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shrimp boil

Shrimp

Shrimp Boil

The beauty of a shrimp boil recipe like this one, besides it being one of the most delicious ways to eat fresh seafood, is that it feeds a large crowd easily. While it does takes some special equipment to prepare it—chiefly a really large stockpot—you can use it over and over again to deep fry a turkey, make fried chicken for a lot of people, and even host a catfish fry.

Ingredients

  • 6 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
  • 2 heads celery, rinsed and trimmed
  • 5 artichokes, stems peeled
  • 6 heads garlic, tops trimmed off
  • 2 lemons, halved
  • 2 (16-ounce) bottles Zatarain's liquid shrimp and crab boil
  • 3 bags shrimp boil spice, like Zatarain's
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup Creole or Cajun seasoning
  • 50 small red potatoes, washed
  • 20 ears of corn, husked and broken in half
  • 6 pounds andouille or Polish sausage
  • 15 green onions, ends trimmed
  • 3 bunches asparagus, ends trimmed
  • 10 pounds shell-on shrimp, fresh or frozen and thawed

Directions

  • Fill a 44-quart pot with a boiler basket a little over half full with cold water. Add the yellow onions, celery, artichokes, garlic, lemons, liquid boil, spice bags, salt, and Creole seasoning.
  • Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the potatoes and return to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes (or a bit longer if your potatoes are larger then golf balls), then add the corn, sausage, and green onions and return to a boil.
  • Fish out one of the larger-sized potatoes and test for doneness. If it's cooked through, add the asparagus and cook until just tender. Remove the basket and let it drain. Bring it over to a paper-covered table and turn the contents over onto the table.
  • Return the basket to the pot of boiling water, add the shrimp, and stir well. Cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes, until cooked through. Take the basket back to the table and turn the shrimp out on top of the rest of the meal.
  • Eat, laugh, and be merry.

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