Shrimp Boil

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Neumie
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Shrimp Boil

Post by Neumie »

I did a search and did not see a shrimp boil recipe on here, so I figured I'd share mine.

A couple of notes:
  • I use my own cajun seasoning for this recipe as it allows me to control the salt and spiciness of the boil. If I'm cooking for my family I keep the spice level lower because of kids. Cooking for a group of hungry, beat down kayak anglers I'll kick the spiciness up a notch up with cayenne.
  • One thing I do differently is I'll cook the sausage separate from the main boil; I'll either grill intact link or boil the cut pieces in a second, seasoned pot on the stove (seasoned with about 1/4 cup of the cajun seasoning). Cooking the sausage separately removes the fat from the boil which means the shrimp and vegetables are not coated with a thin layer of grease making them feel slimy.
  • Prior to starting the boil I'll prep the table where I'll dump the boil after cooking. I start with a thin layer of plastic sheet or plastic picnic table cover. Then I add a couple layers of butcher paper or newspapers for absorbing juices. If you're not using a plastic base layer add a couple extra layers of the paper. Tape may be necessary if windy. The reason I use a plastic base layer is it makes clean up super easy because you can just roll up the remnants and go straight into a trash bag; no leaking, no mess, no additional cleanup.
In the boils I've done for my family and friends I've came up with the following meat & vegetable ratios per person so there's not too much of an excess of leftovers. This works for my family, but when I know I have a group with bigger appetites I'll bump the numbers up:
  • Fresh Shrimp: 12 oz per person
  • Andouille Sausage: 3 oz per person
  • Corn Pieces: 2 per person (I use the frozen mini corn cobs for boils)
  • Small Red Potatoes: 2 per person
I'll start by filling my pot just under 1/2 way up. I use my 30 qt pot for 8 or less people and my 60 qt for anything larger; this recipe is based on a 30 qt pot. If using store bought seasoning such as Zatarain's or Slap Ya Mama add those seasonings first then add any additional salt it may need. The following is for seasoning the pot:
  • 1.5 C of cajun seasoning (adjust as necessary)
  • 0.25 C of Kosher Salt (adjust as necessary)
  • 2 Bags of Zatarain's Crab Boil in a bag
  • 0.125 C of Cayenne (more or less depending on who you're cooking for)
  • 4 Lemons (halved)
  • 4 Heads of Garlic (halved)
  • 2 Onions (quartered)
  • 2 Red Bell Pepper (quartered)
  • 0.5 Head of Celery (Cut into 4" pieces)
  • 0.5 Bottle of Bay Leaf
  • Frozen jug of water
Directions:
  1. Cut sausage into 1" pieces and boil in a separate pot with about 1/4 C of cajun seasoning (if grilling leave link whole)
  2. Place pot on burner and light the her up to start boiling
  3. Add Seasoning, Boil in a bag, Lemons, Garlic, Onions, Bell Pepper, Celery, and Bay Leaf
  4. Add salt to desired level; you'll want it to taste slightly salty at this stage. As you add ingredients they'll absorb the salt
  5. Add cayenne to desired spiciness level
  6. When water comes to a rolling boil add potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes
  7. Add the frozen corn, stir them in
  8. When it returns to a boil add the shrimp, stir them in, and kill the burner after a minute or two
  9. Add precooked sausage pieces, stir to incorporate
  10. Add the frozen water jug (Thanks SWfinatic)
  11. Let soak for about 10 minutes and taste shrimp for flavor
  12. Drain and dump on prepared table
Here's a Google Sheet Link to help calculate food and seasoning ratios for your pot size: Click

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Ron Mc
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Ron Mc »

Josh does this well, and the Redfish Rounders enjoyed it very much.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by SWFinatic »

Thanks for sharing love shrimp boils. You can get carried away with what you want to put in the pot. Here's a pic of one a buddy of mine did with fresh asparagus, okra (frozen) and fresh pineapple. We also used deer sausage so it wouldn't be so greasy.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by SWFinatic »

What type burner do you use?
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Neumie
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Neumie »

