Cooking with the JETS

Seafood Boil

My family, like all other families, loves to eat when we all get together.  We have some favorites that we’ve enjoyed regularly through the years, such as smoked pork shoulders, fish fries, and there’s always a pizza night.  

This past July, Larry and I decided to take the makings of a family size Seafood Boil to my brother’s house in the mountains for everyone to enjoy.   If you decide to do one yourself, be prepared, it’s not just a meal, it’s an event. We started with a recipe, but of course, ended up adding a bit more seafood than it called for.  Due to lack of availability, our crawfish and crab legs were pre-cooked, however the shrimp were raw.

We had our Seafood Boil outside, using a large turkey fryer, with a strainer basket, to do the cooking.  We also prepped a 5 foot table with paper ahead of time, to spread out our seafood bounty when it’s done cooking. 

Below are the ingredients, of course you can add or remove any seafood that you want to from the recipe, as long as you leave the base. 

2 Zatarain’s Crab “n” Shrimp Boil in Bags

Old Bay Seasoning

½ cup Salt

Thyme – 10 sprigs

3  - 4 large onions, peeled and quartered

8 sticks of Celery

2 whole bulbs of Garlic, peeled and top cut

4 - 6 Lemons, cut in half

8 - 10 ears of corn, cut in half

About 20 New Red Potatoes, either small or cut in half

3 lbs. of Andouille Sausage, cut into 2 inch pieces

3 - 4 lbs. large raw shrimp

                                                                                   4 - 6 lbs. of crab legs

                                                                                   6 lbs. of crawfish (I also added some                                                                                                                                crawfish meat for those that don’t want                                                                                                                              to pick the whole crawfish).

Instructions:

Bring the water to a boil in a covered pot.

·       Add garlic, Zatarain’s spice bags, thyme and salt.  Boil for 15 minutes.

·       Add potatoes – boil for 7-8 minutes

·       Add corn – boil for 5 minutes (if the corn is frozen you may need to turn up the heat to get the water boiling again).

·       Add Andouille sausage – boil 8 minutes.

·       Squeeze lemons into pot and then throw them in along with the onions and celery.  Boil 3 - 4 minutes.

·       Add shrimp, crab legs, and crawfish.  Boil for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp turns pink.  Don’t overcook.

 If you don’t want to eat right away, turn off the heat, pour a bag of ice into the pot and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, lift the basket out of the pot and allow it to drain.  Immediately pour the seafood and goodies out onto your prepared table.  

We also had hush puppies and butter, because you can’t have a proper seafood boil without them.

Wanda,
GemstonesonMyMind