Our low country boil recipe is a one-pot, easy-going, all-you-can-eat, roll-up-your-sleeves mouth-watering summer meal for a crowd.
- 3 pounds medium size shrimp, shell on
- 2 pounds smoked sausage I like to use half andouille and half kielbasa
- 6 ears fresh corn on the cobb shucked and cut in half
- 3 pounds new potatoes like small red or gold, any kind of boiling potato
- 2 medium sweet onions, optional peeled and quartered
- 5 medium lemons washed, 2 quartered, 2 cut in wedges, 1 juiced
- 3/4 cup Old Bay seasoning or 4 (3 ounce) bags shrimp boil seasoning from Zatarain's
- 3 Tablespoons kosher salt split
- 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped for garnish
- 1 cup cocktail sauce
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional or to your liking
-
Fill a large pot with about 5 quarts (20 cups) water. Add onions, the 2 quartered lemons, seasoning and 2 Tablespoons kosher salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and
let cook for about 15 minutes. -
Add potatoes, cook covered until tender, about 5-10 minutes
depending on the size of the potato. -
Add smoked sausage and corn, cook for about 5-10 minutes.
-
Add shrimp and cook until pink, only about 3 minutes or so. Drain.
-
While the water simmers, make your lemon garlic butter. Melt butter over medium heat, add garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon hot sauce. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
-
Once drained and on the newspaper or in bowls, top with chopped parsley.
Serve with cocktail sauce, hot sauce, lemon wedges and lemon garlic butter.
You can cook a low country boil inside or out. Outside is the preferred method, really because it lends the vibe of an outdoor party, it also keeps the odor and mess outside. But you can do either way.
Outside, a turkey fryer setup is ideal. With a large pot and steamer insert hooked up to propane.
Inside, use your largest pot with a lid and preferably with a steamer insert.
If your pot isn’t big enough then cook in the order in the recipe for the low country boil, but drain after each step. Meaning cook the potatoes then drain directly from the steamer. Return steamer basket to the pot and add the smoked sausage and corn, cook then drain.
Finally add the shrimp.
Serve on newspaper covered table, directly on the newspaper. Or use large bowls or platters. Let the diners serve themselves.
Dessert: cobbler and ice cream is a great choice