A shrimp boil party is one of my favorite kinds of parties – feed a crowd with no dirty dishes! This is also a completely portable party. My easy shrimp boil recipe makes for an instant success no matter where you are! Read on to pull off the ultimate shrimp boil.
Looking for a great party beverage that can be made in a picture? How about my margaritas. So easy and delicious. You will be all set for a fun and memorable party.
Shrimp Boil
My favorite spot is on the beach, but a classic shrimp boil is a meal that’s perfect for outdoors anywhere. Between the fresh shrimp, lemon wedges, the ears of corn and sausage, this meal is a sure summertime hit.
The following recipe uses 1 large 34 quart turkey fryer with a strainer basket that goes almost to the top of the pot. One pot serves about 10-12 people. When we have a large crowd, we borrow an extra turkey fryer or two.
Ready to get started? First, cover your entire table with freezer paper, shiny side up. Now let the cooking begin!
Shrimp Boil Shopping List
Here is everything you need to host a shrimp boil:
- 2 Zatarain’s Crab “n” Shrimp Boil in Bags
- 1/2 bottle Zatarain’s Crab “n” Shrimp Boil oil
- 1 Cup salt
- 3-4 large onions (peeled and quartered)
- 2 lemons cut in half
- 6-10 whole ears of corn, cut in half, or 12-24 frozen small corn on the cob
- 3 lbs Kielbasa cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 pounds large raw shrimp in shells (about 25 per lb)
- 2 whole bulbs garlic, unpeeled with top sliced off
- 18-24 small red potatoes
- Freezer paper
- Squeezable butter, spicy mustard and cocktail sauce
- 2 baguettes sliced into 1 inch slices
- 1 34 quart turkey fryer with strainer basket that goes almost to the top of the pot
Download this handy Printable Shopping List and Instructions to help you gather all your supplies!
How to Host a Shrimp Boil
First, fill the turkey fryer about 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil and add your shrimp boil seasoning. My recipe calls for 2 packages of Zatarain’s Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil in a Bag
, 1/4 – 1/2 bottle Zatarain’s Shrimp and Crab oil, and 1 cup of salt and garlic. Boil for 15 minutes.
Next, add your potatoes, and boil for 7-8 minutes.
Corn goes in next for 5 minutes. If your corn is frozen, you might need to turn up the heat for a minute to get your water boiling again.
Now add kielbasa, cut into two-inch pieces. Cook for 8 minutes.
Add onions. Squeeze lemon juice into pot, and then toss the lemons into the water, boil 3- 4 minutes (oops picture is wrong – add the garlic at the beginning!)
Now add shrimp, and cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp turns pink. Remember not to overcook the shrimp!
Turn off the heat, and immediately pull basket from the water and let drain.
Shrimp Boil Recipe
Download the recipe card below or print the shopping list above.
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Shrimp Boil
Equipment
- 1 34 quart turkey fryer with strainer basket that goes almost to the top of the pot
Ingredients
- 2 Zatarain’s Crab “n” Shrimp Boil in Bags
- 1/2 bottle Zatarain’s Crab “n” Shrimp Boil oil
- 1 Cup salt
- 3-4 large onions peeled and quartered
- 2 lemons cut in half
- 6-10 whole ears of corn cut in half or 12-24 frozen small corn n the cob
- 3 lbs Kielbasa cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 pounds large raw shrimp in shells about 25 per lb
- 2 whole bulbs garlic unpeeled with top sliced o
- 18-24 small red potatoes
- Freezer paper
- Squeezable butter
- spicy mustard
- cocktail sauce
- 2 baguettes sliced into 1-inch slices
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a covered pot with large strainer basket (ll pot 2/3 full)
- Add garlic, Zatarain’s spice bags, Zatarain’s oil and salt – boil for 15 minutes
- Add potatoes – boil for 7 – 8 minutes
- Add corn – boil for 5 minutes (if corn is frozen you may need to turn up the heat to get the water boiling again)
- Add kielbasa – boil 8 minutes
- Squeeze lemons into pot and then throw them in along with the onions – boil 3 – 4 minutes
- Add Shrimp – boil for about 5 minutes or just until shrimp turns pink –don’t overcook.
- If you don’t want to eat right away, turn off heat, pour a bag of ice into the pot and let sit 15 minutes,
- drain and pour onto table covered in freezer paper.
- OR
- Turn off heat lift basket out of pot, allow to drain and then immediately pour onto your table covered with freezer paper (shiny side up).
- Sprinkle sliced baguette down the table. Serve with squeezable butter, mustard and cocktail sauce–squeezed directly on the table. Encourage guests to squeeze cloves of garlic onto corn and potatoes.
Nutrition
Ready to serve your shrimp boil? Pour contents of basket onto your freezer paper-covered table.
Serve with sliced baguette sprinkled down the table and bottles of squeeze butter, cocktail sauce, and spicy mustard.
Remember NO knives, forks, spoons or plates allowed! This is all finger food and condiments are squeezed directly onto the table! When finished just roll up the paper and give everyone a finger wipe!
