Shrimp and Crab Boil is shrimp and snow crab clusters boiled in seasoned water and scattered on newspaper down the center of the table for fine causal dining.
A one pot meal is always a bonus for the cook. The casual personality of this meal makes eating fun, too. The ease of preparation and entertaining eating style makes up for the cost of seafood. This isn’t the most economical meal you’ll ever make, unless you catch the shrimp and crabs yourself. If shrimp and crabs are not in your weekly food budget, think of this as a special occasion meal.
We’re blessed to have all the kids and grandkids together for a meal on Mother’s Day. And, let me tell you, we threw down on this fantastic seafood feast.
Shrimp, crab, potatoes and corn scattered on newspaper.
Cover the table with newspaper and scatter the food down the center of the table. Everyone grabs what they want to eat and goes to town. I place around plates of softened butter for corn and potatoes and bowls of cocktail sauce for dipping the shrimp.
My grandchildren are going through a typical preschooler picky eater phase so their dinner consisted of American cheese and sliced tomatoes. I don’t even think they ate corn-on-the-cob. Of course, they raided our blueberry bush before dinner time so I think they were far from perishing when we sat down to the dinner table.
We fed seven hungry adults with only a few pieces of corn and a couple of potatoes left over. Every last bit of shrimp and crabs were gone. History. Consumed.
In my article for Frogmore Stew, I shared my method for cooking with smoked sausage and shrimp. I included smoked sausage for added flavor and to make the meal a little more economical. I left out sausage this go around and we didn’t miss it at all. I added in crab legs and would have loved some crawfish but we couldn’t find any.
This remains a favorite meal for our family. I’m sure the grandchildren will get out of their picky eating stages and enjoy fine seafood as much as anybody. Until then, I will keep American cheese and tomatoes on hand for them.
Try Instant Pot Crab Boil for a delicious seafood boil in an instant pot.
Y’all come see us!
Shrimp and Crab Boil
yield: 8 to 10 servings
I use a canning pot that is 13 inches wide and 9 inches deep. I’ve had the thing for so long that I don’t remember the quart capacity. It was slam full of all the ingredients for this meal. In fact, when I laid the crab leg clusters on the top to steam, the lid wouldn’t close completely.
2 large seafood seasoning bags ( I prefer Zatarain’s crawfish, shrimp and crab boil in a bag)
1 tablespoon liquid seafood seasoning (I prefer Zatarain’s liquid concentrated shrimp and crab boil)
1/2 cup kosher salt
3 lemons, halved
2 limes, halved
10 small to medium whole potatoes (I used half red and half Yukon gold), washed
8 to 10 ears of corn, fresh or frozen
5 pounds medium to large raw Gulf harvested shrimp, unpeeled
8 to 10 snow crab clusters
Fill large (very large) pot about 1/3 full with water. Add seafood boil seasoning, dry and liquid, salt, lemons and limes. Cover and bring to a boil. Be patient. It takes some time to get a pot this big heated to boil.
Add potatoes, bring to boil, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add corn, bring to boil, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add shrimp first and then place crab clusters on top. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit at least 10 minutes up to one hour. The longer it sits, the more flavor the seafood and vegetables absorb. This batch sat in the seasoned water for about 45 minutes. We thought it had just the right amount of good spicy flavor. If you’re uncertain, test some of the shrimp after 15 minutes. If it tastes good to you, you’re ready to eat. If you want more flavor, let it sit longer.
Drain the pot. You’ll need some help. The pot is heavy and cumbersome. Be careful not to get burned from the steam.
Scatter the contents on newspaper. Have softened butter and cocktail sauce on hand.
Dig in.
Shrimp and Crab Boil
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon liquid seafood seasoning I prefer Zatarain’s liquid concentrated shrimp and crab boil
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 3 lemons halved
- 2 limes halved
- 10 small to medium whole potatoes I used half red and half Yukon gold, washed
- 8 to 10 ears of corn fresh or frozen
- 5 pounds medium to large raw Gulf harvested shrimp unpeeled
- 8 to 10 snow crab clusters
Instructions
- Fill large (very large) pot about 1/3 full with water. Add seafood boil seasoning, dry and liquid, salt, lemons and limes. Cover and bring to a boil. Be patient. It takes some time to get a pot this big heated to boil.
- Add potatoes, bring to boil, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add corn, bring to boil, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add shrimp first and then place crab clusters on top. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit at least 10 minutes up to one hour. The longer it sits, the more flavor the seafood and vegetables absorb. This batch sat in the seasoned water for about 45 minutes. We thought it had just the right amount of good spicy flavor. If you’re uncertain, test some of the shrimp after 15 minutes. If it tastes good to you, you’re ready to eat. If you want more flavor, let it sit longer.
- Drain the pot. You’ll need some help. The pot is heavy and cumbersome. Be careful not to get burned from the steam.
- Scatter the contents on newspaper. Have softened butter and cocktail sauce on hand.
- Dig in.
Connie says
We have cooked this for years…it’s always a great meal. We even put some onions in our pot for flavor….we add some olive oil to make the shrimp easier to peel…goes great with a big garden saled and toasted garlic bread…..
Jackie Garvin says
Connie,
I’ve added onions before, too. This is one of our favorite things to eat. I just wish shrimp and crabs weren’t so expensive.
Meredith says
We add Conecha brand sausage. It flavors the potatoes wonderfully! We had a shrimp boil at the beach for our wedding reception. Yes, we got married barefoot on the beach!
Jackie Garvin says
Meredith,
I usually add Conecuh, too, my my son can’t tolerate beef or pork. When he’s eating with us, I leave it out and add a little more seasoning.
Tania says
We cook this outside in a turkey fryer with the lift out draining basket. We use beer instead of water and we add kielbasa. We pour it out on a newspaper covered picnic table and chow down. It’s a BIRTHDAY favorite.
Ann says
Won’t the shrimp over cook if left in the hot water?
Jackie Garvin says
Not for the time I specified. It soaks up some of the seasoning and becomes more flavorful. You can omit that step if you’d like.