New Crawfish/Shrimp Cooker

nolaegghead

SGH said:

nolaegghead said:

Aluminum is better at conducting heat than SS, CI or steel. 

True. With that said, I’m considering building a replica of my boiler out of SS. I have a little bit of 1/4 thick, grade 316SS that I got off of a previous job. It would no doubt be heavier and it would take a little longer to come up to boil, but it would be darn near indestructible. I could circumvent the taking longer to boil by building larger, more powerful jet burners. Just a thought that I have been pondering.

Efficiency isn't really a concern with crawfish boilers.  I topped my big 100 lb tank off yesterday and it did 7 bags, plus ran the fryer about 20 times.  Took 10 gallons (42 lbs) and cost $36.

1/4 stainless would be cool, although I'd guess you'll be pushing 300-400 pounds

SGH

nolaegghead said:

1/4 stainless would be cool, although I'd guess you'll be pushing 300-400 pounds

It would no doubt be heavier. However it would be a stationary unit for the most part. Thinking of leaving that one in the shop (if I do build it). The aluminum one would be used for traveling to events and such. Just a thought I’m kicking around. 

SGH

nolaegghead said:

Height of the season.  Price is going to bottom out soon.

What are y’all paying right now? They are still a tad high over my way right now. 

nolaegghead

SGH said:

nolaegghead said:

Height of the season.  Price is going to bottom out soon.

What are y’all paying right now? They are still a tad high over my way right now. 

I paid $1.99/lb farm raised last Sat from RD.  Stuff we cooked yesterday was $2.19/lb (wild) from a wholesaler.  I've seen it as low as 1.69, but not from a source I'd trust.

nolaegghead

Scottie - trick with shrimp - Throw a few pounds of butter in the boil.  They peel easier, plus, butter.  Also, some umami makes a subtle difference - fish sauce, msg, etc.

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

Aluminum is better at conducting heat than SS, CI or steel. 

My unit is made with 5052 Alloy, which is mixed with, primarily, magnesium and chromium.  It has excellent salt water resistance, and the boil is hot salt water.

the big benefit to 5052 is it bends well without cracking. if he went with the more common 6061 the bends would show more stress and potential cracks now and down the road

SGH

nolaegghead said:

Throw a few pounds of butter in the boil.  

I always do. Sadly I put butter in almost everything

SGH

nolaegghead said:

SGH said:

nolaegghead said:

Height of the season.  Price is going to bottom out soon.

What are y’all paying right now? They are still a tad high over my way right now. 

I paid $1.99/lb farm raised last Sat from RD.  Stuff we cooked yesterday was $2.19/lb (wild) from a wholesaler.  I've seen it as low as 1.69, but not from a source I'd trust.

That’s still way better than what they are here right now. Ours never get quite as low as what y’all can get them for. 

leemschu

SGH said:

leemschu said:

Would love to have access and know how to cook crawfish. Looks awesome.

One day when you are free, give me a call and I will give gladly talk through how I do it and give you some pointers. They are actually very easy to cook my friend. The trick is finding the seasoning that you like best. 

One day I will definitely take you up on that. Just got ripped a new one on our taxes thanks to self employment taxes for my wife so once she simmers down I might get some shipped overnight. I have had them many times but so many people here in northwest TN put so much seasoning on them you can’t hardly eat them. I like spice but not when that’s all you taste and you can’t wipe your mouth without it feeling like your lips are on fire.

SGH

leemschu said:

One day I will definitely take you up on that. Just got ripped a new one on our taxes thanks to self employment taxes for my wife so once she simmers down I might get some shipped overnight. I have had them many times but so many people here in northwest TN put so much seasoning on them you can’t hardly eat them. I like spice but not when that’s all you taste and you can’t wipe your mouth without it feeling like your lips are on fire.

I feel your pain on the taxes. I do a lot of 1099 work myself and it makes it seem like you are paying a lot more in taxes because you are actually having to write a check instead of it just being taken out of your check. But that’s a story for another day. 
As far as the “heat” of the crawfish, you control it two ways. First the amount and type of seasoning you use. Second, how long you let them soak. The longer they soak, the spicer they get up to a point. If I’m not doing anything tonight I will PM you a good basic boil to try and general guide on soak time. 

nolan8v

@SGH

I'd like a copy as well if you don't mind. I'm always interested in trying new ways when I boil crawfish.

SGH

nolan8v said:

@SGH

I'd like a copy as well if you don't mind. I'm always interested in trying new ways when I boil crawfish.

Ask and so shall you receive my friend. 

SGH

YukonRon said:

Very impressive cooking machines. I do like the upgrades, too. Wheels on, has to be convenient as F for dumping/cleaning.

Next to the volume that the boilers will hold, the dump feature is the best thing about them. It removes the risk of knocking a huge pot of hot water over on yourself or others. Also it simply makes the overall cooking/dumping process much safer and easier. The older that I get, the heavier and harder those 160 quart baskets get trying to lift them out of a pot sitting up on a burner that is usually wobbly.  The dump feature was the biggest selling point to me. Takes the “work” out of it if you will.  
And thanks for the kind words ole buddy.  

nolan8v

@SGH

How did the RTIC cooler hold up to the challenge?

Any stains or damage?

SGH

nolan8v said:

@SGH

How did the RTIC cooler hold up to the challenge?

Any stains or damage?

I can’t say yet. Things didn’t go as planned. I have been pretty darn sick since Friday evening. For the most part I have been either laying on the couch or the bed. Really wanted to try it out but I have been to under the weather. Maybe I will be hitting on all 8 again in the next day or two and I will trial run it. 

nolan8v

Since a couple of you have inquired about a basic recipe for boiling crawfish, I thought it would be a good idea to post this link from youtube by way of www.nola.com:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=86&v=BWOScHMcqGM

Good luck!

Wolfpack

Tough return to dry land- hope you fell better soon. 

nolan8v

Thanks again @nolaegghead and @SGH for the ideas and advice. The wheels are an extremely practical must have. 

JRWhitee

@SGH get well Buddy

SGH

nolan8v said:

Thanks again @nolaegghead and @SGH for the ideas and advice. The wheels are an extremely practical must have. 

You are going to really like that rig. Enjoy brother.  

KiterTodd

Did I miss it? Did @SGH post pictures yet of the first epic cook?!?

I can smell it cooking, but I can't imagine what size crowd he is cooking for.  A thing that size can tax even an SGH size appetite! 

westernbbq

Nice crawfish set up there SGH!  You deserve it brother

SkinnyV

Beautiful ... just beautiful!