Crawfish probably won’t be a part of the next ones, he said, because the season is over mid-July, so adjustments will be made to the menu. Salapack plans to host monthly seafood boils in July, August, September and October. “We like to keep things interesting here.” “We have people who came to the first (seafood boil) and have come back for every one since,” Salapack said. At $40 a head, the bountiful feast and the experience surrounding it felt like a real good value and an unforgettable experience. There was plenty of food, which was fresh and delicious, and seemed even more so when consumed in the open air. Things quieted down as everyone began communally eating, using their hands as necessary. All the boiled items were piled on along with dinner rolls, with Salapack sprinkling more of the creole spice onto the seafood. Once everything was ready, there was a race to fill the trays that quickly were delivered to each table.

The entire cooking process took about an hour, with anticipation building and people enjoying draft beer and lively conversation in the summer heat. The water must return to a boil between each round. Salapack has developed a certain precision to his boiling process because “each thing has its own cooking time.” First in are the potatoes, then crawfish, then clams, then mussels - all seafood is cooked in mesh bags - then the sausage and corn. “We first go in with the taters, to soak up all that goodness.” “It’s paprika, garlic and onion with a little bit of heat to it,” he said. To the tank of water, Salapack added a Creole boil spice provided by the crawfish purveyors. I feel like we’ve gotten better at it.”īack to the boiling. “The first couple (of boils), we were asking people to take a ride. I wanted to get something going on the patio,” he said. He’d never attended a seafood boil before hosting his first one in 2017. “It’s tricky cooking it all, 300-something pounds of food boiling in a tank,” said Salapack, who snagged his tank used for $150 at a roadside stand in Delaware County.

Sublime smoke