Crawfish Season in Austin
Where to buy 'em, where to eat 'em, and how to boil 'em right. Your complete guide to mudbug season in the 512.
Where to Buy Live Crawfish
The best spots in Austin to pick up a sack of live crawfish for your backyard boil.
Quality Seafood Market
$$North Loop
Austin institution since 1938. Live crawfish by the sack in season. They'll also boil them for you on-site.
99 Ranch Market
$North Austin
Huge Asian supermarket with consistently competitive prices on live crawfish. Often the cheapest option in town.
H Mart Austin
$Cedar Park
Korean supermarket with excellent seafood section. Reliably stocked during crawfish season with good prices.
LA Crawfish
$$North Austin
Both a restaurant and a market. Buy live crawfish by the sack or have them boil it Viet-Cajun style for you.
Fiesta Mart
$East Austin
Budget-friendly option. Look for weekend specials on live crawfish during peak season (March–May).
MT Supermarket
$North Austin
Vietnamese supermarket with great prices on live crawfish. Popular with locals who do their own boils.
Best Crawfish Restaurants
Skip the boil and let someone else do the work. These spots serve the best crawfish in Austin.
The Boiling Pot
$$Cajun seafood boils
North Austin
The quintessential Austin crawfish boil spot. They dump your order straight on the table — no plates needed. Messy, loud, and perfect.
Cajun Crawfish Shack
$$Cajun boils
North Austin
No-frills strip mall gem with serious Cajun flavors. Their spice levels range from mild to "call your mama" hot.
LA Crawfish
$$Viet-Cajun garlic butter crawfish
North Austin
The Viet-Cajun garlic butter crawfish is legendary. Rich, buttery, garlicky — a fusion that Austin has fully embraced.
Evangeline Café
$$Traditional Cajun/Creole
South Austin
South Austin's Cajun institution. Crawfish étouffée is the star, but their boiled crawfish during season is the real move.
Shoal Creek Saloon
$$Cajun bar food & crawfish boils
Downtown / Lamar
Downtown-area spot hosting regular crawfish boil events during season. Also serves great po'boys and gumbo year-round.
The Parlor
$$$Upscale crawfish dishes
West 6th
For those who want crawfish with a cocktail in a stylish setting. Their crawfish pasta and seasonal specials elevate the mudbugs.
Classic Cajun Crawfish Boil
Everything you need to throw a proper crawfish boil in your backyard. Feeds 8–10 people (one 30 lb sack).
Equipment Needed
- One large boiling pot (60+ quart)
- Wire basket insert for pot
- Lid for pot
- Outdoor propane cooker
- Large tub or two ice chests
- Stirring paddle (or big spoon)
Ingredients
- Live crawfish30 lbs (1 sack)
- Seafood boil seasoning (Zatarain's or Fruge's)3 lbs
- Small red potatoes8
- Ears of corn8 (halved)
- Small onions8 (halved)
- Fresh garlic2 whole heads
- Lemons4 (halved)
- Fresh mushrooms1 lb
- Andouille sausage (optional)2 lbs (sliced)
- Cold beerTwo six-packs (minimum)
Cajun Secret: Don't skimp on the seasoning. The more garlic and lemon, the better the boil.
Step-by-Step Guide
Rinse the crawfish thoroughly with clean water until the draining water runs clear. No need to "purge" with salt — a good rinse is all you need.
Discard any dead crawfish (straight tails = dead). Live ones will curl their tails.
Fill your large pot about half full with fresh water. Place on the outdoor propane cooker, light the burner, cover with the lid, and bring to a rolling boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, give the crawfish another rinse with cool water. Open a beer. You're going to be here a while.
Add about 1 lb of seafood boil seasoning to the boiling water. Let it dissolve and mix well for a minute or two. The kitchen (or backyard) should start smelling incredible.
Drop in all the halved onions, potatoes, whole garlic heads, and sausage (if using). Let cook for about 10–15 minutes, keeping an eye on the potatoes.
Check potatoes with a knife — slightly underdone is perfect. They'll keep cooking in the ice chest later. Nobody wants crawfish boil mashed potatoes.
Add the corn and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes. Then lower the fire, remove the basket, and transfer the vegetables to a clean ice chest to stay warm.
Crank the heat back up. Add another generous helping of seasoning (~25 oz). Squeeze the lemon halves into the water, then toss the squeezed lemons in too.
When the water returns to a boil, carefully lower the basket of crawfish into the pot. Cover with the lid. Drink another beer while you wait.
Once the water comes back to a rolling boil, let it boil for exactly 2 minutes, then KILL THE FIRE. This is the most important step — overcooking makes them tough.
Add a bag of ice or cold water to stop the boil immediately. This also helps the crawfish absorb more spicy juices.
Let the crawfish soak in the hot, spicy water for 15–20 minutes. Most will sink to the bottom and fill with those delicious juices. Patience pays off here.
Remove the crawfish from the pot and dump into an ice chest. Have a friend sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top while you mix everything together. Let it steam for 5 minutes.
Dump everything out on newspaper-covered tables, or serve straight from the ice chest (keeps things hot). Grab a cold beer, dig in, and enjoy. The vegetables are for guests who can't figure out how to peel crawfish.
Pro peeling technique: twist the tail from the head, pinch the bottom of the tail, and pull out the meat. Don't forget to suck the head — that's where the good stuff is.
Pro Tips
Wisdom from Austin's crawfish veterans. Follow these and you'll boil like a Cajun.
Buy in Peak Season
March through May is prime time. Crawfish are biggest, prices are lowest, and availability is best. Don't bother with early season — you'll pay more for tiny mudbugs.
Don't Overcook
This is the #1 mistake. Boil for exactly 2 minutes after the water returns to a rolling boil, then kill the heat. The magic happens in the soak, not the boil.
The Soak Is Everything
After killing the boil, let crawfish soak 15–20 minutes. This is when they absorb all that spicy, seasoned goodness. Longer soak = more flavor.
Suck the Heads
If you're not sucking the heads, you're missing the best part. The seasoned fat inside the head is liquid gold. Don't be shy — embrace the mess.
Newspaper Is Your Tablecloth
No plates, no utensils, no forks. Dump everything on newspaper-covered tables and dig in with your hands. This is how it's done in Louisiana and how it should be done in Austin.
Check Asian Markets First
99 Ranch, H Mart, and MT Supermarket consistently have the best prices on live crawfish in Austin. They often beat traditional seafood markets by $1–2 per pound.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Crawfish Season in Austin
Crawfish season in Austin has become one of the city's most anticipated culinary events. While Texas doesn't have the deep-rooted crawfish traditions of Louisiana, Austin's food scene has more than made up for it. Every spring, backyards across the city fire up their propane burners, Cajun seasoning fills the air, and neighbors gather around newspaper-covered tables for the communal ritual of the crawfish boil.
Austin's crawfish culture blends classic Cajun traditions with the city's signature melting-pot flavor. You'll find Vietnamese-Cajun garlic butter crawfish at spots like LA Crawfish, traditional Southern boils at Shoal Creek Saloon, and everything in between. The city's Asian supermarkets — 99 Ranch, H Mart, and MT Supermarket — have become go-to sources for affordable live crawfish by the sack, often beating traditional seafood markets on price.
Peak season runs from March through May, when crawfish are at their largest and most plentiful. Early season (January–February) crawfish tend to be smaller and pricier. By June, the season winds down. Whether you're a seasoned boiler or trying your first mudbug, Austin offers everything from grab-and-go sacks to full-service Cajun restaurants. Just remember: suck the heads, pinch the tails, and always keep the beer cold.