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Needed: Authentic Louisiana Shrimp Boil recipe

R

rdstoll

is one Smokin' Farker
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Location
North Barrington, IL
I’m charged with doing a shrimp boil and wanna do it right. Too many recipes out there from Food network, NY Times etc. I ain’t buying it.

Does anyone have a recipe they’d like to share. I got the basics:
Unpeeled shrimp
Corn on cob
Red potatoes
Andouille sausage
Spice (probably not Old Bay but something like that)

What I’m not sure of:
Garlic - lots of it?
Bay leaves?
Timing - what goes in the pot when

Any help from the Brethren?!
 
Personally, I like Louisiana Fish Fry products

laff_5_oz_boil.jpg


Stuff that needs cooking in first (potatoes).

I put the shrimp in last, then turn off the heat.

Let it sit and marinate for a good 20-25 minutes, then strain and serve.
 
Zatarans 100%. We usually half 6-8 lemons and throw them in, the garlic is good too. You can also add mushrooms, but we add in some franks hot sauce and really anything else creole-ish you can think of.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
There are a lot of variations.
I season the pot water first with
Cajun seasoning ( I like Swamp Dust)
Salt
Onions
Garlic
Lemons cut in half (I squeeze the juice in and drop the halves in the pot)
Cayenne if needed
Taste the water, adjust seasonings
Then I add
Smoked sausages, andouille (it flavors the water too)
Next the tatoes, (I like to use small red, keep them uniform in size for even cooking time)
When the tatoes are not quite tender I add
Corn on the cob
Crawdads
The Shrimp goes in last, it cooks quick.

You can add mushrooms, asparagus, etc., but I usually leave them out. If my best friend is here, I add crab legs. lol

Turn the heat off and let everything soak up the flavors.

I serve with garlic bread, garlic butter and horseradish cocktail sauce.

Just like gumbo, you'll fine many variations on this.

Good luck!


http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230093&highlight=crawdads

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243024&highlight=crawdads

A couple of camp boils...
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143798&highlight=crawdads

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216149&highlight=crawdads

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....and a boil for 300..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176612&highlight=crawdads

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with beverages. lol

Beer meets ice...
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Brings back good memories.... :laugh:
 
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I second the reccomendation on the Louisiana Crawfish and Shrimp product. I have used them all. I also second Jeanie's sequence. One thing I like to do is dump some ice in the boil after the shrimp are quickly done and also more of the boil spice. The seafood will soak up the spice better and your shrimp will stop cooking. Another thing we have been putting in the boil is whole artichokes. They dont take that long, maybe 5 min. They really soak up the spice.
 
rdstoll said:
Cowgirl with the money shot!
Click to expand...

Thanks Rob!
I always taste the cookin' water before adding any food. Adjust the salt, cayenne, crab boil if needed before putting the tatoes in.

Good luck with it! It's a great way to feed a crowd. :-D
 
Expand your recipe search to include "low country boil". Personally, I do it on the simple side. Half a big container of Zatarains Creole seasoning in boiling water, then add in order those items that take longer first (potatoes, sausage, corn, etc) then the that take less time (shrimp, fish).

That said, I like to collect old cookbooks, and I have one from 1975 called "Gourmet's Guide to New Orleans Creole Cookbook", and on page 90 is a recipe for Boiled Crayfish:
For 1 sack of 40 to 50 pounds of Crayfish add to 1/2 filled no. 3 tub of water:
3 boxes salt
1 pack bay leaves
1 dozen lemons, cut and quartered
1 dozen onions, quartered
2 buds garlic, peeled and cut into pieces
4 oz cayenne pepper
1 bottle Louisiana Hot Pepper Sauce
3 boxes crab boil
1 dozen large potatoes
Boil the water with all ingredients but crawfish, add crayfish at rolling boil. Cook 20 minutes. Remove from fire and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain water and eat with vigor.

Adjust accordingly.
 
We call it frogmore or Beaufort stew here. Actually make it alot. I use the aforementioned Zatarians seafood seasoning in the bag. I also do a couple of shakes of old bay so there is a little seasoning on the food when you remove it.

I do not have a set time on cooking. Here's how I do it

Place pot on burner.
Toss in bag of Zatarians
Fill about 1\2 full of water
Cover the top with the Old Bay
Toss in the potatoes and one medium sized red onion pealed and cut in half and light burner

After it reaches a rolling boil I'll start testing the tenderness of the potatoes.
Once the potatoes are almost done I'll toss in the corn and sausage. I use kielbasa and andouille sausage.

As soon as the water starts to boil again I toss the shrimp in and cut the burner off. Make sure to push the shrimp down into the pot. They can just sit on top.

Stir slightly until shrimp are cooked through and then drain.

Pour into large pan or on newspaper on a picnic table.

Crack a beer and loosen belt at least one notch!

Couple bottles of cocktail sauce and feast!
 
Do yourself a favor and see if you can find some zatarain`s pro boil, it is one of my favorites as it has a bit more kick than their regular line. For shrimp i don`t have a recipe that I follow but they dont need to boil for long - 5 mins or so. Start with the seasoning, I also add liquid crab boil, lemons, yellow onions, celery and garlic. Then add your potatoes - I only use small new potatoes now. Once your potatoes are almost done then you can start adding whatever - frozen corn, mushrooms, frozen brussel sprouts, artichokes, etc. Last goes your shrimp. Not too long or they will shrivel up and get mushy.

For crawfish I am much more scientific on time. 5 minutes of boiling and aboit 30 minutes of soaking. I learned from an old creole lady to add a few oranges to the boil with the lemons and this gives it a great flavor.

Have to watch adding sausage as sometimes it makes everything greasy, especially crawfish. I still do it but a lot of purest dont for the reason I stated. You can use the leftover potatoes for a killer potato salad.

For a dipping sauce, my go to is a combo of mayo, ketchup, louisiana hot sauce and tony`s.

As with bbqing its a live and learn cooking method and what you add depends on your audience. Hard to mess up shrimp though as long as you dont over boil.
 
I know my method is probably not tradtional, and i usually just buy cajun seasoning from the dollar store when i do a seafood boil. Which i realize is a misnomer because i dont really "boil" it. Instead i steam everything in steps. I toss each ingredient with the cajun season in a bowl before i add to the big steamer pot.

DFoes anything else do this, and if not, is there a reason to submerge in the boiling water. It seems to me it would take a lot of seasoning and $$$ to season the water enough to impart a good amount of cajun flavor.
 
Zatarains is great! I've been using it for years. It also does some great corn on the cob!
 
Make sure EVERYTHING is labeled.The above replies will give you a good product.I once had a shrimp/ crawfish boil and the guy helping me thought the cayenne pepper was crab boil seasoning and dusted the cooked crawfish/ shrimp after it was in the cooler to hold.OOPS!!!!! Not good.:mmph:
 
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