It’s Crawfish Season!
If that means anything to you then you know how difficult it is to find great mud bugs {or a great family-friendly restaurant!}. It needs to be really great, not too salty or spicy and not too bland and cold. On our spring bucket list, we like to have our own boil with a giant group of friends, so my husband has the perfect blend of spices that makes the perfect boil. If that’s not your love language, we have compiled a list of where to get the best crawfish in the Houston area.
How to Cook it at Home
For a successful crawfish boil, you’ll need a giant stock pot, a burner, a couple of bags of crawfish, some seasoning, and a few other things to be successful.
You can buy your crawfish in bags of 30-35 pounds at the local grocery store {HEB or Kroger} or food distributors. On the day of your boil, call the store and make sure they have enough for you. We also like calling around to get the best price. We recommend 3-5 pounds per person.
When you get your sacks, you’ll need to open the bag and put them {alive} in a cooler or ice chest and cover them in ice. Now we purge our crawfish. You will need salt for this process. I recommend cleaning your crawfish in the cooler first by rinsing them at least once. Fill the ice chest with water and empty the water through the hole in the bottom of the ice chest. Then spread salt across the crawfish. Leave the salt on for 15 minutes and rinse them again, using the same process as below. Purging removes impurities in the crawfish, like mud or grass.
Up next you need to get your water heating up and seasoned. We buy this cajun seasoning or whatever is next to the crawfish/seafood section. We do 1 bag of seasoning for every bag of crawfish we cook. {My husband adds one and a half bags of the seasoning, an entire bottle of crab boil, and Tony Chacherie’s for an extra kick} While the water is heating up, squeeze some {6} lemons and throw them in there, throw some peeled garlic cloves, and some red potatoes in there {approximately 1-2 per person at your boil}. My husband adds oranges into the pot as well for extra citrus. Cover the pot and let the water boil.
Now you can add crawfish to your seasoned, boiling water. You will need a giant scoop for this. You can also add some sausage, mushrooms, and corn {again, 1-2 per person} and let it cook on top. They take the shortest time to cook. Crawfish are cooked when they turn a lighter red color and float to the top {within 5-12 minutes}.
Wearing gloves, grab the inside slotted pot and pour the bugs and sides on a trash bag covered table. That’s right. Cover the table with a black trash bag for easy clean up. We either get these giant trays or just throw it all on the table.
The Best Houston Area Restaurants for Cooked Crawfish
We asked our experts – our Houston moms – for the best place to take your family during crawfish season. Here are the winning locations:
District 249 {23238 State Highway 249Tomball, TX 77375}
Big N’s BBQ and Crawfish {4034 Katy Hockley Cut Off Road Katy, TX}
The Crawfish Connection {2020 N Houston Ave Houston, TX 77338}
Woodson’s Local Tap + Kitchen {4127 Riley Fuzzel Rd Suite 100 Spring, TX 77386 AND 2330 Farm to Market Rd 1488 Conroe, TX 77394}
Bou-Shay’s Cajun Smokehouse {3435 SH-146Bacliff, TX}
Crawfish Cafe {1026 N. Shepherd Dr Houston, TX 77008}
BB’s {Locations throughout Houston}
Hans’ Crawfish Services {15920 FM 2920 Tomball, TX 77377}
Have you tried any of these Houston favorites? And for those crawfish chefs out there, we would love to hear how you make it at home. Throw in some corn, potatoes, and sausage, and you have yourself a party!
It’s also important to note that crawfish season is usually mid-January to June, so go get messy and enjoy those mud bugs, Houston!
Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates, Nordstrom, and Target Affiliate Program, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com, Target.com, Nordstrom, and affiliate sites.
Pin this post and be sure to follow
Houston Moms
on Pinterest!
