Featured image: Kellie Walton
A Lowcountry Boil has long been a staple along the Southern coast, especially around South Carolina and Georgia. This beloved dish (though it may be better described as a whole event) brings together fresh shrimp, hearty vegetables, and smoky sausage in a big pot of seasoned broth often dumped out and enjoyed with fellowship and a few drinks.
Served everywhere from backyard gatherings to fall tailgates and holidays, a lowcountry boil is a surefire way to connect with friends and family in a way that’s both casual and delicious.
Lucas Hanagriff, raw bar manager at Fleet Landing in Charleston, dives into what makes a Lowcountry Boil so satisfying—and, more importantly, how to do it right.
Q: What is a Lowcountry Boil, and what are the key ingredients in the dish?
Lowcountry boil, also commonly called Frogmore stew or a shrimp boil, is boiled potatoes, corn, sausage, and shrimp seasoned with Old Bay. They can be boiled in plain water, but commonly the addition of a beer or two from the nearest cooler adds to the dish. These are the basics of a Lowcountry boil, as other ingredients are commonly added in different kitchens and backyards to the party’s liking.
Q: Is there a certain type of shrimp that works best?
White shrimp are the most common harvest in the waters around Charleston and are what is most used in a Lowcountry Boil.
Q: Do you prefer a specific type of seasoning blend? Are there any other variations that can be used?
Every chef will have their own preference, whether commercially produced or made at home. Although more popular with some neighbors to the north, Old Bay seasoning is a staple and a fantastic option for seasoning a Lowcountry Boil.
Q: Do you typically marinate or pre-season anything before it goes into the pot? If so, for how long?
One thing that makes Lowcountry Boil so awesome is the ease of preparation—it’s a one-pot dish. You do not need to season or marinate any of the ingredients before going into the pot, but it is a necessity to season your water while heating it up. There is a saying among chefs that boiling water intended for cooking should be ‘salty like the sea.’ Sea water has a salinity of around 10%, and this is perfect for seasoning items that are going to cook relatively quickly. In addition, a Lowcountry favorite (or necessity) is the addition of beer and Old Bay to your water prior to adding your first ingredients. One thing that can be purchased or done ahead of time would be parboiling or partially cooking the potatoes: they take the longest to cook, and parboiled potatoes can drastically reduce the cooking time prior to serving the boil.
Q: What’s the key to layering ingredients in the boil for even cooking?
All the ingredients of the Boil take different times to cook when placed in boiling water. Potatoes take the longest, and shrimp take the shortest. If using all raw ingredients (except for the sausage, which is usually cooked or smoked to some degree or fully), we recommend cooking in this order: potatoes, corn, sausage, and finally shrimp. An old school method is to bring the seasoned water to a boil and add the potatoes and cover. Once the water begins to boil again, add the corn and cover. Once the water returns to a boil, add the sausage. Once the water returns to a boil, you can add the shrimp, stir, kill the heat source, and let the shrimp cook for 1-3 minutes.
Q: How do you know when the shrimp are perfectly cooked?
Shrimp do not take very long to cook. And while still delicious, slightly overcooked or perfectly cooked shrimp will set the dish off. Once properly cooked, the shrimp will turn a white/pink hue, with the legs and tail turning red. The meat of the shrimp will go from a translucent hue to an opaque coloring. This can take anywhere from one to three minutes, depending on how crowded the pot is. We like to stir the entirety of the pot one minute after adding the shrimp to get an eye on all ingredients and keep any items from sitting directly on the bottom of the pot atop the heat source.
Q: Any tips for draining the liquid from the pot? Are there any fun uses for it once you’ve separated it from the rest of the food?
Steam pots, or any pot with a basket inside, are your best options for cooking a Lowcountry Boil. They make separating the food from the now broth very easy. Once the ingredients have finished cooking, you can lift the very hot basket out of the boiling water with rags or oven mitts. You can then turn your heat source off and let the broth cool. This broth, or stock, can be used to cook many other things, such as rice and pasta, and can easily be added to sauces or gravy for additional flavors. Commonly, the ingredients are dumped onto a table, seasoned more, and the dinner bell is rung. Friends and family will gather around, picking their next favorite bite from the pile. Be careful, as more hot water will be draining off the ingredients as you enjoy.
