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Tonight, Harrier made a low country boil from a recipe he found online.
He boiled some water in a pot, added Old Bay seasoning, and then threw in some red potatoes and kielbasa.
Those cooked for 10-15 minutes and then Harrier added corn on the cob and some shrimp, cooking for another 15-20 minutes.
Drained the water and put the solids in another pot - and served.
The recipe called for crab, but Harrier skipped that because he is on a budget.
Harrier has never been to South Carolina.
Harrier has family in North Carolina, and could easily get down to South Carolina when he visits, so he could try some authentic low country boil.
The final product seemed OK - did he do it right?
Sort of. I generally go 10-5-5-less than two minutes wise for potatos, sausage, corn, shrimp. If you kicked the shrimp for 15 minutes, I can't believe they were edibile.
Good stuff! There are as many different recipes for Lowcountry boil, AKA frogmore stew, as there are Lowcountry chefs. In place of crab, we add clams. IMO crab meat is too delicate for this type of recipe. The only "essential" ingredients I see missing are garlic and quartered onions. We also use add'l spices, andouille rather than kielbasa, and cook our corn a little longer, but it's all good and personal preference. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll DM you our recipe we got from a friend and native Lowcountry chef. A food for the Gods.
PS - As far as the shrimp, we cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let 'em suck in the flavor of the broth for about 10 more minutes. I agree that shrimp overcook quickly, but this method seems to work fine for us.
Yep. I agree with the others on the shrimp. It's the last thing in the pot and usually only takes about 5 minutes. I wait until they start to float. Then they are done. I also cut up lemons and squeeze the juice into the water and throw the peel in before cooking. If I'm feeling really special, I'll get some live crawfish and throw them in with the shrimp. They make for a very nice presentation.
I've been to some classics, where there are no plates. Yep. They boil up a huge serving, I mean HUGE, and just lay it all out on a paper clothe spread over a picnic table, and folks literally just hangout with beer and pick at it for hours while playing horseshoes or cornhole, and if lucky, on a cool fall day with the Gamecocks game on TV!!
I've been to some classics, where there are no plates. Yep. They boil up a huge serving, I mean HUGE, and just lay it all out on a paper clothe spread over a picnic table, and folks literally just hangout with beer and pick at it for hours while playing horseshoes or cornhole, and if lucky, on a cool fall day with the Gamecocks game on TV!!
Almost heaven.
The recipe that Harrier uses suggested spreading everyone on a table covered with newspaper.
We have a table that we use specifically for oyster roasts and Beaufort Stew. It's just a long platform table with no legs. It has 2 holes cut in the center. You just use 2 rubbermade trash cans as legs and place them on top of the holes. Dump the food in the middle and use the holes for scraps like shrimp peels, corn cobs, oyster shells. Once you are done, just pull the liners out of the trash cans and dispose. Then, get the pressure washer out and spray the table down and hang it back in the garage.
Here is a pic of one I found online. Mine is a lot nicer but the concept is the same.
I live a hundred miles from the closest oyster recycling station. But I do have a friend with a long dirt driveway that gets potholes. He uses them to fill them in. His driveway is actually looking pretty good. 2 or 3 more roasts and hell have a complete crushed oyster driveway.
Harrier, you cooked the shrimp too long. Were they like leather?
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