Authentic Low Country Boil

from ButterYum

makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

    • 8 cups water

    • 6 tablespoons old bay seasoning (or more)

    • 1 1/2 pounds red skinned potatoes (about 2-inches in diameter)

    • 6 ears corn, shucked and cut into 2 or 3 pieces

    • 1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage links, cut into 3-inch lengths

    • 1 1/2 pounds shell-on, deveined shrimp

    • Garnish: melted butter, lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, chopped fresh parsley

ADDITIONAL:

    • lots of napkins or a roll of paper towels

DIRECTIONS

    1. In a 10 to 12-quart stockpot over high heat, combine water and old bay seasoning.

    2. Add potatoes and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

    3. Add corn and continue cooking for 10 minutes

    4. Add sausage, cover the pot, and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

    5. Add shrimp, cover the pot, and continue cooking just until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes (it’s okay if the shrimp aren’t submerged in the cooking liquid).

    6. Turn off the heat; remove potatoes, sausage, corn, and shrimp from cooking liquid and serve with butter, lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, and plenty of paper towels.

NOTES

    • Feel free to add a sliced onion or two to the cooking liquid.

    • Feel free to add a beer or two to the cooking liquid.

    • If your stockpot has a pasta insert that’s deep enough to hold all the ingredients, use it. It will make removing the cooked ingredients from the hot cooking liquid fast and easy.

    • Feel free to add additional seafood such as oysters, clams, crab legs, crawfish, etc.

    • Some sides to consider: coleslaw, crusty bread, sliced fresh garden tomatoes.

    • Low country boil is also known as “lowcountry boil” and “frogmore stew”.

    • For the most festive presentation, serve directly on a table covered with several layers of newspaper. When it’s time to clean up, just roll up the newspaper containing all the empty corn cobs and shrimp shells and throw it away. If you’re concerned about moisture damaging your tabletop, place a plastic tablecloth under the newspaper.