Q: Any personal touches you always add to make it your own?
Adding onions is a great touch as they add great flavor and aromatics. This especially rings true if you plan on using the broth for any additional dishes. If you make your own sausage, it would be a great addition. Dipping sauces and condiments are a great tableside addition for Lowcountry Boil, such as melted butter, cocktail sauce, ketchup, lemons, and your favorite hot sauce.
Q: Any tricks for elevating the classic recipe for a more upscale experience?
Creating an upscale Lowcountry Boil can be done very easily, but it can also greatly depend on your crowd. Additions such as mussels, crabs, and crawfish can add seafood diversity, while other vegetables such as mushrooms and onions can be great additions too.
Q: How do you calculate portions per person?
This is usually the hardest question to answer with Lowcountry Boils, as purchased fresh shrimp can fetch a pretty penny depending on your location; all while some guests will eat like birds and others like it’s their last meal. A good starting point is to plan on a pound of raw, unfrozen head-on shrimp per guest (or roughly 1/2 pound of headless shrimp), two regular-sized potatoes, one full ear of corn, and 4-6 small links/pieces of sausage per guest. If your guests are shrimp fanatics, one pound of headless shrimp per person could be more appropriate.
Q: What equipment is needed to prepare it?
The common backyard method requires a propane tank and propane cooker, lighter or flame source, and a large pot with a basket and lid. You can also tackle this dish in your own kitchen with a large pot with a lid atop your stove. You do not need the basket, but you will need a colander to dump the ingredients into, or you will need a slotted spoon to remove the ingredients if you’d like to save the broth.
Q: Any beverage pairings that complement the flavors especially well?
Your favorite light beer is what you’ll see adorned most tabletops while the pile of Lowcountry Boil is still steaming. At this moment, beverages are usually ignored for the first few minutes after a basket of Lowcountry boil has been dumped on a table, though. While cold beer is a staple with Lowcountry Boil, crisp white wines, both still and sparkling, are fantastic pairings. But don’t be alarmed when you see a glass of sweet tea or a Capri Sun from the young’n next to you as this meal can be super fun for kids too!
Q: When is the best time to host a shrimp boil?
The commercial shrimp season in Charleston ranges from June until the end of the year, and any time during the summer on you are likely to hear about a Lowcountry Boil. Recreational anglers are likely to catch a large quantity of shrimp in our local water during this time, but the peak season for catching shrimp comes during the fall months. September–November is when you’ll see many anglers ditching their rods for shrimp poles and cast nets to catch their harvest of large white shrimp. This also happens to be when you’ll hear of the most Lowcountry Boils happening, as the shrimp are most prevalent. It is a great party dish, so it is common around the fall holidays and big sporting events as well.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
Lowcountry Boils, oyster roasts, and the like, are meant to be that of a family dinner vibe, including many friends and neighbors gathered around a table having a great time. Food is one of the few languages that everyone speaks, and it is a great excuse for a great gathering. It’s a comfort food for many, and the experience of all diving in together is tethered to the dish by tradition and colloquialism.
The dumping of the pot will produce quite a bit of runoff, so to save your kitchen, this is a great excuse to get out an old plastic or wood table and enjoy the great outdoors. The shrimp can be cooked with the heads on or off. While the heads can add tremendous flavor, they aren’t for everyone. Whether your shrimp are whole or not, we do recommend cooking them with their shells on. The shells can help protect the delicate meat from overcooking. When it comes to peeling a cooked shrimp, the shell wraps around the back, larger part of the shrimp, and meets on the underside of the meat where the legs are. You should be able to grab one side of the legs and basically unwrap the shell from around the back of the shrimp. It does not always work perfectly, but it will remove most of the shell.
