How to Boil Blue Crabs Louisiana Style the Right Way

Alright… last Friday we talked about how to go out and catch a mess of crabs here in Southwest Louisiana. Early mornings, chicken necks, rubber boots… the whole deal. Well now it’s Friday again… and I got to thinkin… what good is catchin all them crabs if you don’t know how to cook ‘em right?

I came across a guide from LACrawfish.com, and I’ll be honest… this is about as Cajun as it gets. Simple, no fluff, just straight up good eatin.

How to cook Blue Crabs

First off, you’re gonna need about 1 to 2 dozen live Louisiana blue crabs. That’s your main event. Then grab you a pound of seafood boil mix. Don’t overthink it… the good stuff already has all the flavor packed in. Lemons too. Couple of ‘em. If you wanna take it up a notch, throw in some onions and a little garlic. Not required… but man it don’t hurt.

Rinse them crabs off good. I mean really rinse ‘em. Then get that pot goin. Big pot. Fill it up, dump in your seasoning, and bring it to a hard boil. Not a little simmer… I’m talkin rollin.

When it’s ready, grab your tongs and drop them crabs in one by one. From the back side… unless you feel like learnin a painful lesson. Legs goin down into the water. Let ‘em cook about 10 minutes. You’ll know you’re close when they float. But don’t pull ‘em yet… give it another couple minutes.

Now here’s the part a lotta folks mess up… you gotta shock ‘em. Dump in a bunch of ice. I’m talkin 5 to 10 pounds depending on how much you got cookin. This cools ‘em down and lets all that seasoning soak in. You’ll see ‘em sink… that’s what you want.

Then just let ‘em sit. 10 to 15 minutes. The longer they soak, the more kick they got. That’s up to you… how brave you feelin. After that… pull ‘em out, dump ‘em on the table, and get ready. You better have napkins. Lotta napkins. It’s gonna get messy, and that’s kinda the point.

One more thing… and this is important. When you crack one open, flip it over and pull them gills out on the sides. Don’t eat that. Trust me. End of the day, this ain’t just about food. It’s about hangin out, laughin, gettin your hands dirty, and enjoyin life a little. Around here, that’s just how we do it.