How to do a Shrimp Boil for family & friends

A summer tradition that brings everyone together

There’s no better way to celebrate the season than to host a summer shrimp boil with family and friends. The joy of gathering around simple but delicious food is indescribable. Every year, we look forward to this communal feast – whether it’s in our backyard or at our cottage. It’s an informal, interactive shrimp boil that everyone looks forward to. It’s not a successful summer if we didn’t host a shrimp boil.

Why I love this meal

Many years ago, we purchased a shrimp boil for ten people at an auction for our kids’ school. It was incredibly fun, so we bought a big pot and called our previous hosts for best practices. They graciously shared all their tricks and tips with us. The rest is history. We have been doing a shrimp boil every summer since. I love it because it’s something our whole family looks forward to, it’s super casual, very easy to prepare for, and it keeps people at the table eating with their hands for a very long time. What could be better than spending an hour or more at the table with all your favorite people, with shrimp and butter up to your elbows? Nothing!

Why you’ll love hosting a shrimp boil

• Effortlessly social and interactive – no plates or forks needed! Makes for a memorable summer meal!
• Easy clean up, spread out brown paper, newspaper, or plastic tablecloths or both on to tables, let your guest dive in, then when it’s all done roll up the waste and toss it in the garbage!
• Quick cooking – have a feast in under 25 minutes. Shrimp go from raw to perfectly pink in just a few minutes. Cook the potatoes, corn, and onions for 15-20 minute then add the shrimp and it’s done before you know it!
• It’s versatile – you can add sausage, or other shell fish, spice it up or down, make it your own.

Gather these ingredients

Equipment you will need for a successful & easy shrimp boil

• A large turkey fryer with a gas burner. We purchased ours at Cabela’s. They can also be purchased on Amazon. Make sure the pot comes with a strainer with a sturdy handle.
• Long heavy duty oven mitts are needed because you will be dumping large amounts of food into boiling hot water, and the water will splash.
• Gas tank, for your gas burner. Make sure that your gas tank is full because there is nothing worse than your gas tank running out in the middle of your shrimp boil!

Step-by-Step Shrimp Boil Cooking Timeline

Step 1: Prep everything ahead of time. Thaw shrimp, wash produce, cut corn into small pieces, slice lemons, slice sausage, and get butter and sauces ready.

Step 2: Set up tables outside in a comfortable location near where you will be setting up your shrimp boil cooking station. Cover tables with newspaper, brown paper, or plastic tablecloths for easy cleanup. Often, I will cover the table with a dollar store plastic tablecloth and then lay brown paper over the plastic. 

Step 3: Start the boil. Fill large pot with strainer 2/3 full of water, and bring to a boil. If you are using cold water from a hose this may take a while to get the water boiling so be sure to start this process at least one hour before you want to start cooking your seafood feast. When water starts to boil, add seasoning packets, and give the water a stir.

Step 4: Cook in stages:

• Potatoes and onions 20 minutes
• Corn 15 minutes
• Sausage 5 minutes
• Shrimp 2-3 minutes

Tips for the Perfect Shrimp Boil

• Kid-friendly options: Sausage or hot dogs cut into bite-sized pieces add flavor and make the dish more appealing to little ones. 
• Prepping: Get your ingredients all prepped. Thaw the shrimp. Clean the potatoes, onions, and corn. Cut up sausage if using. Get your butter out and into dishes, or if you want to make it really easy, buy some of the squeezable butter in bottles and set it on the table. Cut up your lemon wedges. Put cocktail sauce in small dishes. 
• Pro-tips on setup: Prep the pot and table well ahead, enlist helpers (kids can lay out newspaper!), and place all the sauces, extra seasonings, lemon wedges, baskets of baguettes, and paper towels near the table so that as soon as the shrimp boil is placed on the table, these elements can be put on the table. It’s also nice to have a few small waste baskets at either end of the table for people to dispose of their paper towels. 
• No Fuss Clean-up: Ensure the table has at least two layers of paper on it. Then, when the meal is finished, you can roll up the mess and voila, presto change-o! Throw it in the garbage, and your mess is all gone!
• Make it memorable: the informal drop-your-face-on-the-table feel, shared laughter, casual peeling and eating a meal with your hands creates unforgettable moments every time! If you wanted, you could purchase bibs. 

WARNING: Dinnerware is not a part of this meal. This can be a problem for some guest. If you sense they are ready to pack it up and head out, then by all means get them a plate, but most people with a little nudge, will see that it is really fun, and they will get over it and dig in. Full on drop their face on the table kinda fun!

This meal takes time, the peeling of the shrimp, the tearing of the bread. It’s a little bit of work, but great memories and conversations revolve around this type of meal. I hope you give it a try it becomes a summer tradition for your family as well!

I would love to hear from you, please drop a not in the comments if you do a shrimp boil, let me know how it went, I’d love to hear from you! XO Sheila