How to Host an Epic Crawfish Boil

How do you host an epic crawfish boil? Check out the details from our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil to find out! Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to help you gather supplies!

A crawfish boil is one experience you need to have in your lifetime. It’s possibly the best spring party that includes food, drinks, and fun. Since our friends were so enthusiastic about our first crawfish boil last year and we love crawfish, we went bigger at our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil!

Check out all the details and the 10 things you need to host an epic crawfish boil.

1. Location
My backyard was the setting for this big shindig. We spent most of the time outside because crawfish is messy! We had plenty of space to boil the crawfish, eat the crawfish, and play games.

2. Equipment
We borrowed a tent, big boiler, table, benches, big trash cans, and a drink trough. We had extra tables and chairs, and we asked friends to bring their own lawn chairs and coolers also. We had a big cooler for storing the crawfish as it was ready to eat. We wrapped trays in foil and had a pitcher to scoop the crawfish. The size of the boiler will depend on how much crawfish you’re cooking. The bigger the boiler, the bigger the crawfish batch, which means less time spent cooking! We had a pot for crawfish and another for veggies.

3. Crawfish
Ah, yes, the star of the show! We got our fresh crawfish from a local restaurant and picked it up the day of the event. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE POUNDS. Yes, we ate all of it. They were boiled with a crawfish boil seasoning in the pot, and butter and cilantro was added afterwards.

4. Sides
Crawfish boil sides are like the whipped cream on top of a sundae. We had batches of mushrooms, potatoes, green beans, and corn on the cob boiled separately from the crawfish. I suggest getting more sides than you think you’ll need. We definitely could have doubled (or even tripled?!) what we had. (We had two large containers of whole mushrooms, six ears of corn, two five-pound bags of potatoes, and one bag of green beans.)

5. Drinks
While beer is the typical drink that goes with crawfish, we also had plenty of ingredients for mixed drinks. Margaritas, Moscow Mules, spiked Arnold Palmers, jello shots, and almost every flavor of Deep Eddy Vodka showed up.

6. Dessert
My rice krispies have become the expected dessert at parties. I made two pans last time and they disappeared in a minute, so I went for four pans this time around. Four pans of rice krispies makes for a gigantic tower. They still disappeared too early! Why are they so good? It’s the Smitten Kitchen recipe and the secret is the brown butter. You’re welcome and enjoy.

7. Music
Of course a party has to have music! We owe it all to Spotify.

8. Yard Games
What do we do when we’re full on crawfish and need to take a break for a bit? Yard games! KanJam, cornhole, and flip cup kept us occupied.

9. Unique Touches
You can have all the above but the unique touches are what help you go the extra mile. Since the party was in the backyard, a sign on our front door led the way. Dessert is always a necessity in my opinion! In the past, we’ve gotten these crawfish bibs and I almost got these cute crawfish beads. If you want to set up a photobooth, this crawfish tablecloth can serve as a step-and-repeat backdrop.

10. Friends Who Love Crawfish
And possibly the most important ingredient for an epic crawfish boil and the reason for the event in the first place are friends who love crawfish! We had 135 pounds of crawfish, which was roughly four pounds per person, though some ate more or less. Thankfully, we had nearly 40 people there to help us eat all of it!

If a nine-hour crawfish boil isn’t epic, I’m not sure what is! Thank you to all our awesome friends! We couldn’t have done it without friends volunteering to help and friends celebrating a beautiful Saturday and crawfish season with us.