1st Annual Monahan’s Low Country Shrimp Boil

On a steamy evening last Tuesday we had a few friends and mongers (like 50) over for a little low country fun. It was in celebration of our daughter’s return from living in Texas for the last couple of years and she told me about some gulf shrimp parties that sounded amazing.

Summer is here and the time is right to have a good old southern style shrimp boil! Just good time, eating with your fingers, sucking shrimp heads, spicy sausage, corn, potatoes, lots of ice cold beer all served outdoors on sheets of newspaper or butcher paper, then wrapped up and tossed out between batches. Great for serving large groups, lots of fun and flavor with minimal cleanup. You don’t really even need plates or utensils, the entire boil is dumped on the table and everyone just picks away.

We combined a Georgia /South Carolina low country boil with a Louisiana shrimp boil. We used our big 8-10 per lb. head-on Texas shrimp, corn
on the cob, redskin potatoes, Andouille sausage, onions, garlic and thyme. Old bay seasoning, the classic Baltimore crab seasoning, and Louisiana’s Zatarains shellfish seasoning were combined for our party. The old bay is subtler with a nice celery seed and bay leaf flavor and Zatarains has the hot pepper kick to it. For those who like it really hot, we had Tabasco and Frank’s hot sauce on the table along with cocktail sauce, drawn butter and remoulade sauce. Like the New England lobster or clambake, the Louisiana crawfish boil, the Wisconsin fish boil or the Maryland crab boil, these are best prepared outdoors and preferably over a propane burner with a large pot with a strainer insert. You can use a hand strainer if you don’t have an insert. The main thing is to have a large pot with lots of room for the ingredients.

About as informal as it gets, it’s an easy, fun way to serve a few or a whole lot of people. We’ve got the shrimp and seasonings, all you need are some friends and a little equipment (propane and a burner that you can rent or
buy) and you can do it in the yard or take it on the road, to the beach, park, the lake or a field- instant party time! Click here for the recipe.