Southern Crawfish Boil

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds yellow or white onions, quartered
• 4-6 garlic heads, halved
• 6-8 lemons, halved
• 1 large package (73 ounces) seafood boil seasoning*
• 3½-4 cups salt
• ½- ¾ cup creole seasoning
• 8-10 bay leaves
• 4-6 pounds small red Idaho® potatoes, some left whole, others halved
• 3-4 pounds Andouille sausage, optional
• 10-12 mini frozen corn on the cob
• 3-4 artichokes, optional
• 35-40 pounds live fresh crawfish, purged

Directions:

1. In a very large (60-80 quart) pot, half-filled with water, place pot on a jet-style propane burner set on high heat.
2. Add onions, garlic and lemon halves. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat (this can take a while to come to a boil, give yourself about an hour for this step).
3. Add in the seafood boil seasoning, salt, creole seasoning, bay leaves, and potatoes.
4. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
5. Add in the sausage, simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add in the mini corn and artichokes and simmer an additional 10 minutes. 
7. Add crawfish, return to high heat and cook for 5-10 minutes. When you start to see small gaps start to appear between the head and the tail on the largest crawfish, you'll know they're ready. Turn the heat off and let the crawfish rest in the hot liquid for 20 - 30 minutes before serving.
8. Line a large sheet pan with newspaper or parchment paper. Pour mixture through a large colander basket, or you can use a large spider strainer (slotted spoon) to remove crawfish and vegetables from water. Place crawfish and vegetables on a pan or newspaper lined table.
9. Serve with extra creole seasoning, hot sauce, or remoulade if desired. 

Notes:

*I prefer Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp, and Crab Boil

If you don't have a large enough pot, you can half the recipe if needed and cook in a smaller pot in batches.