When it comes time for Valentine’s Day, I stay far away from the restaurants. Why? Many restaurants jack up their prices just a bit for the night, knowing that it’s a full house. On top of that, there are many amateur eaters that go out that night and you hear things like “Do you have any A-1 sauce?” as the dry aged bone in rib eye (cooked well done) hits the table.
This year, I decided to do a Grilling Man Crawfish Boil and Barbie.
I found a box of frozen crawfish for sale at a local food mega-store in a down and out part of town. Oddly, I’ve never seen a box of crawfish for sale at the suburban or higher end shops. I don’t know why, because they are healthy and delicious (and also a bit of a pain in the ass when it come to fishing out the few bits of meat they contain).
TGM BOIL AND BARBIE CRAWFISH
Get your hands on some crawfish. For three of us, I used a four pound box and that seemed like a pretty good amount. Figure roughly a pound per person. If you can’t find crawfish in your area, you can mail order (both fresh and frozen) here, here, and believe it or not through Amazon here.
Get the biggest pot you have and fill it about 3/4 with water. Place on the stove and get it to boiling. Go outside and get a medium heat offset fire going on your charcoal grill (about 3/4 of a starter chimney).
Have at the ready (amounts are for four pounds crawfish, adjust as needed):
- A big supply of Old Bay Seasoning. You’ll need about a cup in the end.
- Four ears of sweet corn, each cut in half (end up with eight minis)
- Four sweet onions, chopped in half
- Four pounds red potatoes
- Four to six links high quality and super yummy andouille sausage (my source is Kramarczuk’s – some of the best sausages in the country). Slice them into two inch sections and if you want to look cool slice them on the bias.
Keep the pan on the grill for about 15 minutes, building up smoke along with some heat to finish off the cooking process. (Note the pan itself is uncovered, but we use the lid of the grill to contain the heat and smoke.)
Stir every five minutes (but stir gently, trying to avoid breaking off the cute little legs of the crawdads).
Mrs. Grilling Man ready to enjoy a meal
When ready to serve it’s as simple as placing the pan on the table, and having lots of picks, forks, and paper towels nearby. To do it right, be sure to put some Buckwheat Zydeco on the the playlist and crank the volume.
It’s a grand meal that works great for a crowd. Let me know what you think.
That is one beautiful dish. I could almost taste it as I read your description.
Incredible!! I totally plan on trying this out.