Low country boil

Wooderson

No worries about the hijacked thread.  I would expect the gulf to show up a guy from Indiana trying to create southern goodness . Nice cook @nolaegghead.   My next cook will have the crab legs

SonVolt

We hosted a shrimp boil a couple weeks ago and some less than savory guests (my in-laws) asked for butter and sour cream and commenced making fully loaded baked potatoes with their small red potatoes. 

jeffwit

rekameohs said:

Wooderson said:

Fingerling potatoes, shrimp, corn on the cob, onion, andouille sausage, turkey smoked sausage, lemon.  Old Bay seasoning, butter, fresh garlic, lemon juice, cracked pepper and seav salt and some water. 350, indirect, bring to a boil until potatoes are tender.  Serve with warm wheat bread to mop up the juice . Welcome to flavor country.

Every one of these I have been to, the corn is always soggy.  Is it supposed to be that way?  I would rather have it out the microwave than soggy.

Also, it seems many people put the shrimp in way too early and over cook them.

When I do it, I get the pot rolling, put in the potatoes, wait 10 minutes and put in the corn and sausage, wait 10 minutes and put in the shrimp, wait 2 minutes and pull the basket out. I typically use 16-20 count shrimp, so size may make a difference. 

Foghorn

Great cook @Wooderson.  I'd hit that all night long.

nolaegghead

SOP around here is to buy frozen corn and throw that in at the end to act as "ice cubes" to cool down the boil so the "soak" doesn't overcook everything.  The other technique is to hose down the sides of the pot and stir.  I've dropped a heat exchanger coil in the boil and run water through it.  The soak goes on quite a wile with crawfish and crabs....taste every 10 minutes until the salt level is good.  The heat will be a function of your spice relative to the salinity of the boil.  You can also over-salt and over-spice the boil and add ice.

northGAcock

Thought i might add a little historical perspective for the Low Country Boil (originated in SC and referred to as Frogmore Stew locally). I was fortunate to grow up (many may challenge that this has occurred) near Beaufort (also knows as Beaufort stew) through my early years. The base has probably been tweaked with the addition of added ingredients, modifications to the seasonings etc. through expansion. At the end of the day....the concept is sound. You might find the links below interesting.....I had never heard of the frozen corn trick Nola mentions above. We all learn things here

http://hiddencharleston.com/southern-cuisine-history-frogmore-stew/

http://www.wideopeneats.com/low-country-boil/

Killit_and_Grillit

@Wooderson great post. I've been back and forth on what I wanted to do for the 4th of July and I think you just changed my direction.

@nolaegghead your backyard has the all the tell-tale signs of a madman. But I will hand it to you, you can throw a hell of a shindig.

northGAcock

SonVolt said:

We hosted a shrimp boil a couple weeks ago and some less than savory guests (my in-laws) asked for butter and sour cream and commenced making fully loaded baked potatoes with their small red potatoes. 

They from up north?

fishlessman

northGAcock said:

SonVolt said:

We hosted a shrimp boil a couple weeks ago and some less than savory guests (my in-laws) asked for butter and sour cream and commenced making fully loaded baked potatoes with their small red potatoes. 

They from up north?

up here we use the 2 pound bugs for the boil, maybe his guests didnt see the point of 2 ounce bugs

SonVolt

northGAcock said:

SonVolt said:

We hosted a shrimp boil a couple weeks ago and some less than savory guests (my in-laws) asked for butter and sour cream and commenced making fully loaded baked potatoes with their small red potatoes. 

They from up north?

North Alabama.  I can't begin to describe how ridiculous a golf ball sized loaded baked potato looks next to a plate of boiled shrimp, corn and sausage. 

nolaegghead

Another tip with these:  On the soak step, drop a pound or two of butter in the boil.   It will melt and float on top.  When you pull out the food it will coat it and make shrimp and crawfish easier to peel, and add an extra level of flavor that complements the spice.

SonVolt

nolaegghead said:

Another tip with these:  On the soak step, drop a pound or two of butter in the boil.   It will melt and float on top.  When you pull out the food it will coat it and make shrimp and crawfish easier to peel, and add an extra level of flavor that complements the spice.

