# Low Country Boil



## OutdoorSteve (Feb 5, 2010)

I am doing a Low Country Boil (Frogmore Stew) for my employees. We should have about 30-35 people attending. I have a few good recipes, and have been doing these things for years but I was wanting to get everyones ideas on how they normally do it. Bring on the recipes!


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## Sterlo58 (Feb 5, 2010)

dont know the exact amounts but generally my boil goes like this.

Water / liquid zatarains crab boil spices / lemon juice.
start boiling redskin taters and onions.
add smoked sausage links and whole garlic cloves if ya like.
next add corn on the cob and cook till veggies are tender.
thro in some shrimp / crab / mudbugs just before turning off the heat. 

serve with crusty french bread / butter and cocktail sauce and a bottle of texas pete and enjoy !!!!!!

Oh yeah - a frosty cold beverage of your choice to wash it down.


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## sawyerrt10 (Feb 5, 2010)

add a beer just before you add the shrimp, will make the shrimp easier to peel


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## blues brother (Feb 5, 2010)

And I thought I was the only one around here that calls it "Frogmore Stew"!


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## Mako22 (Feb 5, 2010)

blues brother said:


> And I thought I was the only one around here that calls it "Frogmore Stew"!



Low country boil, frogmore stew or a bog it's all the same mostly. I think frogmore stew is either South Carolina or Louisianna speak for low country boil.


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## Lindseys Grandpa (Feb 5, 2010)

i  boil the corn,potatoas and sausage together after they are done i let them sit in hot water for a couple of hours to soak up the good stuff. if you have people who can't handle to much spice go ahead and pull theirs as soon as done or shortly after this will make less spicy. i also put above in cold so the get a good soak while water comes to boil. i do shrimp in seperate container, bring water to boil and remove some and cool, boil shrimp till done then put in cooled spice water and allow to soak so they get spicy w/o overcooking. If you by easy peal shrimp with slit down back they will asorb more spice. I use Zatarains and old bay.


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## blues brother (Feb 5, 2010)

Frogmore was a little community near Beaufort SC. Dad was in the Marines and stationed at Parris Island 69-71. Thats where we learned about it.
You are right, they are all about the same. AND GOOD!


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## Sterlo58 (Feb 5, 2010)

sawyerrt10 said:


> add a beer just before you add the shrimp, will make the shrimp easier to peel



What a waste of a good beer


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## mallardk (Feb 5, 2010)

*Trick*

If you have people that like their bugs or shrimp spicy, I will take up 1/2 the shrimp and pour those out, then I always use the bag of spices, i cut the bag open and then then sink the other 1/2 of shrimp for just a second to get all the spices on them and then dump.  If you don't have a basket , get one, it will make your life a lot easier.


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## Confederate_Jay (Feb 6, 2010)

I learned from my Bro inlaw who has lived in Liberty County (coastal Ga) all his life.  He  and I have have cooked low country  boils for  anywhere from 4 to 400 people.

Around  here most everyone uses 60-80 quart pot with the lift out basket.

LCB were meant to be cooked in salt water (originally dipped from the ocean or river) we put about a box of salt per pot of water.  We also use about a half to 2/3 gal of vinegar per pot- makes shrimp easier to peel and saves beer for drinking.

Bro inlaw turned me on to a powdered seasoning. It is sort of orange colored and turns the water orange. He buys it by the 10 lb box and I usually get some from him but I have bought some stuff that is pretty close in the store made by Old Savannah  Spice Co.
The powder seems to be soaked up better by the food.  If you like it hot you can add some Swampfire to the mix. We always add a little more seasoning to the water before we put the shrimp in. In a 80 quart pot of water we use a solo cup of seasoning.

Here is the order we cook in and the reason why.

Potatoes ( redskin)   - they take the longest- cook until they are half done-  to test them, we just poke a knife into them to see how far it goes in before you hit the hard uncooked part. Helps if you sort them out and try to use the same size spuds.  Little potatoes can over cook and fall apart before the big ones are done. Busted up potato is a mess in your LCB. For that reason, do not cut up your potatoes.

Corn is next - we use the Green Giant frozen ears and it will cool the water down pretty good, slowing the cook a little.

When water is rolling again after putting in corn you can add the sausage-  we use Hilshire smoked or keilbasa-Its already cooked, it takes the seasoning good, and doesn't make the water as greasy as some other types (greasy shrimp are hard to peel ). 

