Description
This Lobster Seafood Boil is quite the luxurious, most indulgent seafood boil you’ll ever have, y’all! It starts with a deeply flavorful and well-seasoned boil that’s full of Cajun-inspired flair, whew. Lobster, crab, shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn are smothered in a rich Garlic Butter Sauce that is incredibly swoon-worthy. Make this homemade boil recipe for any occasion, it’s certainly a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 3 quarts water, plus more as needed
- 1 (12-ounce) can of beer- (or 1 ½ cups chicken broth as sub)
- 3 tablespoons Creole Cajun Seasoning– homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
- Hot sauce, to taste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly sliced into half-moons
- 2 large lemons, cut into wedges- divided, plus more for serving
- 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into 4-inch batons
- 1 ½ lbs baby potatoes, red or gold (or a mix of both)
- 1 ½ – 2 lbs pre-cooked king crab legs, about 6 legs (or snow crab clusters as sub)
- 2 lbs jumbo shrimp, deveined, shell-on or peeled
- 4-6 lobster tails, about 4-6 ounces
- 6 ears sweet corn on the cob, I use the mini nibblers
For the garlic butter sauce:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 10 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, plus more for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon Creole Cajun Seasoning– homemade or store-bought
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the boil. In an extra-large stockpot or dutch oven (about 10 quarts or larger) over medium-high heat, combine the water and beer (or broth). Bring the liquid to a boil. Then season the boil with the Creole Cajun seasoning, Old Bay seasoning, and a few dashes of hot sauce- to taste. Add the vinegar, sliced onion and lemon wedges into the pot. Stir all the ingredients well to thoroughly combine. Let the mixture boil for 15 minutes.
- Add the andouille & potatoes. Carefully add the andouille sausage and baby potatoes into the pot, stirring well to fully combine with the boil. Let the andouille and potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are just about fork-tender.
- Add the seafood & corn. Gently nestle the crab legs into the pot along with the shrimp and lobster tails, and corn on the cob. Be sure that everything is fully submerged under the boil (if not, simply add more water) and carefully stir to ensure all ingredients are well combined. Continue boiling for another 5-7 minutes; cook until the shrimp is pink, the crab legs are heated through, and the lobster tails are bright red with opaque flesh. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic butter sauce.
- Make the garlic butter sauce. On a separate burner, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, garlic, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, parsley, Creole Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and hot sauce- to taste. Stir all ingredients and simmer the sauce until the butter melts and the sauce is well combined, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Then remove from heat.
- Assemble the seafood boil with sauce. Line an extra-large baking sheet with foil/parchment paper (or newspaper if you’d like!). Use a spider strainer to remove the seafood boil contents from the pot and place onto the prepared baking sheet- remove and discard the onion/lemon bits. Note: If you’d like your garlic butter sauce to be thinner, you can add some of the seafood boil broth to adjust to the desired consistency. Now, this is the fun part! Pour the garlic butter sauce over the seafood boil ingredients. Then use your hands (fitted with disposable gloves if desired) to toss the sauce with everything, smothering every nook and cranny in sauce. Garnish the boil with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve seafood boil. Feel free to serve this seafood boil as-is with everyone just grabbing what they’d like from the baking sheet directly (it’s the chaos and messiness of seafood boils that are so fun!) or divide the boil onto individual plates to serve if you prefer. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired. For extra deliciousness…have some crusty bread on the side to sop up any runaway garlic butter sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.