Bengt’s Swedish Crayfish Boil
Pro tip:
Check our your local farmers market to see if they have dill crowns (flowering dill) for a true authentic Swedish broth!
There has been one Swedish tradition I’ve never attended in Sweden and that is the Swedish crayfish party, or a “kräftskiva”. When I typically visit Sweden, it’s almost always over the last two weeks of June for Midsommar - and the crayfish season “officially” starts on August 8th.
When I launched my Swedish food concept in the Bay Area, I connected with members of the Swedish American Patriotic League about cooking for some of their upcoming events. One event they had in mind was a traditional Swedish crayfish party. They had hosted them in years past, but hadn’t done one recently and they were eager to continue. I jumped on the opportunity to cook for this event and then realized I had never made crayfish the “Swedish” way. I’m embarrassed to admit, I thought they broth had similar seasonings to an American crayfish boil (spice, bay leaf, salt). However, we use a broth that really lets the crayfish meat shine and consists only of water, salt, and fresh dill crowns (also known as flowering dill). In some cases, you can add dark beer to the broth, but it is not necessary - it’s completely up to you!
I recently visited my family in early July, once again missing the Swedish crayfish party season by a few weeks. I was bummed about this, but none of our travels had lined up to visit in August. To my amazing surprise, my Aunt Karin had organized an early crayfish party for me to teach me how to host one. It was an incredibly sweet gesture, and while we couldn’t find the live crayfish yet, the pre-cooked variety we had tasted amazing and gave me a perfect idea of what flavor profile I needed to go for.
I came home and tested out a family friend’s recipe (that’s Bengt!) and it was delicious. If you have ever wanted to give it a try, now is your chance!
Bengt’s Swedish Crayfish Recipe - Serves 2 individuals at 1.5 lbs crayfish each (multiply as needed)
Ingredients
3 lbs crayfish
4-6 liters of water
40-50 grams of salt per liter of water (calculate how much salt to add to water in pot after you determine how much water was needed)
2 heads crown dill (plus a few sprigs saved for garnish)
Optional: 1 bottle of dark beer
Instructions
Purge the crayfish before cooking by submerging them in a large pot of water for at least 30 minutes. Optional to drain water and add more to repeat a second time (preferred, but not always necessary). The water should be muddy before you repeat.
Add 4-6 liters (there are about 4 cups in a liter) of water to an *at least* 8 QT stockpot. This size will work for 3-5 lbs of crayfish at once.
Calculate the amount of salt you need depending on the final volume of your water. The general rule of thumb is 40-50 grams of salt per 1 liter (or 4 cups) of water. If you have 6 liters of water, you will need to weigh out 240-300 grams of salt.
Optional: Add 1 bottle of dark beer. This adds an additional level of sweetness to the broth.
Bring the mixture to a boil and add in the dill crown bunches.
Quickly drop the crayfish into the boiling water a few at a time and put the lid on. The crayfish need to boil between 5-6 minutes (or when they’re bright red and floating to the top).
Prepare an ice bath in your sink or an additional tub and when the crayfish are finished cooking, pour into bucket/tub and pour ice on top. Reserve the cooking liquid as you can keep the crayfish in this broth overnight as it chills to add more flavor!
Combine the chilled crayfish and chilled broth into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
Serve the next day!
🍓 Amelia