Put on some Cajun Zydeco (zi-dee-coe) music and have a great time!
A big thanks to our dear friends Jeff and Cathy for showing us how to have the best party ever!
Shrimp Boil Tips
- I use shell-on shrimp and prefer the larger sizes. If you use shelled shrimp, cook for only 3 minutes!
- Shrimp cook very fast. If they start to curl into a circle, you’re overcooking them.
- If you don’t want to eat right away, turn off the heat, pour a bag of ice into the pot and let sit 15 minutes, drain and pour onto the table.
- OR Turn off heat, lift the basket out of the pot, allow to drain and then immediately pour onto your table covered with freezer paper (shiny side up).
- Serve with extra lemon wedges and garlic at the table.
- Serve with hot sauce if you’ve got some spice fans at your party.
- If you’re having a bigger dinner, there’s plenty of food that goes great with a shrimp boil. Coleslaw, mac and cheese, and pasta salads are all easy cookout staples.
- Some recipes call for adding crab or crayfish into the shrimp boil. It’s all good!
How do you devein a shrimp?
Raw shrimp are sometimes deveined, but not always. The “mud vein,” the black line on the back of a shrimp, is its digestive tract. It won’t hurt you to eat, but many people find it kind of gross when it’s filled with grit.
If you want to devein your shrimp before your shrimp boil, just use a sharp paring knife to make a cut along the top of the back. Then take the tip of the knife and slip it under the mud vein. It comes out of big shrimp pretty easily.
Remember to wash your hands well after handling the shrimp!
How do you make a boil? Got any shrimp boil recipe variations or serving tips? Leave a comment!
Need to feed a crowd? Try this Ham Buns Recipe. For more fun ideas… try these summer hacks.
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Man does that look good. I always wanted to try this. Need a backyard first =)
We followed the instructions at an Oklahome State University football tailgating party. Some things were a little vague, but here’s what we did and the results were awesome. We divided a hole garlic head into individul cloves and left the outside skin on. We put the garlic in first with the spices after the water came to a boil. We used some spicy sausage from Sam’s Club (I can’t remember the name but is comes in a package of 7 or 8 pieces about 9″ long). We used fresh corn on the cob, shucked and cut into 3 or 4″ pieces the night before. The corn was the best I have ever tasted. We used large frozen shrimp (deveined). We could have used whole shrimp, however we thought that having to dig out that tube of (the S word) would not be appreciated by our tailgating team. We did 2 batches of of the shrimp boil. On the second batch we added 1 gallon of water, 2 Zatarans dry and the other half of the liquid. I think the second batch was better and next time we plan on using 4 packs of spices and an entire bottle of the liquid. The proportions worked out about right. We used about 15 small red potatoes, 14 half ears of corn, one entire package of sausage cut into 1″ pieces, about 5 small onions (pealed and cut into 4 pieces with the top end left to keep the pieces connected) and we used 2 lbs. of large shrimp. We did not leave the shrimp in for 5 minutes….we watched them and removed them when they were pink. We used Bookbinders Coctail Sauce (also from Sam’s Club). To sum it up…this was the greatest tailgating ever. Next week we plan to grill Bobby Flay’s Cuban Style Burgers. The recipe is easy to find on Google. The only thing we change is that we make the burgers 1/2 pound in lieu of the 1/4 called for on the recipe.
The absolute best party you will ever have and we luckily know the best cooks!! FUN!!!!!
Yuuuum. We used to go to crawfish boils like that. Yum, yum, yum!
I tagged you for the ‘Great Tip Award’! You are so amazing, not only do you have great ideas but also how-to pics. I really am inspired by your blog. It looks like you guys had a blast at your shrimp boil.
Ohhhh…I am jealous! That looks so yummy…I need to convince my husband that we need to have a party!
that sounds fabulous cindy! i haven’t done that since i was at my grandmother’s in seattle. you are making me homesick! the dear hubby is deathly allergic to shellfish.
In SC they call it frogmore stew. So yummy!
Cheers! LA
That looks so yummy! I may have to try a mini version in my soup pot (we don’t have a turkey fryer).
I will wade in as the offical hand modeler and head cook. We use a propane gas burner (might be called a turkey fryer) that can be purchased at Sams, Costco, etc. It comes complete with the burner, pot, basket, handle to pull the basket out of the pot, etc. For a crowd the size in this blog we used two burners. All of this along with your favorite beverage, some Cajun music, a roll of paper towels and by golly you have a party! It gets really quiet when the food hits the table except for the compliments to my wonderful blogging chef! LOVE YOU LOU!!!!!!!!!
What are u using as a heat element and where do u buy one like it?
Holy smokes- that looks fun! And yummy.
How incredibly fun is that?! I’m doing this on my dining room table this weekend, to celebrate my daughter’s first week of Kindergarten. I think my kids will absolutely love it. I may have to replace the carpet next week, but oh well!
Awesome! Sounds & looks fabulous!
Yum! When’s the next shrimp boil?