Dads should know how to cook in bulk.
While it is certainly great to know how to specialize in fancy meals that serve two, the majority of your attention in the kitchen (and outside, as we will see) should be on the bigger pots and pans – things like the cast iron skillet, the roaster, and the Dutch oven; the smoker and the grill; and, to really step up your performance, a high pressure cooker and seafood stock pot.
The low country boil is a quintessential Dad Duty meal, and frankly something that should also be included in your Grandpa Skills repertoire.
The low country boil is simple – boil a bunch of water, add your seasonings, and dump your prepared ingredients one by one at specific times into the boil. Shut off the heat, drain the water, dump onto a newspaper-lined table, and feast.
Limited clean up, eaten by hand, and portions limited only by the size of your pot. It doesn’t get much more Dad-ly than that.
This low country boil recipe can easily feed a group of twelve, but we’ve slashed the ingredients (with a similar amount of water and spice) for a group of four as well. It is entirely up to you and the preferences of your family and friends when it comes to eating habits with potatoes, corn, shrimp, etc.
LOW-COUNTRY BOIL
Level: Easy Prep: 30 min Cook: 35 min
Total: 1hr 5min Yield: 12 servings (at least)
GEAR
- 7-gallon stock pot (or larger, with strainer ideally)
- High pressure cooker/burner (ideally, but stove top is fine as well)
- Oven gloves
- Lighter
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 cups Zatarains (2 cups or more if you like it spicy)
- 5-10lbs potatoes (whole, and small, is best, cut into thirds if using large potatoes)
- 5-10 onions (cut in half, sweet is best)
- 3lbs cured smoked sausage (cut into 1in pieces)
- 12 ears corn (cut in half)
- 5lbs shrimp (shell on is best for flavor)
Optional Add-Ons for Eating:
- Lemons (cut in half for drizzling at the end)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Old Bay
- Butter (melted for dipping)
DIRECTIONS
- Fill your stockpot about halfway with water, light the burner.
- While the water warms (this could take up to 30 minutes in a large pot with cold hose water), prepare your ingredients: measure out your Zatarains. cut potatoes into thirds (leave intact if using small potatoes), cut onions in half, slice sausage into 1in pieces, remove corn husks and cut in half, thaw shrimp (if frozen). Set each ingredient group aside (ideally in it’s own bowl).
- Add the seasoning and wait for a rolling boil. Add the potatoes to the pot. Allow the water to return to a boil and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and sausage. Bring the water back to a boil and cook 15 minutes.
- Add the corn, bring the water back to a boil and cook 10 minutes.
- Add the shrimp, bring the water back to a boil and cook until the shrimp turn pink – this can take a mere 30 seconds with a high pressure cooker/burner.
- Drain through a colander/strainer; discard the liquid.
- Serve on newspaper or a platter with optional lemon, melted butter, salt/pepper, and Old Bay.
***NOTES
- Don’t forget to factor in the initial time to bring the water to a boil. As mentioned, this can take 30 minutes with cold hose water and a 60 quart stock pot.
- Avoid over-cooking the shrimp. After 30-minutes of boiling, the water will be extremely hot. Shrimp can take 30 seconds or less to be ready in our experience.
- We recommend this burner and this stock pot. These can serve all sorts of Dad Duty purposes – brewing beer, fermenting grapes, cooking crawfish, steaming crabs, etc. In other words, this is an essential Dad Duty rig and set up. Ask for it for Father’s Day and you shall receive.
And for those of you who are visual learners, below is a step-by-step picture guide of the low country boil directions.
Mise en place is very important with a low country boil, as sequence and timing is everything. First, fill a 7-gallon (minimum) stock pot about half way with water, add the spices, and light the burner. While the water warms up, prep your boil ingredients.
Small, whole garden potatoes are best, but if you can only find large potatoes, just cut them into thirds and expect some of them to fall apart in the boil.
You can half and/or quarter the onions – they will also significantly reduce in size during the boil.
Chop the sausage into bite size pieces – 1-inch bites are just right.
Remove the corn husks and chop them in half.
If your shrimp is frozen, now is the time to thaw them if you haven’t already. Tail- and shell-on is best for flavor.
When your water is boiling, this is what your low country boil set-up should look like. Cutting board and knife for prep work, Zatarains boil spices, then potatoes, onions, sausage, corn, and shrimp.
Putting the bowls in the order you’ll add them to the pot is ideal, particularly if you are consuming a few brewskies with friends and family while cooking. Don’t forget a lighter and oven gloves.
You want a good, rolling boil for a low country boil. Add the spices early, giving them time to dissolve and mix.
Add the potatoes to the pot. Allow the water to return to a boil and cook 5 minutes.
Add the onions…
… and sausage. Bring the water back to a boil and cook 15 minutes.
Add the corn, bring the water back to a boil and cook 10 minutes.
Add the shrimp, bring the water back to a boil and cook until the shrimp turn pink – this can take a mere 30 seconds with a high pressure cooker/burner.
The shrimp is done when it turns pink (see photo above).
Drain through a colander/strainer; discard the liquid.
Serve the low country boil on newspaper or crab paper with optional lemon, melted butter, salt/pepper, and Old Bay.
When done, a low country boil clean up just means clearing the beers and kid plates and rolling up the paper. It doesn’t get much more Dad-ly then that.