SWFinatic wrote:Thanks for sharing love shrimp boils. You can get carried away with what you want to put in the pot. Here's a pic of one a buddy of mine did with fresh asparagus, okra (frozen) and fresh pineapple. We also used deer sausage so it wouldn't be so greasy.
I try not to add too much to a shrimp boil; I really like the simplicity of it. But for crawfish boils I really like to add extra vegetables and experiment more with it. When I do crawfish boils I add mushrooms and brussels sprouts. I'll also do a pineapple at the beginning of the crawfish boil to slice up as an appetizer before I start cooking the vegetables and bugs. Venison sausage is a good idea; I've never used that before.
SWFinatic wrote:What type burner do you use?
I have no idea what brand or how many BTU it is. It good enough for my 30 qt pot, but when I need to use my 60 qt pot on it I have to make sure I give it a good head start.

Here's the setup with my homemade, oak stirring paddle with my family's cattle brand on it.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by SWFinatic »

Gotcha nice paddle!

A tip my buddy (who does boils a lot) was telling me about after he's finished with a boil he takes the leftover seasoned water and pours it in an empty 1 gallon plastic water jug and freezes it. Then for the next boil he mostly thaws the jug of seasoned water but where it is still really cold and dumps in the boil to cool it off. He claims it helps with the flavor. I've never tried it.
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Neumie
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Neumie »

SWFinatic wrote:Gotcha nice paddle!

A tip my buddy (who does boils a lot) was telling me about after he's finished with a boil he takes the leftover seasoned water and pours it in an empty 1 gallon plastic water jug and freezes it. Then for the next boil he mostly thaws the jug of seasoned water but where it is still really cold and dumps in the boil to cool it off. He claims it helps with the flavor. I've never tried it.
Maybe he let's the boil water reduce some before bottling it? That would make a good concentrate to add to next one. It would certainly help some even if he doesn't reduce it as my way with just adding ice dilutes the boil some. I may try just adding a frozen gallon jug of water next time to not dilute to boil water.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by SWFinatic »

Yep that's what he did. He said it kept from diluting the spice.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Dandydon »

Thanks for sharing that terrific shrimp boil recipe, Josh. Looks like you did all your required tasting and homework.

Invite the Hobie Navy to your next boil and we'll bring the cold beer. Plus free legal advice for TKF members!

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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Pablo »

Thanks Neumie, looks like a great recipe complete with instructions!

Have the shrimp, sausage and a lot of the seasonings, can't wait to give it a go!

Thanks again . . .
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Reefmonkey »

I agree with Neumie, I like to keep a shrimp boil simple, but I am even more purist about it. Also, I prefer boiled shrimp to be cold, and cold sausage is unappealing (Neumie's idea of cooking the sausage separately is a great tip if you're going to have a hot boil, though), cold corn on the cob isn't that great, nor cold new potatoes unless they're in potato salad. Lemon quarters do add good flavor to a boil, though.

I'm also more partial to either Zatarain's bags, or Old Bay seasoning, I really dislike the liquid and powder Cajun boils, I think they really overwhelm the sweetness and subtle flavors of the shrimp. It's also used to cover up unfresh/frozen shrimp. Back in my undergrad years at SMU when we played at the Cotton Bowl in the mid 90s, my fraternity had a charity fundraiser every year on a game day at the State Fair (students got free tickets back then because the team sucked, and our tickets got us free admission to the State Fair). The fundraiser was called shrimpfest, and for the price of a wristband, you got all-you-can-eat shrimp. Our caterer really dowsed the shrimp in a powdered boil, which made them so spicy and salty. It definitely helped with beer sales, which was our major revenue source at the event, but man did I hate those shrimp.
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Pablo »

Thank you Nuemie for posting up the how to do for the shrimp boil! We used it as one of our elements of our Christmas Eve party with our family! It was a nice addition to fried fish and raw and fried oysters! Thanks again!
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Neumie
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Re: Shrimp Boil

Post by Neumie »

Glad it worked out for y'all.
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