Low Country Boil

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: southern food

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Keyword: low country boil, shrimp boil

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 35

Servings:

Calories: 823kcal

A low country boil is a Carolina staple that's easy to make, and it's fun to customize the seasoning to your taste. It's a simple one pot meal that feeds a crowd in about 30 minutes.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pounds shrimp 21-30 count with shell and tail on
2 pounds potatoes small red, yellow or gold potatoes
4 ears corn on the cob
1.5 pounds kielbasa or other smoked sausage
5 quarts water
24 ounces beer from two cans or bottles
1 head garlic broken apart with skins left on cloves
2 lemons plus more for serving
2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
kosher salt to taste it should taste like pasta water

Instructions

Slice the lemons into wedges. Shuck the corn and then break or slice each ear into two or three pieces.
Spread out newspaper on a big dining table.
Fill a large stock pot with water, beer, old bay, lemon wedges and salt. Bring to a boil.
Add potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes. Add smoked sausage and corn and cook for another 10 minutes.
Finally, add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until they are cooked through and opaque. Don't overcook them!
Immediately drain the mixture in a colander and transfer to the newspaper. Serve with melted butter, hot sauce, cocktail sauce, or all three!

Notes

When salting your boiling liquid, add your seafood boil seasoning first, then salt it until it "tastes like the sea" as you would pasta water.
Shrimp cook FAST! They will cook in 2-3 minutes (unless you are using really big ones). Don't let them get rubbery by staying in the water too long!
Depending on how many people you are feeding, you may need to use two pots. Don't get yourself in an overflow situation.
This recipe serves 4, but I've measured these ingredients so that it's easy to scale the recipe up or down according to how many people you have.
Be sure to read the post above for some ideas for flavor variations and substitutions!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Nutrition