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Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe

Cajun· Crabs· Seafood

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This Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe is an easy and delicious family favorite crab boil recipe. If you ever wanted to have a Crab Boil but wasn’t sure how to prepare and cook the Crabs.

Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe

I am going to share my husband’s Blue Crab Boil recipe. My husband has been boiling and cooking seafood since he was a young boy growing up on the Bayou in South Louisiana. 

And, this recipe has become a family favorite. I am fortunate that my husband has taught me how to boil seafood the way he knows how.

Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe

 

What is needed to make the Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe?

The first thing you will need is a boiling pot and a propane burner. We use a 160 Qt. Aluminium pot with a strainer basket.

You can use a 90 Qt. Pot or bigger for this recipe.

Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe

 

Louisiana Crab Boil Ingredients

These are the ingredients we used for our Louisiana Crab Boil.

  • Mushrooms 
  • Corn on the Cob
  • Onions
  • Lemons
  • Whole Garlic
  • Small Red Potatoes (Try to buy potatoes in the netted bag. You can throw the entire bag in the boil.) 
  • Lemon Juice
  • Celery 
  • 4 Dozen Blue Crabs (fresh & live)
  • Bag Louisiana Crawfish & Crab Boil (powder)
  • Louisiana Liquid Crab Boil

 

What crab boil seasoning is best to use?

We personally prefer Louisiana Crab Boil seasoning for our crab boils, but you can use your favorite seasoning.

Louisiana Crab Boil just happens to be our favorite Crab Boil mix we use.

There’s many great crab boil seasonings on the market like Zatarain’s or Slap Ya Momma. 

Where to buy Louisiana Crab Boil 

You can buy Louisiana Crab Boil Mix from Walmart, Target, Rouse’s, Winn-Dixie, HEB, and online at Amazon. Also check out your local seafood markets too.  

While we get all the ingredients ready we ice our blue crabs. This is a must so they don’t lose their claws.

Did you know blue crabs drop their claws as a mechanism to protect themselves, this is known as autotomy.

Please be careful when working around open flames and hot water!

Next, it’s time for your crabs to go in the pot along with the vegetables.

Who doesn’t love a crab boil! If you haven’t tried it then it should be a must on your list.

Check out my DIY Homemade Seafood Cooling and Holding Rack.

We made the seafood rack to use for our seafood boils or like some people call them Low-Country Boils. 

 

What can you add to the Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe?

You can add many different ingredients to your crab boil such as: 

  • Artichokes
  • Sausage
  • Hot Dogs
  • Cauliflower
  • Andouilles
  • Bell Peppers
  • Pineapples 
  • Corn
  • Mushrooms
  • Small Red Potatoes
  • Lemons
  • Whole Garlic
  • Onions
  • Oranges

Also, once you have your crabs on a tray you could sprinkle on a bit of Old Bay or Cajun Seasoning on top of them if you like.

DIY Seafood Cooling and Holding Rack

Do you have a favorite seafood recipe? Share it in the comments below.

We hope you enjoy our Louisiana Cajun crab boil recipe or should I say our New Orleans crab boil since I’m from New Orleans.

Honestly, whatever you call it we think our Crab Boil is the BEST! 

Louisiana Crab Boil

Here’s a few more recipes you might want to check out like my Louisiana Crawfish Boil recipe. We think you’ll love our crawfish boil.

And, my other Louisiana Seafood Boil recipe and all my seafood recipes. 

Maybe next time I’ll make a Louisiana Seafood Boil in a Bag recipe. Now doesn’t that sound good?!

more crab recipes

 
 

Crab Printable 

You can download and print out this FREE funny printable on cardstock. 

Crab Printable

 

Louisiana Crab Boil

Louisiana Crab Boil

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

This Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe is an easy and delicious family favorite crab boil recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 Dozen Blue Crabs (fresh and live)
  • 4.5 lb. Bag Louisiana Crawfish & Crab Boil (powder)
  • 1 - 8oz. bottle Louisiana Liquid Crab Boil
  • 4 Lemons cut in half
  • 1 cup lemon juice fresh or bottle
  • 3 Garlic Whole
  • 2 Onions cut in half
  • 1 package Celery
  • 1-2 lbs of Sausage
  • 1 Pack Whole Mushrooms
  • 6-8 pieces of Corn
  • 1 Bag Small Red Potatoes (about 15 )
  • 7 Gallons of Water
  • 2 - (8-10 lbs) Bag Ice

Instructions

1. Rinse your Crabs off and place them in a large ice chest with the plug unplugged, so the crabs don’t drown from melted ice. Pour 1 bag of ice over the crabs. This step is necessary. Pouring ice over the Crabs and immersing them will cause them to be dormant, so they don’t lose their claws. Let the crabs sit on the ice for at least 1 hour before cooking them. 

