INGREDIENTS

• 1     pound     Shrimp (heads still on)
• 1/2     pound    Butter (2 Sticks)
• 1/2    large     White or yellow Onion (small dice)
• 4     cloves     Garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1/4     cup    Worcestershire Sauce
• 1     Bottle     Abita Amber Beer (or any good craft brew amber lager)
• 1    lemon     Juiced
• Garlic powder
• Coarse Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• CajunLand Crab/Shrimp Boil (Powdered), or Cajun seasoning

METHOD

• Lay shrimp in one layer in a large Pyrex baking dish, sprinkle with kosher salt and grind a LOT of black pepper
• In a large saucepan, melt a bit of butter and sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic for a few minutes, then the two sticks of butter.
• When butter has liquefied, add each seasoning while stirring – garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, crab boil, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Add the olive oil, squeeze in the lemon, stir, and then add about half of a bottle of beer (6-8 oz.).  It may foam up, so watch your heat on the stove.
• Keep stirring; drink the rest of the beer.
• When the foam from the beer subsides, pour the sauce over the shrimp in the baking dish; make sure the shrimp are covered by the sauce (or nearly covered).
• Place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, stir, then another 5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and cooked.
• Remove from oven and let rest for at least five to ten minutes.
• Serve in a bowl with lots of sauce and pieces of po-boy bread for dipping.

INGREDIENTS

• sack of CRAWFISH (35 pounds)
• 1 container of commercial seafood boil (a container sold to do a sack of crawfish or hamper of crabs contains all seasonings you need for a basic boil and depending on the brand will be about 4 lbs) I like Cajun Land complete Crab-Shrimp-Crawfish Boil but Zatarains also makes a good one)
• 2 ONIONS cut in half
• 2 LEMONS cut in half
• 2 heads of GARLIC cut in half
• Optional: 3 lbs small red creamer potatoes, small ears frozen corn and smoked sausage cut into 2 inch pieces.

METHOD
1.     Start off by washing the crawfish well with water until the water runs clear. You can do this using the pot you will boil the crawfish in. After they are cleaned place them in the basket along with the onion, lemon and garlic and set aside.

2.     Add water to the pot to a level half way up the pot and place the pot on the burner.

3.     Place the potatoes in the water and light the burner. Bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until they are almost done then remove from the water and set aside. Add the commercial seafood seasoning to the pot and boil for 5 minutes to let flavors blend.

4.     At this point carefully lower the basket into the water and cover. When you add the seafood the water will stop boiling. Turn up the heat and wait for the water to come back to a rolling boil. Add the potatoes, corn and sausage when it starts to boil. When it comes to a rolling boil start the timer. Boil the crawfish 2-4 minutes (2 minutes for small and 4 minutes for large) then remove the cover and turn off the heat. Crabs would be 8-12 minutes.

5.     You will notice that boiled seafood will tend to float because of air trapped under their shells. Add enough ice to change the temperature and stop the cooking and the seafood will sink. This also allows the seasonings to soak in. Allow the crawfish to soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Test after 15 minutes and remove when they are spicy enough. To remove just lift the basket enough to drain. You can place 2 flat sticks on the basket and place the pot on the sticks so the water will drain into the pot and not on the ground.

NOTES

• For a little extra kick add 2 oz of cayenne pepper and 2 oz of hot sauce (not Tabasco) along with the commercial seasoning.
• Be careful where you dump the seasoned water, the salt will kill your grass.

courtesy of Ken Lacassin
www.NolaFoodie.com