Last is the shrimp and it is critical that they don't over cook.  Leave them in too long and they will be hard to peel and rubbery. This is why we add some fresh seasoning to the water before adding shrimp- other stuff has soaked up a lot of it and the shrimp are only in the water a short time. Most times we will pour out everything else in big roasting pans and cover with foil so the pot won't be too full and we can stir the shrimp without breaking up  potatoes  etc.
Best way I know to tell when shrimp are ready is to keep checking them. When ready they will have a gap between the meat and the shell along the back if you hold it up to the light like you were trying to look thru it. It only takes a couple of minutes. like I said before don't leave in the water too long. After they are poured up you can sprinkle a little of the powered seasoning on them too of you like.

Heres the formula we use for estimating how much food for a crowd:  
Per person
1/2  lb shrimp 
2 small potatoes
an ear of corn
3-4 pieces of sausage  (we cut the sausages down into 2 inch pieces before cooking)

We use this to figure for our head count but we always allow for a little extra- especially shrimp - you will normally run out of them first and potatoes last.

If you have a large crowd it helps to have someone to serve everyone first time thru the line- that way you avoid somebody coming thru and loadin up on just one thing and then causing a shortage. Once everyone has been served they can go back for seconds on their own.


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## Sterlo58 (Feb 6, 2010)

Good post Jay

I forgot to mention salt in my post. Very important


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## tigerfan (Feb 6, 2010)

*Allergy warning*

When cooking for that many people, you might want to consider the ingredients.  Several people are allergic to MSG, and I do not believe that Zatarains makes a product without it.  You might want to consider Cajunland products.  They have a bottle of dry ingredients that is very good; however, if you know that everyone can handle the MSG, then you are free to use whatever comforts you.

Good luck.

If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to provide some input.  I'm not a chef.  I'm just a coon Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ---- that has prepped many crawfish boils.


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## lginga (Feb 6, 2010)

Follow what Jay said and no problems...One quirk I see occasionally is mustard added...another is turnip roots cooked with the potatoes...and beef hot dogs...I stick to the basics, shrimp, red or yellow potatoes, corn and local market smoked sausage.


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## OutdoorSteve (Feb 6, 2010)

I normally follow what Jay has posted up. Thanks guys for the imput and don't forget about "Smoke on the Water" in Thomaston, Ga. April 2nd and 3rd. http://www.bbqandbluegrassfestival.com/index.php


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## blues brother (Feb 6, 2010)

Hey OutdoorSteve,
Are you gonna cook in Smoke on the water?
Mike


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## Confederate_Jay (Feb 7, 2010)

lginga said:


> Follow what Jay said and no problems...One quirk I see occasionally is mustard added...another is turnip roots cooked with the potatoes...and beef hot dogs...I stick to the basics, shrimp, red or yellow potatoes, corn and local market smoked sausage.




Some folks around here put local blue crab in their LCB too-

 I've heard of the turnip roots and even boiled eggs but that just don't sound right to me.


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## OutdoorSteve (Feb 7, 2010)

Hey Mike, I will not be cooking in the comp. but I will def. be there for the festivities.

Steven


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## SCPO (Feb 7, 2010)

boy this brings back some fond memories. i attended several schools a NSA New Orleons while in Navy Reserves. at end of 2 week school all classes would chip in and instructors would have a cajun bowl. some of pots had crawfish and some shrimp. this was done at picnic grounds and they would put brown paper on picnic tables and pour pots on them. after we would go to Chief's club and wash it down.


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## blues brother (Feb 7, 2010)

OutdoorSteve,
Come by the Barnesville Blues Brother site and hang for a while.
Bring a red solo cup and we will fill it up for you!
Mike


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## SissyHunter (Feb 7, 2010)

Jay's recipe sounds spot on. We skip the vinegar. Use several lemons. I'm the "official" taster of most events for the shrimp around home.

If you need someone to "drop by" as a taster for quality, I'd be happy to assist!


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## OutdoorSteve (Feb 8, 2010)

blues brother said:


> OutdoorSteve,
> Come by the Barnesville Blues Brother site and hang for a while.
> Bring a red solo cup and we will fill it up for you!
> Mike



I will def. do that and if you need an outside bbq tester I can do that too.


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## Mako22 (Feb 8, 2010)

I'm doing one in a couple of weeks so I printed Jay's post and will use it this time around as a guide. One question I have is can I mix shrimp and crawfish in the same pot?


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## pop pop jones (Feb 9, 2010)

Woodsman69 said:


> I'm doing one in a couple of weeks so I printed Jay's post and will use it this time around as a guide. One question I have is can I mix shrimp and crawfish in the same pot?



Well yes, yes you can.


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