2. Pour 7 gallons of water into the boiling pot, add the bag of seasoning, the bottle of liquid seasoning, and lemon juice in the pot. Stir seasonings, then place the sausage, potatoes (we boil the potatoes in the netted bag it comes in), mushrooms, onions, garlic, lemons in the strainer basket and place into the boiling pot until the water comes to a boil.

3. Once the water comes to a boil, lift the strainer basket out of the water then pour the crabs into the basket and place back into the water.

4. Add the Corn and Celery to the pot. Doesn’t it look delicious? You can use any sausage you like. And omit anything you don’t like.

5. Let the crabs and the other ingredients in the boiling pot cook for 10 minutes once they come to a boil.

6. Once the Blue Crabs and the other ingredients are finished cooking turn off the propane burner and pour the remaining bag of ice into the pot. Let the crabs sit in the pot for 20 minutes before removing them from the pot. * Please keep children and animals away from the pot when cooking and when removing hot food.

7. Using thick gloves or oven mitts carefully remove the strainer basket from the pot and pour the contents of the basket onto a table covered with newspaper or pour everything onto a seafood cooling rack.

8. Turn the crab’s belly side up. This keeps the juice from leaking out which keeps the crabs from drying out. Feeds 4-6 people depending on how much they eat! Make sure to grab lots of paper towels and your favorite beverage before sitting down to eat your Crabs. Enjoy!

© Kim Seghers
Cuisine: Cajun / Category: Dinner

 

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Louisiana Crab Boil Recipe

This post was updated 10/14/2020

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kym Mitrov says

    Hi do you need the liquid crab oil or can you just use the packet of seasoning – is there a substitute?

    Reply

    • Kim Seghers says

      Hi Kym, I have never boiled the crabs without the crab boil but I guess you could try it. As long as you use the bags of powder mix. You may not get the same flavor though. Sorry I couldn’t give a better answer. Kim

      Reply

  8. Samm says

    So, where I live we cant normally get live crab, do you have any advice fro doing something like this with pre-cooked crab?

    Reply

    • Kim Seghers says

      Hi! Are the crabs steamed and whole or frozen and not cooked? If not cooked but just frozen you could boil them the same way but you omit the ice. I would boil a few to try them out first. Hope that helps, Kim

      Reply

  10. KimSeghers says

    Hi, Sonja! Thank you for the kind words. Boiling seafood isn't hard, figuring out the amount of seasoning is the hardest part! Thank you for taking the time to visit. Kim

    Reply

  11. KimSeghers says

    Hi, Irion! Yes, I live on the Northshore. You live very close to me. You know crawfish and crabs make a great breakfast!!! lol Have a great weekend, Kim

    Reply

  13. KimSeghers says

    Thank you so much! I think it's interesting to see how people from different regions cook their food. I love blue crabs and have tried it steamed when I lived in Missouri. I love my season the way I was raised here in Louisiana, you should try it boiled with the seasonings!!! Have a lovely week, Kim

    Reply

  15. KimSeghers says

    Thank you Gail! I have never eaten snow crabs before, but I have eaten Alaskan Kin Crab. Do you steam your crabs with or without seasoning? Have a great Sunday, Kim

    Reply

  19. KimSeghers says

    Thank you, Eva! Cooking crabs isn't hard. You can also adjust the recipe and cook a dozen of crabs in a big pot on your stove top. If you have questions just message me! Kim

    Reply

  20. KimSeghers says

    Hi Lydia! I use to crab like that when I was a child, too. My parents use to take me and my siblings to Grand Isle! What great memories. Have a lovely day, Kim

    Reply

  21. KimSeghers says

    Jane, you're so kind! Thank you for the compliment we are not professionals by any means we just having been boiling seafood since we could walk practically ..lol! Crabs are really simple to make don't let the process stop you from trying to make some for yourself and your family! Have a lovely week, Kim

    Reply

  22. KimSeghers says

    Thank you Traci! And of course you can do it!! It's really simple. Use a smaller pot and cook on the stove just cook 1-2 dozen at a time in a big aluminium pot adjust the water to the size of the pot or use a 60qt pot outside or bigger and half the recipe. Good luck! Kim

    Reply

  23. KimSeghers says

    Thank you, Jennifer! Boiling Crabs isn't really isn't has hard as people think. I think the hardest part is waiting for them to cook! lol You should definitely give this recipe a try you can also half the recipe and use a smaller pot like 60qt. Have an Awesome week! Kim

    Reply

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