Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Father's Day Shrimp Boil

Hello, my old friends! It's me, Menu Maker Mom!!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've shared. As an apology, I offer you my recipe for our shrimp boil!

This is such a fun party, and everyone has a great time. You can never go wrong when you offer shrimp and cold beer to your family and friends! Oh, and don't forget the mimosas... That's what we had, and they were so very refreshing!


This is a fun activity for a summer evening, and really pretty easy to do.  The aroma is very strong, so I recommend that you do this outside in a turkey fryer, and not in your kitchen with a large stockpot.  The most important part of the process is the timing.  Follow the timing that I list and it will all be cooked to perfection!

SUPPLIES:
Gallon-size zip lock bags
Kitchen Timer
Boiling Basket
Turkey Fryer
















INGREDIENTS (I put the meat and veggies into large Zip-Lock bags, so they are ready to be emptied at the right time) :

2 Crab 'n Shrimp Boil bags by Zatarain
1 bottle Crab 'n Shrimp Boil oil by Zatarain
1 cup salt
3 large onions, peeled and cut in half
2 bulbs garlic, top cut off (don't separate the cloves, leave whole)
2 lemons, cut in quarters
10 ears corn, shucked and cut in half (can use frozen halves)
3 pounds link sausage (down here we like Polock's Wedding Sausage!)
4 pounds raw shrimp, large size without heads
3 pound bag small red potatoes

FOR SERVING:
Cocktail sauce
Lemons, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Set up the turkey fryer with the boiling basket. Fill with water and set it on the fire. Bring water to a boil.
2. Once water boils, add the 2 bags of Crab 'n Shrimp Boil, the bottle of Crab 'n Shrimp Boil oil, the salt, and the garlic. BOIL 15 MINUTES.
3. Add the potatoes. BOIL 7 MINUTES.
4. Add the corn. BOIL 5 MINUTES.
5. Add the sausage. BOIL 5 MINUTES.
6. Add the lemons and onions. BOIL 3 MINUTES.
7. Add the shrimp. BOIL 3 MINUTES.
8. Strain out the water and empty all the goodies in one of the following two ways:
     (a) If you are serving from a buffet-type table, pour the shrimp and goodies into the aluminum turkey pan. You can see from our photo that we served this way, as we had other salads and sides that required a plate and fork.
     (b) If you are serving the traditional way, cover a table with several layers of newspaper. Pour the shrimp and goodies down the table. Everyone eats with their hands! When done, wad up the paper and all the mess and toss into the garbage can! Easy!

Be sure to have cocktail sauce and fresh lemon wedges on the table.  A little Tobasco sauce is good too!

Hope you have a chance to try this out. It is so much fun and gets everyone involved in some way. Be sure to have lots of ice cold beer on hand and take plenty of photos.
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Menu Maker Mom ~
Makin' Yummies... Stuffin' Tummies