Low Country Boil

The first time I heard of low country boil was when someone posted on reddit asking for a recipe.  Intrigued, I looked it up to discover it was kind of like a clam bake, but with shrimp.  Basically, you boil a large pot of water, douse it with Old Bay or crab boil (which apparently is a spice sachet you can buy, but I couldn't find any at my local grocery store in Boston) and then add potatoes, corn, smoked sausage, and shrimp in succession.  Then you drain it, and--here's my favorite part--dump it onto a newspaper-lined table to eat outside without any plates and utensils.  How fun is that?  (Apologies for the vertical filming.)

 

After looking up a bunch of recipes, I decided to also add a lemon and onion to the water, although I only had half a lemon and half an onion left in my fridge.  Feel free to use a whole lemon (halved) and a whole onion (quartered) if you like.  You could probably also use less potatoes, but I really wanted to leftover potatoes to make some hash the next morning, so I threw in the whole 3 lb. bag of potatoes.

Low Country Boil
serves 4

4 quarts water

1/2 lemon

1/2 onion, quartered

1/4 cup Old Bay (plus more for serving)

3 lbs. red potatoes

4 ears of corn, shucked and cut in half

14 oz. kielbasa links, cut in half

2 lbs. shell-on raw shrimp

Add the lemon, onion, and Old Bay to the water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes and let cook for 15 minutes.

Add the corn and kielbasa and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the shrimp, give it a good stir, cover the pot, and turn off the heat.  Let sit for about 4 minutes, until the shrimp are pink.

Drain the contents of the pot (I just poured everything into the pasta insert that I set in my sink).  Line an outdoor table with lots of newspapers, and dump the low country boil onto the newspaper.  Serve with additional Old Bay.  Enjoy!

Next:  Watermelon Agua Fresca and Popsicles
Previously:  Papaya Milk and Papaya Milk Popsicles
Last Year:  Potatoes Boulangère
Four Years Ago:  Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce