Kristin + Cam’s Low Country Boil

Kristin and Cam’s low country boil is my kind of meal.

Made to taste, this recipe ditches the fuss and focuses on flavor. Simply boil it up, and spread out the kraft paper–no utensils, plates or table manners needed. Finger food never tasted so good.

To feed 6-8 people:

2 pkgs. kielbasa turkey sausage, cut into 2″ pieces
2 yellow onions, quartered
a head of garlic, cloves peeled and smashed
8-10 medium potatoes, quartered
7 ears of sweet corn, cut into thirds
6 lemons, cut in half
2 pkgs. salted butter
20-30 shrimp, peeled and deveined
Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
Tabasco sauce
Old Bay seasoning
sour cream + fresh dill, chopped and mixed together (for serving)
traditional cocktail sauce (for serving)

 Minutes 1-5: In an extra large pot, bring water to a rolling boil.* Squeeze lemons and add them (peels and all) to the pot. Add the smashed garlic cloves and 1 pkg. of butter to the mix. Stir in a lot of Johnny’s and Old Bay seasoning–you’ll want the water in the pot to be a rich rust color. Sprinkle in a dash of Tabasco sauce. Let boil until the butter melts down.

Minutes 6-9: Add onions and potatoes to the mix. Stir to combine and disperse the seasonings.

Minutes 10-14: Add corn. Stir to incorporate it.

Minutes 15-17: Add sausage. Stir again.

Minutes 18-24: Check to make sure the potatoes are fork tender and the corn is cooked just the way you like it. Add the shrimp to the pot. Boil until the shrimp are pink in color and slightly curled. This will only take a few minutes so keep your eyes on the pot.

Once everything is cooked, drain the water from the pot. Add the second package of butter, and stir to coat all the ingredients.

To serve: Cover a table with a plastic table cloth and a layer of kraft paper. Pour the boil onto the kraft paper, and season with additional Johnny’s or Old Bay (depending on personal preference). Dollop sour cream + dill and cocktail sauce at each person’s place. Keep a roll of paper towels nearby–messy hands are the name of the game.

*We used two large pots and evenly divided the ingredients between both.