comment icon 24 more comments Boil shrimp, summer sweet corn, baby red potatoes, and kielbasa sausage in a big pot. Drain it all out and pour onto a table, platter, or big roasting pan. And now drizzle, dunk, and double dunk them all in butter infused with garlic and thyme. Thank you and goodnight! This recipe could not be easier. You can make it more elaborate if you want! Because a shrimp boil is a thing of beauty and shows so much variety and character depending on how you do it and please, by all means, take this as your idea springboard and go do something creative or impressive or regionally specific. We will love you for it. But if you’re looking for less of a full-blown elaborate meal and more of a quick-and-fun dinner solution, and/or you live in a non-coastal state such as… Minnesota (lol), this can still work! This can work beautifully.
SOS Ingredients, Anyone?
Here’s what we’re looking at for ingredients:
shrimp potatoes kielbasa corn spices (Old Bay, anyone? Cajun spice mix will also do) lemon butter
Throw some garlic from the pantry into your butter bath, and maybe a few sprigs of thyme, and you are looking at a REALLY DELICIOUS weeknight dinner that feels fun, saucy, and deliciously outside of the box. Normally I’m just serving this to myself, my husband, and my toddler, and maybe a friend who happened to stop by, but even with my humble little homegrown crowd, it never fails to put stars in people’s eyes when you bring this out to the table and set it down with extra-dramatic flair. The butter-drizzled juicy shrimp, steamy corn and potatoes, and the luscious little side dishes of garlic butter for extra dunking is a hungry food-lover’s delight.
The Idea Behind This Shrimp Boil
The idea of a shrimp boil came into my life when I was at a cabin this summer and my sister, who has 4 young kidlets (bless her), made dinner for my entire family of 18+ people without even breaking a sweat. What did she make? A SHRIMP BOIL. She told me that she makes it all the time at home because it’s super easy (boil everything and drizzle with butter) and her whole family loves it. And at that point I was like, why haven’t I been doing this for my whole life. I promptly went home and bought some Cajun seasoning and a container of Old Bay and got to work infusing my melted butter with thinly sliced garlic and a few sprigs of thyme. Why oh why oh why is it so good?
Watch Lindsay Make This Recipe on Stories!
Source notes: According to Lobstergram, “while there’s no exact date of origin that we know of to place when seafood boils started, it’s safe to say that with the arrival of Cajun people from Maritime regions of Canada in the 1700’s, one of the culinary traditions they brought with them was the seafood boil.” This recipe may be closest to a South Carolina Frogmore Stew. Seafood boils are generally a Coastal food experience, but I’m bringing the coast to Minnesota today! 🙂 The type of seafood, the sides, and the style of preparation are dependent on the region, but in general, the concept of a shrimp or seafood boil is a communal event similar to a barbecue or a potluck. My sister initially gave me the idea for this recipe as a way to make a quick and easy dinner for a large group, as she does for her family, and then I watched this video from Joshua Weissman more about the variations and super foodie details that can go into a shrimp boil, which inspired me to add a few extras to her basic version. And where we ended is somewhere between the two – a delicious, low-key, memorable, keep-coming-back-for-more shrimp boil that tastes best when shared with family and friends.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of incredible corn recipes. Check it out! 5 from 10 reviews
1 pound small potatoes (for the best flavor I recommend cutting in half or quarters so the insides of the potato can absorb the sauce) 2–4 ears of corn, cut into small pieces 1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced 1 pound shrimp and any random things you have on hand that can make a very low key broth: onion, garlic, lemon, Cajun seasoning, salt
Sauce:
2 sticks of salted butter (you don’t have to use it all! my motto for garlic butter sauce is better too much than not enough) 5–6 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced thyme sprigs (optional) lemon wedges Old Bay or Cajun-style seasoning