Explain the soak step... is it just so the seasonings have more time to "brine" the food? Do you also do this with quick cooking shrimp?

nolaegghead

SonVolt said:

nolaegghead said:

Another tip with these:  On the soak step, drop a pound or two of butter in the boil.   It will melt and float on top.  When you pull out the food it will coat it and make shrimp and crawfish easier to peel, and add an extra level of flavor that complements the spice.

Explain the soak step... is it just so the seasonings have more time to "brine" the food? Do you also do this with quick cooking shrimp?

It's not the ideal way to do shrimp.  Throw them in last and cool down quick.  It's really better to do them separately if you have crawfish or crab.  The problem with shrimp is the shells don't peel well when they overcook.

Fortunately, mine peeled well and the seasoning was just right.  The crabs could have soaked longer.

With crawfish, I'll throw in the potatoes, garlic, onions, citrus, bring to a boil and let it go 10 minutes, then dump the crawfish, sausage and crab in and bring to a boil.  Let it boil about a minute and turn off.  At that point add corn and stuff that cooks quick like mushrooms, brussels sprouts.  Start cooling it down with a hose.  Typically takes 30 -45 minutes to soak to get the enough salt and spice in the meat.

You put shrimp in a boil bag (net) and pull them out early.

SonVolt

nolaegghead said:

SonVolt said:

nolaegghead said:

Another tip with these:  On the soak step, drop a pound or two of butter in the boil.   It will melt and float on top.  When you pull out the food it will coat it and make shrimp and crawfish easier to peel, and add an extra level of flavor that complements the spice.

Explain the soak step... is it just so the seasonings have more time to "brine" the food? Do you also do this with quick cooking shrimp?

It's not the ideal way to do shrimp.  Throw them in last and cool down quick.  It's really better to do them separately if you have crawfish or crab.  The problem with shrimp is the shells don't peel well when they overcook.

Fortunately, mine peeled well and the seasoning was just right.  The crabs could have soaked longer.

With crawfish, I'll throw in the potatoes, garlic, onions, citrus, bring to a boil and let it go 10 minutes, then dump the crawfish, sausage and crab in and bring to a boil.  Let it boil about a minute and turn off.  At that point add corn and stuff that cooks quick like mushrooms, brussels sprouts.  Start cooling it down with a hose.  Typically takes 30 -45 minutes to soak to get the enough salt and spice in the meat.

You put shrimp in a boil bag (net) and pull them out early.

Interesting. Could you just salt water brine the seafood the night before like you would a turkey? Guess that wouldn't help with the other seasonings though... 

nolaegghead

SonVolt said:

nolaegghead said:

SonVolt said:

nolaegghead said:

Another tip with these:  On the soak step, drop a pound or two of butter in the boil.   It will melt and float on top.  When you pull out the food it will coat it and make shrimp and crawfish easier to peel, and add an extra level of flavor that complements the spice.

Explain the soak step... is it just so the seasonings have more time to "brine" the food? Do you also do this with quick cooking shrimp?

It's not the ideal way to do shrimp.  Throw them in last and cool down quick.  It's really better to do them separately if you have crawfish or crab.  The problem with shrimp is the shells don't peel well when they overcook.

Fortunately, mine peeled well and the seasoning was just right.  The crabs could have soaked longer.

With crawfish, I'll throw in the potatoes, garlic, onions, citrus, bring to a boil and let it go 10 minutes, then dump the crawfish, sausage and crab in and bring to a boil.  Let it boil about a minute and turn off.  At that point add corn and stuff that cooks quick like mushrooms, brussels sprouts.  Start cooling it down with a hose.  Typically takes 30 -45 minutes to soak to get the enough salt and spice in the meat.

You put shrimp in a boil bag (net) and pull them out early.

Interesting. Could you just salt water brine the seafood the night before like you would a turkey? Guess that wouldn't help with the other seasonings though... 

You throw the crabs and crawfish in live.  In my case, the crabs looked dead in that pile but they were just pulled out of an ice chest and could barely move.