Cooking Live with Lyric: Seafood Boil Recipe

So just in time for the weekend, I made my very first seafood boil! It was surprisingly very simple to make and I admit I was shocked at how I was able to pull off such a delicious restaurant quality at home.

Ok so let’s get to it. The thing about a seafood boil is that you can add what you like and make it your own. Because this was my first time, I limited mine to shrimp (with some mussels on the side- but that is another blog post on cooking mussels)  to go easy on myself and focus on making it great. 

The biggest thing to keep in mind when making this is to maybe take it easy on the salt. At first I was nervous that I had added too many spices but it all worked out. It looks like a lot but it really turns out great! If you aren’t a salt or sauce person, I recommend maybe limiting the spice amount and gauging what works best for you. You can always add water to your butter sauce if it is too salty. 

I definitely will be turning up the heat a bit more next time but that’s what is so fun about cooking this recipe. Don’t forget to have a bib and a few napkins on hand, because this gets as messy as it is delicious! Enjoy and get the recipe below!

Disclaimer: This is based on my own taste buds so if you see an ingredient that you aren’t a fan of, dial back how much you add. Remember, you can always add but you can’t take it back once you’ve added 🙂 

THE RECIPE DETAILS

Serving Size: 3-4

INGREDIENTS

• 8-10 Baby Red Potatoes
• 18-25 Deveined Shrimp ( I prefer Argentinian Red Shrimp but I think I took whatever was available due to the pandemic)
• 4 Corn on Cob (fresh or frozen works)
• 5 half sticks of butter (salted) *You can add more if you want more sauce*
• 1 med onion sliced into thin pieces 
• Lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
• Parsley
• 1-1.5 Tablespoons of:
  • Old bay 
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Paprika
  • Cajun Seasoning
  • Oregano
  • Black Pepper
  • Crushed Red Pepper 
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Lemon Pepper
  • Minced Garlic

The SPICES

• Use a medium sized bowl to mix in all of your spices.
• In the bowl, add in all of your spices per the ingredient list in no particular order. Set aside.

THE BUTTER SAUCE

• Add your butter to a med-large saucepan/pot and cook on med heat to melt butter completely. Add minced garlic, sliced onions and a few dashes of Tabasco hot sauce.
• Once the butter mixture is melted, add in the spice mixture stir until combined well. Bring heat up to med-high and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Keep heat on low until ready to use. Mix occasionally and give it as taste to gauge if you want to add more spice. If you have added too much of a spice- i.e. salt, add a cup of water to balance the flavor a bit.

THE SEAFOOD AND VEGGIES

• For this recipe, I used shrimp but feel free to add any other seafood or veggies you prefer.
• Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil with about a tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the raw shrimp and cook until tender+ bright pink and or for approx. 3-4 minutes. Keep your eye on it to not overcook. 
• Separately boil corn on the cob until tender
• For the potatoes, you can boil or put on a sheet pan and bake until tender. You should be able to push your fork straight through without much effort.
• Once all of the seafood and veggies are prepared, remove from water. Season all veggies liberally with old bay and chopped parsley. Give all of your seafood and veggies a nice squeeze of a fresh lemon over the top.

MIXING IT ALL UP

• Now that you have your amazing sauce, seafood and veggies prepared, it’s time to mix it all up!
• For an authentic restaurant seafood boil vibe, you can use plastic marinade bags to add the sauce, veggies and seafood. If you don’t have that, get a big bowl, and add the sauce, seafood and veggies. I like to mix it up and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving so the flavors marinate with each other.