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Low Country Boil Recipe
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5 from 4 votes

Low Country Boil Recipe

This classic southern low country boil recipe is meant to feed a crowd, with loads of potatoes, sausage, corn, onions and shrimp boiled in a seasoned broth. It's so easy to make!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crab, old bay, shrimp
Servings: 12
Calories: 256kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 quarts of water or beer or stock - I use a combination of light lager, chicken stock and fish stock
  • 1/2 cup Old Bay Seasoning or more to taste - I usually double it
  • Hot Sauce to taste
  • 1 pound red potatoes whole or quartered
  • 2-3 sweet onions quartered (vidalia onions are great here)
  • 1 pound smoked sausage cut into half inch pieces - use andouille, kielbasa, or your favorite
  • 4 ears corn cut into thirds
  • 2 pounds shrimp peeled or unpeeled - use head-on for bigger flavor!
  • 2 pounds stone crab claws optional, or use more shrimp - blue crab is more commonly used
  • For Garnish: Red pepper flakes, fresh chopped parsley, lemon slices or wedges

Instructions

  • Fill a very large pot with your water/beer/stock combination and add Old Bay Seasoning and hot sauce to taste. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
  • Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes to slightly soften.
  • Add the onions and smoked sausage. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Add the corn. Return to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until the corn becomes golden.
  • When the potatoes and corn are done to your liking, add the shrimp and crab claws (if using). Cook for 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink and cooks through. Remove from heat.
  • Strain out the liquid and discard it. Serve on a large platter with red chili flakes, fresh chopped parsley and lemon slices for garnish.

Notes

Serves 10-12 people.
Broth Extras. As mentioned, I love a combination of lighter lager beer, seafood stock and chicken stock with seasonings for my low country boil. You can easily vary up the flavors with other ingredients, like fresh sliced lemons, heads of garlic, celery, leeks, tomatoes, clam juice, fish sauce and more. I've even seen some local recipes with boiled eggs! What a nice touch!
Broth Seasoning Options. Old Bay is a very popular way to spice up your low country boil broth, but you can easily use Cajun seasonings, Creole seasonings or others. Zatarain's is a popular brand of seasonings that also offers their own crab boil seasonings in powder or liquid form. Try a mix. 
Seafood Options. Most low country boils that I've seen focus on the shrimp alone, making it more of a shrimp boil recipe, but crab claws are commonly used as well. It's really a function of what's available locally. Toss in some blue crab if you'd like, different cuts of fish, clams, mussels and more. This is your seafood boil, my friends!
For Serving. A big pot of low country boil is essentially a meal in itself, so no extras are required, but you can't go wrong with a nice side of grilled bread and melted butter. Or extra hot sauce!

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 1001mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 154IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 2mg