Springtime in South Arkansas means crawfish boils and community get-togethers.

BY Rich Fahr Photography By David Pirnique

Few events are more uniquely Southern, or uniquely social, than a springtime crawfish boil.

Having survived another mostly mild winter, those with the know-how herald the brightening year by dunking mudbugs for friends, family and whoever happens by.

Michael Devall of Lake Village has been a keeper of the pot for more than four decades, dating back to his upbringing outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his love of the culinary arts began as a child in his grandmother’s kitchen.

“Mawmaw taught me everything I know about cooking. I would spend weeks at a time with her in the summer,” he explains.

Those lessons included the birthright of every Cajun — developing a personal relationship with roux — and an early indoctrination to the so-called “holy trinity” of the cuisine: onions, bell peppers and celery.

As a teenager, he received his first crawfish-cooking setup and joined the fraternity of those preparing aquatic feasts for others.

“It’s a gathering. It’s a get-together. It’s a celebration,” he contends. “It’s not about the crawfish. It’s about the boil. It’s more about the camaraderie.”

Devall made it clear that for this kind of party, there’s no RSVP required.

“Everywhere I’ve been in Louisiana, we cook crawfish in the front yard,” he says. “It’s almost like there is a beacon, a crawfish signal above your house.”

“It’s a gathering. It’s a celebration. It’s not about the crawfish. It’s more about the camaraderie.”

—Michael Devall

Putting on a boil is not inexpensive. Devall’s back-of-the-paper-towel math says to plan for each boil attendee to eat about 4 pounds of crawfish. This year’s early season prices are about $4 per pound, or about $16 per person. The seasonings and vegetables can push a hundred bucks, and propane is about $30 per tank. For a group of a dozen people, the cost can easily top $300, on top of the sizable investment in the equipment.

Devall, who has competed in crawfish festivals and put on boils at housewarming parties, weddings and other occasions under the banner of Big Sexy Cooking Co., says a crawfish boil consists of three parts — equipment, preparation and cooking — and each one is singularly important.

His setup begins with a full 20-pound propane tank, which holds enough fuel for two bags (30-35 pounds each) of crawfish and the fixings, and stand. He uses a 120-quart pot and mesh basket, with a stainless steel paddle for stirring.

The most important piece, though, is not part of standard, off-the-shelf fish/crawfish cooking kits, which come with a propane regulator that pumps out 10-15 pounds per square inch of pressurized gas. That sort of heat will get the job done — eventually — but greatly increases the time necessary to heat up the water. Devall uses a 60 PSI regulator, which creates much more heat.

“It sounds like a jet engine,” he says.

Preparing the crawfish to boil is essential, Devall stresses. “Crawfish live in the mud, and when they get harvested, they are just covered. So, you have to get them clean, or all you will be able to taste is that mud.” He puts them in a tub or ice chest and rinses them until the runoff water is “crystal clear”.

Then, it’s time to light the fire.

Devall’s recipe and perspective have changed over time, coming down to a simple mantra of highlighting the crawfish and avoiding extras, keeping his water-to-seasonings ratio small.

“Less is better,” he cautions. “The more I put in there, it doesn’t add to the flavor. All it does is soak up my flavor.”

He also says the recipe for a given boil can vary, depending on the preferences of the attendees.

“Some folks like them spicier. Some, not so much. So, feel free to add whatever you want or take out what you don’t. This is just what works for me.”

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Purge the crawfish of any mud by rinsing as many times as necessary.

2. Add water to pot, and into basket add Louisiana Seafood Boil seasoning, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, new potatoes and onions.

3. Put pot on fire, cover and bring to a rolling boil.

4. Remove basket from pot and add crawfish and sausage. Put basket into pot and cover.

5. At this point, the additional ingredients will cool off the water. Wait for the water to come back to a rolling boil and cook the crawfish for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. (The boiling time can vary, depending on the maturity of the crawfish; later in the season, the boiling time increases to 5 to 6 minutes.)

6. Turn off the heat and add corn and mushrooms.

7. Allow the pot to cool for 20 to 30 minutes. (The longer the “soak” the spicier the crawfish become.)

8. “Every five minutes, I will be using my paddle to push the crawfish and corn and mushrooms down into the water,” Devall notes.

9. By the time they are ready to consume, the crawfish will have soaked up the spice-infused water and sunk to the bottom of the basket.

10. Toss the contents of the basket onto a clean surface and enjoy — with others.