Crayfish boil (kräftlag)

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg crayfish (see Note)
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups dark beer (stout or porter are suitable)
• ½ cup sea salt
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 bunches fresh dill, chopped
• 1 bunch dill, whole
• 3 lemons, sliced into wedges
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 small onion, chopped into large chunks

Instructions

Combine the water, beer, sugar and salt in a large pot over heat and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Add the chopped dill, two of the lemons, fennel seeds, onion and crayfish. Leave the crayfish to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the shells have turned red. The size of the crayfish will affect how long they need to be cooked for.

Drain the cooked crayfish into a colander and allow them to cool in the fridge.

Serve the crayfish cold, decorated with the remaining lemon wedges and whole bunch of dill, with bowls of dillkräm (dill cream) and romsås (fish roe sauce) and nutcrackers to remove the meat from the claws.

Note

• Crayfish can be purchased live or frozen. Lobster or crab can also be used in this recipe.

Photography by Alecia Wood.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.