Tuesday, March 25, 2008

.low country boil.


Low Country Boil is a traditional southern style shrimp boil. There's a restaurant in Savannah that we always go to called The River House Restaurant and Bakery right on River Street that has this and we always get it when we're in town because it's not only delicious, but it feeds the two of us easily. Traditional LCB doesn't have crab in it, but we are BIG crab lovers so I always throw some in the pot.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

  • Red potatoes

  • Crab legs

  • Shrimp (peeled)

  • Corn on the cob

  • Kielbasa

  • Zatarain's crab boil seasoning

  • Old Bay seasoning


First we need to make the clarified butter. Clarified butter is butter with the milk fat removed. That's the cloudy film you get when you melt butter.



Put some sticks of butter in a small saucepan. Melt on LOW heat. You don't want to boil the butter because that will keep the milk fat from floating to the top.



Once it's melted, use a spoon and carefully skim the foam off the top. That there folks is the milk fat. We don't want that.










Once that has been skimmed from the top, you'll be left with beautiful clear butter. CLARIFIED butter.









Cut up some red potatoes and set aside.










Cut up your keilbasa and set aside.













Measure out 4 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning and get your crab boil in a bag ready to go.







Get the largest pot you have. I have a pasta pot that I use for this and as you will see I used the strainer insert. I wound up taking it out because I couldn't get as much crab in the pot as I would have liked. So save yourself the trouble and LEAVE the strainer out but rather put it in the sink so you have it ready for straining once everything's cooked.



Add your potatoes and spices (Zatarain's and Old Bay) to the pot. Bring to boil and let boil for 5 minutes. At that time, add the kielbasa and boil for another 10 minutes.




I highly recommend using fresh seafood whenever possible, but you can use frozen. I always keep crab and shrimp in the freezer.. and corn on the cob, for quick meals.



When the 10 minutes are up, add as much crab, shrimp and corn on the cob to the pot. Cook only 4 minutes and then remove the pot from the stove and drain.




Put in a big bowl and serve.




The fun thing about LCB is that it's basically a free-for-all. Just dig on in and eat til your heart's content.




If you notice in the picture below, I used paper sacks for placemats. Just cut off the bottom of a paper grocery bag, and cut down the sides, folding the flaps over. As you eat, you can put all your shells on the paper and when you're all done, just remove your dishes and carefully wrap up the shells and toss in the trash. EASY CLEANUP!




Oh and that clarified butter we made? Put some in little bowls for dipping shrimp and crab in. We also like to have some tartar sauce and cocktail sauces on the table. Enjoy!


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_24crxj6mc6

8 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Oh my gosh....this is my favorite thing in the world....when people ask me what my favorite food is...I say Low Country Boil!!! My mouth is watering! I'm going to start saving money so we can do one........YUMMY!!!

Elizabeth said...

P.S. It sucks living in Utah!

Darleen said...

this looks great Suzanne, it looks like your company finally made it!! Good for you, have a great time!!!!!

Shirley said...

funny cause ours always has blue crabs in it. YUM!

Laura Davis said...

Hi, Suzanne I love, love, love your blog! You've been tagged!
Laura

Anonymous said...

looks so yummy! Do you put the shrimp, crab and corn in frozen, or do they need to thaw first?

squillen said...

I put everything in frozen, Wendy. Very simple!

Ronda said...

Shawn bought me a turkey fryer which I have never used. But on the box there is a picture of them doing this boil thing with the corn and seafood in it. Now I know what it is! It looks so yummy and maybe I'll just get it out of the box and make this! Well, when it quits snowing! It looks like a good spring or summer thing to make! Oh, it is spring. My tulips and daffodils are covered in white. I hope they don't die!