Tobacco Road 12th Annual Crawfish Boil & Seafood Fest

Miami’s oldest bar is turning 100 this year and this past weekend it hosted its 12th Annual Crawfish Boil and Seafood Fest. It’s amazing to think that it has been ten years since I first came across Tobacco Road. It was a love affair from the start; from endless happy hours with buckets of Carib, Road Burgers, and amazing live music, to being where Leslie and I first met. It’s not just the personal memories, there is inherent history in this bar that you feel from the minute you step through the door.

I have to admit, this was our first time at the Road’s Crawfish Boil, but as soon as we arrived we knew it’d be a good time. This festival is not just for the crawfish enthusiast, people from all walks of life come together to enjoy good fresh seafood, cold drinks, and live music. In spite of the weather which was not cooperating at times, we—along with a few hundred people—were happy to squeeze in under the tents. At the center of the festival, the crew from Rosey Baby dished out the Mudbugs, Gumbo, and Shrimp Po’boys, while The River Seafood & Oyster Bar provided Fire Roasted Oysters. Along the perimeter, local food trucks like Ms. Cheezious, Latin Burger, and Los Chamos offered their seafood creations along with their regular fare.

As opposed to the smaller backyard boils we’ve been to, [ like this one ] the process here was slightly different. For starters, the crawfish were boiled 50 lbs a batch in two massive square kettles with metal strainers. A hoist was used to transfer the crawfish between kettles. Once cooled, they were lifted to a nearby table and given a final dusting of spice. Having to keep up with the demand of hundreds of festival goers produced short soak times, that didn’t allow the crawfish to take in enough spice. This left the heads lacking of juices and the meat a little bland. But, as the day went on the soak times increased as did the flavor being imparted to the crawfish. The price per order was $18 for about a pound of crawfish.  It seemed a bit steep, considering the average person can put down 3 to 4 lbs.

What’s a Cajun inspired festival without some live music? Taking the stage first were The Wholetones, a local band playing a cool mix of bluegrass, folk, and punk. They were followed up by a Tobacco Road staple IKO IKO with their brand of “urban swamp blues.”

Closing out the night with some cold beers, good tunes, and great company made for another memorable night at the Road. But, we couldn’t leave without having a Grilled Blue and Bacon (or two) from Ms. Cheezious, not exactly Cajun, but a temptation too good to pass up. Whether you make it out to Tobacco Road for a festival or are just stopping in after work, you are bound to have a good time making your own history and being a part of theirs.

It’s crawfish season! For many that means nothing. But, those who have had the privilege of being part of a boil know it signifies a long standing tradition; one that has deep roots in Louisiana — a culturally rich state with amazing food. Gathering around a newspaper-lined picnic table with family and friends, cold beer in hand, to savor these small succulent crustaceans is almost ceremonial. Luckily for us, our southern friends Kricket and Trent have transported this bayou tradition to their backyard in Miami. 

This is a no frills event; none are needed. A backyard, picnic table, newspaper, and a roll of paper towels should do it. It’s not about creating an environment; the environment is naturally infused by the smells of the food and laughter of those involved.

The boil is an all day event; a ritual that begins with the crawfish and gets perfected with every batch: where you buy them (in Miami, it means getting them shipped overnight), how you clean them, how you prepare them, and how you eat them. Anyone who enjoys a boil will tell you, the process of eating them is a ritual in its own right. You start by breaking the crawfish and sucking the head… no really, suck the head! All the spices, juices, and natural fats from the crawfish collect here, giving you a rush of flavor. Next, peel off the first segment of the shell around the tail, pinch the end, and pull with your teeth. If done correctly, the tail meat should pop right out — a technique (art form) that requires some practice.

Our day started with the sound of a propane burner and wrapped up with the stroke of a guitar; the perfect end to another boil… And the anticipation for next season’s boil begins.

 

Ingredients

40 to 50 pounds live crawfish, rinsed and washed

4 (1 pound) bags seafood boil

2 (3 ounce) bags crab boil

Salt to taste (you will need a lot more than you think)

2 pounds of small red potatoes, cleaned but not peeled

6-8 onions, peeled and halved

15-20 ears of corn, frozen

8-10 large lemons, halved

5 pounds sausage (cut into 3 inch pieces)

water

Equipment

A 10-gallon pot with basket

Propane jet burner

Kitchen gloves or towel

1 large ice cooler

Instructions

Place the cooking pot with its basket on the propane burner and fill halfway with water. Add 1-1/2 bags of Seafood Boil, 1 bag of crab boil, salt, 3 halved onions, and 3 lemons halved and juiced. Cover and bring to a boil. After 10 to 15 minutes, taste the stock and adjust the salt and spice to desired levels.

The amount of crawfish you do per batch depends on the size of your pot (in our case, about 7 lbs per batch). To rinse the crawfish, pour into a large cooler, fill with water and allow to drain. Continue until the water runs clear and discard any dead crawfish. Some believe that the use of salt assists in the rinsing, but salt can kill the crawfish in the process, so we just let the water do its thing.

Once the stock is ready, add 6 to 8 potatoes and 1 pound of sausage and allow to cook for about 10 minutes.  Add 5 to 6 halved ears of corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, pour the crawfish into the pot and return the stock to a boil, about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat off and allow the crawfish to soak for an additional 10-15 minutes with the lid off. This is when they absorb most of the flavor.  Occasionally pull out a crawfish and taste it, you want to make sure the head is juicy and the meat has absorbed the right amount of spice. Depending on the desired taste, the amount of time the crawfish is allowed to soak can be adjusted as you go.

Remove the basket from the pot, allow to strain.  Dump the mouth-watering contents on a newspaper-lined picnic table, crack open an ice cold beer and enjoy.

Repeat.