Crab Boil
Crab Boil is a mixture of whole spices, such as bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seed, and crushed red peppers. If you're prepping for a big seafood event you're going to want to have a good crab boil on hand. Crab boil is the spice you use to flavor the water that you're boiling crab in. You can, of course, use it for other shellfish as well. Many people use a store bought crab boil but they're easy to make from spices you probably already have in your rack. This easy crab boil spice mix may be used for shrimp, crawfish, lobster, or crab.
Zatarain's is a popular brand, which has been around since 1889. Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil contains brown mustard seed, coriander seed, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, dill seed, and allspice. Boiled seafood in southern Louisiana tends to be spicier than that found in other parts of the country. Homemade crab boil recipes call for abundant amounts of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, bay leaf, lemon, and garlic. Mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and allspice are popular extra options. Many people will start with a commercial crab boil product and then supplement it with extra hot pepper.
Crab Boil Spice Mix
from https://www.epicurious.com/, GOURMET, February 1995
From Maryland to Georgia, crabs are a prized part of the American diet. If the crabs need to be boiled before other steps in preparation, a commercial crab boil such as Old Bay seasoning is often used. For the lucky few, though, there's homemade crab boil, an all-purpose seasoning that, besides for shrimp and crab, can also be used for crawfish.
1/4 cup pickling spices
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons dried hot red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons ground ginger
5 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced dried chives
1/4 cup sea salt
In a food processor combine all ingredients and pulse until mixture forms a coarse powder. Crab-boil spices keep in a well-sealed container for several months in a cool, dark place.
Makes about 1 cup.
Crab Boil
The spices used in a crab boil are similar to pickling spice. It is used for boiling shrimp, lobster, crayfish and crab. The ingredients are: mustard seed, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, coriander, bay leaves, ginger, dill seed and caraway seed. For a hotter blend, add some crushed hot peppers.
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons dill seeds
5 dried bay leaves
1 small piece dried ginger
Makes about 1/3 cup.
Crawfish, Shrimp and CRAB BOIL Seasoning
Chuck Taggart, https://www.gumbopages.com/
Or, as we always called it, just "Zatarain's" (pronounced ZAT-uh-rans), after the most popular local brand of crab boil. It's a packet of spices that you just throw into the water in which you boil your seafood, and makes it spicy-yummy-wonderful. Just make sure you don't get it near your face and inhale, or you'll be sneezing uncontrollably for several minutes!
It's now widely available in the United States, but not elsewhere in the world. If you live in an area where it's not available, make your own, and have Louisiana-style boiled shrimp, crabs or crawfish anytime. Works well with any kind of shellfish (I'd love to try boiling langoustines in this elixir sometime!).
4 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole allspice
2 tablespoons dill seeds
1 teaspoon whole cloves [this is not listed as an ingredient in Zatarain's]
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
8 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne pepper (or liquid hot sauce) to taste
Combine all dry ingredients thoroughly. Place in a square of muslin or cheesecloth and tie securely with string, like a large sachet d'épices. Add salt and cayenne or hot sauce to the water to taste, then bring to a boil.
When water for seafood is boiling, add the bag and boil for several minutes, until the boiling liquid is tinted and seasoned, then add vegetables and/or shellfish and cook until done, depending on what you're using.
Yield: Enough crab boil seasoning for 5 pounds of seafood.
