It’s definitely a toss up with my friends as to which recipe of mine is requested the most when we hang out. My famous Golden Penny Pancakes were the long-time favorite but more recently, my friends and family seem to all want to try my Shrimp Boil!
Every time I do a shrimp boil, I usually Instagram it, so other foodies can salivate over how amazing it looks! Not only do my friends love it, but my KIDS love it! And you parents out there with picky eaters know that’s what we call a “win-win!’
We have done the boil a few times this summer, always with friends but most recently, we threw a little family birthday party for our middle son, while we are on vacation in British Columbia. And the meal that was requested by my then three year old: the shrimp boil!
I think the reason it is such a hit with the kids is because of how FUN it is to eat. You might be asking yourself, “What does she mean by fun?” Well you see, the way I ‘shrimp boil’ is by dumping the entire contents of the boil onto the middle of the table and then everyone just digs in! Fun, right?! It’s the one meal in our home where there seems to be no fighting over how many more bites they need to take, the mess doesn’t really matter and there are no plates to wash! Again, win-win!
Every time I make the recipe, it is a little bit different, depending on the ingredients that I can get. Because my kids absolutely devour shrimp, I usually tend to get the biggest bag I can! They don’t necessarily care about huge shrimp, they just want a lot of it! Also, a traditional shrimp boil typically calls for Andouille sausage, but that isn’t readily available in the supermarkets that I frequent. Therefore, I often use mild Italian sausage, and everyone loves it just the same. Finally, when I first started making this meal, I used to do a dipping sauce, very similar to shrimp cocktail sauce. But overtime, I found that just making extra garlic lemon butter and drizzling it all over the shrimp boil once it’s on the table, is honestly just divine! No one misses the sauce!
- 5-7 tbsp Cajun seasoning (I use Clubhouse name brand)
- 2 lemons, quartered
- 4-6 cloves garlic (always use more garlic!)
- 8-10 potatoes, quartered
- 4-6 mild Italian sausages, sliced
- 1 pound shrimp (thereabouts)
- 5 ears corn, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 4-6 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil
- Squeeze in the lemon juice of the 2 lemons and then stir in the lemon quarters, Cajun seasoning, garlic and a few pinches of salt
- Then add in potatoes. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to soften
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the garlic lemon butter. Melt butter in microwave and simply add in the mashed garlic and lemon juice, to taste. Set aside
- Add in the sausage and boil for another 3-5 minutes
- Next, add in the corn and boil for an additional 3 minutes
- Finally, add in the shrimp and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until nice and pink
- Carefully drain the stockpot and remove the lemon peels
- Dump the shrimp boil out on a large table covered with parchment or wax paper (we just buy a plastic table cover for easy clean up).
- Drizzle the garlic lemon butter over the whole boil, grab some forks and dig in!
Love & Blessings,
