SERVES 6

As with most dishes from South Louisiana, there are many methods of preparing boiled or steamed seafood—and they're all good. One of the easiest and most common is to simply use a premixed bag or bottle of crab boil, but we like this Acadian recipe.

1 cup salt
2 heaping tsp. cayenne
1 large onion, quartered
1 large lemon, quartered
1 small head of garlic, unpeeled
6–8 small new potatoes, unpeeled
2–3 medium onions, unpeeled
3 ears of corn, cut in half
12 crabs or 5 lbs. crawfish

1. Fill a large, deep pot with about 6" water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salt, cayenne, onion quarters, lemons quarters, and garlic. Cover pot and let boil for 20 minutes.

2. Add potatoes, whole onions, and corn to the pot and continue cooking another 5 minutes.

3. Add crabs (or crawfish). When water returns to a boil, cook for 8 minutes. Drain and serve. Everything will come out well seasoned and delicious.