6 small potatoes
- 2 links smoked pork sausage
- 6 ears frozen corn on the cob
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more if needed
- 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 3 cups crawfish stock or seafood stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ pound Louisiana crawfish tail meat
- Hot sauce, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 whole crawfish, for garnish, optional
- ½ cup diced green onion tops
- Separate the boiled crawfish from the rest of the cooked ingredients (onions, corn, potatoes, and sausage). Reserve 4 whole crawfish for garnish. Remove the heads from the remaining crawfish and place in a pot filled with the water. Peel the tail meat and place the shells in the pot. Reserve the tail meat for later. Over high heat, bring the pot to a boil and lower to a simmer and continue cooking until the stock reduces to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Drain the stock into a container and discard the crawfish shells.
- Remove any outer peel or stem ends from the cooked onions, and chop into bite-size chunks. With a sharp knife, slice the corn from the cobs and discard the cobs. Slice the potatoes and sausage links into bite-size chunks.
- In a cast-iron pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Combine the flour into the butter and stir to make a blond roux. Add the stock and stir to combine. Add all of the vegetables and sausage. Add the cream, and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking until the soup begins to thicken into a chowder consistency. If too thick, add more stock or water. If the chowder is not thick enough, make a beurre manié (a French technique for thickening a sauce) by combining 2 tablespoons softened butter with 2 tablespoons flour and add it to the pot to thicken.
- Add the crawfish tail meat and simmer for another 10 minutes Add hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve in shallow bowls garnished with a whole boiled crawfish (optional) and diced green onion tops. Serve with hot French bread.
- In a large pot over medium-high heat filled halfway with water, bring to a boil and add the seasoning. Add the onions, potatoes, and sausage to the water and boil until the potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Drain the vegetables and sausage and let cool.
- Remove any outer peel or stem ends from the cooked onions, and chop into bite-size chunks.. With a sharp knife, slice the corn from the cobs and discard the cobs. Slice the potatoes and sausage links into bite-size chunks.
- In a cast-iron pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Combine the flour into the butter and stir to make a blond roux. Add the stock and stir to combine. Add all of the vegetables and sausage. Add the cream, and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking until the soup begins to thicken into a chowder consistency, about 30 minutes. If too thick, add more stock or water. If the chowder is not thick enough, make a beurre manié (a French technique for thickening a sauce) by combining 2 tablespoons softened butter with 2 tablespoons flour and add it to the pot to thicken.
- Add the crawfish tail meat and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve in shallow bowls garnished with a whole boiled crawfish (optional) and diced green onion tops. Serve with hot French bread.
The perfect chow-down chowder.
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I would happily order some frozen tails for delivery to Florida if possible.
Hey Trish- Go online and do a Google search or go to Cajungrocer.com. There are lots of folks who ship frozen tails nationwide. All the best.
We have found frozen crawfish meat from Louisiana in the local Walmart (Citrus County, FL).
When we were stationed in Florida I too saw crawfish, but it was always a product of China. It says Distributed by Baton Rouge or Breaux Bridge etc., but it is NOT from the USA.
Tori – You are correct and thanks for being vigilant. Asian crawfish hits the US market cleverly disguised as a Louisiana product; I’ve even seen it branded at Boudreaux’s. But upon careful inspection, you will always see the country of origin. Beware of imitations and only buy a true Louisiana product.
It has been an ongoing problem but no more. They just passed a law saying its origins have to be labeled.
John- You are correct: In June 2019, Louisiana passed House Bill No. 335 that would require Louisiana restaurants to label menus with the origins of shrimp and crawfish. That is a great first step for consumers here in our state. But it is still important for home cooks to inspect the packaging of crawfish and shrimp when buying in the supermarket. While the country of origin must be labled, there is much deception in brand name and packaging graphics. Also, some consumers can mistake the wholesale distributor’s address as the country of origin. Be wise and buy the best quality by carefully reading the packaging labels. All the best.
Praying for crawfish businesses and farmers.
Do you know of anyone who can ship crawfish to the Midwest?
Hendrica- Yes. You can order from many online sources (do a Google search) or from Cajungrocer.com. Thanks.
Hendrica, we are southern Louisiana natives that were transferred to Omaha, NE for 22 years. For 15 or so of those years, we boiled crawfish only once a year as it was expensive to ship them to us. We split the cost with 2 other couples so it wasn’t as expensive. I discovered Cajun Grocer online that I ordered from. They will overnight ship anything they have right to your door. We were always pleased with the quality of the live crawfish & they never failed to arrive overnight. Their Boudain is good too.
Here’s a drive-through place in my neck of the woods – Covington, Louisiana:
https://www.facebook.com/BayouBoilNGeauxCovington/
I’m their best customer!
What can us out-of-state people do to support them?
Thanks Kelly. You can order online. Just do a Google search and you will find lots of Louisiana sources who will package and ship frozen tail meat, whole boiled crawfish, and even live crawfish. And of course you can visit Cajungrocer.com, a one-stop shopping source for most all Cajun foods.
Do you know if anyone is shipping out of state? I would definitely buy frozen tail meat.
Thank you!
Will buying crawfish for mail order help?
Adele- Yes, please search out an online source and order today. Thanks.
Great comment. Any shutdown in consumption works its way back through the supply chain. The effects on processors and restaurants are not appreciated by many.
Thanks Randy.
We support your message. We have always and ONLY bought LA crawfish, even more expensive. It’s hypocritical to claim Louisiana first and buy cheap crawfish from elsewhere. And hypocritical to abhor hard-working immigrants and not accept how they support the Louisiana crawfish farmers.
Does anyone ship or truck to Mexico?
Cindy- I’m not sure if any suppliers ship outside the US. Perhaps one of our readers will have some direction on this.
Goood morning from Harare, George! Hope your day is good. It’s a shame that I am so far from you guys, I would love to order some crawfish.
George, my mom was one of eight kids from Napoleonville, LA. She was one of the best cooks ever, and she created a lot of her own recipes. Growing up, I remember her making stuffed artichokes with shrimp, crabmeat, and garlic breadcrumbs and baked with a sauce on top similar to an aioli. Unfortunately, I didn’t write the recipes down but wondered if you might have had something similar you might be able to share with your readers. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
Hey Dana- I love stuffed artichokes, and my first cookbook Acadiana Table: Cajun and Creole Home Cooking from the Heart of Louisiana has a delicious recipe featuring a crawfish stuffing. Also, stay tuned to my blog as I plan to run another stuffed artichoke story as Spring arrives. All the best.
You might remember Ms. Pete Desormeaux. She was my aunt. I’m from Milton/Chauvin but live in Wimberley, Texas.