Low-Country Boil

I’m sure a lot of you have heard of a regional dish call Low Country Boil. But really, where the heck is the low country?  Are we talking about Holland? You know the place where they make young children

stick their fingers in dikes to hold the ocean in thereby heroically saving their community. Probably not, I think they are talking about the coastal lowlands of South Carolina

and its neighboring barrier islands.  When I think of South Carolina low country, Charleston immediately comes to mind.  I live in metropolitan Atlanta and one of my favorite places to go is Charleston. It’s not that far away and they make a lot of really good food there.  Here’s my attempt to make the famous Low Country Boil.

According to a Costal Living magazine[1] article, Low Country Boil, “Once called Frogmore Stew, this one-pot wonder was created by a National Guardsman when he needed to cook a meal for 100 soldiers.”

One thing that seems to be constant are the basic ingredients, water, red potatoes, shucked corn on the cob, kielbasa, shrimp and Old Bay seasoning. There are of course variations which change up the type of seafood, or make a mélange of seafood delicacies such as crab, clams, mussels, crawfish (I’m sorry we here in the south never learned to say crayfish,) and even lobster.

The recipe I’m going to use follows,

·         2 pounds small red potatoes

·         2 1/2 quarts water

·         1 (3-ounce) bag of crab boil seasoning

·         2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

·         1 pounds kielbasa or hot smoked link sausage, cut into 1½-inch pieces

·         3 ears of corn, halved

·         2 pounds large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined optional

·         Cocktail sauce

Add potatoes to large pot, then add 2 1/2 quarts water and seasonings. Cover pot and heat to a rolling boil; cook 5 minutes. Add sausage and corn, and return to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add shrimp to stockpot; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Drain. Serve with cocktail sauce. Serves 6.

Let’s get started.

First up, peel and de-vein the shrimp.  I went to my local farmer's market and bought 2 pounds of 26-30 count white shrimp.  This means that there are approximately 26 to 30 shrimp to the pound. This size is manageable while not hurting my cooking budget too much.

Although the recipe didn't call for it, I added a dozen Little Neck Clams, so name for  the region they come from, Little Neck Bay on New York’s Long Island.

Once the shrimp are peeled and cleaned and the clams rinsed, set them aside and add about 2 1/2 quarts of water to a large stock pot.  Bring the water to a roiling boil and add the two tablespoons of McCormick's Old Bay Seasoning. Also add one bag of shrimp and crab boil. This is a spice packet also made my the McCormick company.

"Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that is marketed in the United States by McCormick & Company, and produced in Maryland. It is produced in the Chesapeake Bay area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in 1939, and where the seasoning is very popular to this day."[2]

Now's the time to add two pounds of red potatoes

, quartered to the pot. Boil these for five minutes before the next two additions.


The next two ingredients are corn and kielbasa, or polish sausage.  I use fresh yellow corn on the cob, shucked and depending on size cut into three or for pieces.  Cut the kielbasa into about 1 1/2 inch pieces. 

Add these to the pot and continue to boil for ten minutes.


Lastly add the shrimp and the clams.  Cook these for 3 minutes and you're done. Drain the entire mixture into a large colander and finally plate onto a large platter covered with newspaper. I made up some quick cocktail sauce by adding 2 1/2 ounces of ketchup and 1 ounce of horseradish sauce. Serve this up with some fresh sourdough bread and enjoy a classic low-country favorite.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the next entry of "What's On the Burner."

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[1] http://www.coastalliving.com/food/entertaining/lowcountry-boil
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bay_Seasoning