How to do a Shrimp Boil
A classic summer feast, this easy shrimp boil combines red potatoes, sweet corn, smoky sausage, and juicy shrimp all boiled in a zesty season and spread out for everyone to enjoy! It's a fun hands on meal perfect for gatherings, minimal prep, quick cooking, and almost no clean up!
Equipment
- 1 24-36 quart turkey fryer with basket
- 1 outdoor gas burner
- full natural gas tank
- elbow length heavy duty oven mitts
- table covering newspaper, brown paper, plastic party tablecloths
- paper towels
Ingredients
- 2 packs Zatarain's Crab, Crawfish, Shrimp Boil Spices
- 30 whole small red skin potatoes
- 10 ears sweet corn
- 5 small white onions peeled, leave whole
- 2 pounds andouille sausage, fully cooked cut into chunks
- 10 pounds peel and eat deveined shrimp
- 2 whole baguettes
- 1 cup butter
- 12 ounce bottle cocktail sauce
- 5 whole lemons cut into wedges
- salt & pepper
Instructions
Prep
- Thaw shrimp. Clean and cut corn. Peel onions. Clean potatoes. Cut up sausage. Place each element to the boil in it's won bowl or pan.
- Set up table, cover with plastic table cloth, or paper, or both. I will sometimes lay down a disposable plastic tablecloth and cover it with brown paper.
- Put butter, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges in small dishes that can be spaced out on table.
- Cut baguettes into 4 inch long chunks and place in two baskets one for either end of the table.
- extras: salt & pepper shakers, lemon pepper, siracha, hot sauces what ever extras your people might like to dip their shrimp in.
Timing out the boil
- One hour before you want to eat, fill pot 2/3 full of water. Set up your burner, make sure your gas tank is full and that your burner starts. Then start to warm water. It takes at least 45 minutes to bring this much water to a boil, unless you start with warm water.
- Add spice packs to water when it starts boiling, lift strainer up and down to stir up the spices in the water.
- 25 minutes before you want to eat add potatoes, and onions to the boiling water.
- 5 minutes later add the corn to the pot
- 15 minutes later add sausage
- 10 minutes after sausage add shrimp. Shrimp only need 2-3 minutes to cook if they are fully thawed.
- Using oven mitts lift up on the strainer pot handle and give the pot a couple bounces to release any excess water from the strainer.
- Clear a path to the table you've already prepared and ask someone to help as you pour the shrimp boil down the length of the table, because the food tends to want to roll off the table.
- Now place your sauces, butter, lemons, salt & pepper and paper towel strategically around the table so everyone has access, and dig in!
Clean up
- After everyone has had their fill, place leftovers in zip-loc bags or sealable containers. I separate out each element into different containers.
- Start at one end and roll up the tablecloth with all the shrimp skins, corn cobs, paper towels and what not and throw it in the garbage.
Notes
Adjust the shrimp boil accordingly per person if you have more or less than 10 people.
1 pound peel & eat shrimp per person
1 cob of corn person
3 potatoes per person
1 onion per every 2 people
1 pound of sausage per every 5 people
Nutrition
Calories: 984kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 79gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 676mgSodium: 3590mgPotassium: 2014mgFiber: 5gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 168IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 270mgIron: 3mg
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