Seafood Boil

Name: Seafood Boil
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 large lemons, halved; 1 (12-ounce) bottle lager, or 1 1/2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio; 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered; 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise; 1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving; 3 dried bay leaves; 2 tablespoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal); 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or small red potatoes, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; 3 large ears corn, husked and cut into thirds; 2 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed; 1 pound Andouille sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces; 1 pound large (16/20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on; 1 pound cooked frozen crab legs, thawed; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick); Chopped fresh parsley, for serving; Garlic butter, for serving

By Lidey Heuck

Published Feb. 29, 2024

Seafood Boil — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(65)
Comments: Read comments

You don’t need to be at the beach to make this classic seaside dinner — an assortment of fresh seafood and a really big stock pot will get you there in an hour. Feel free to make this seafood boil your own by swapping in mussels for the clams, or lobster in place of the crab legs. With sausage, corn on the cob and steamed potatoes, this is a true one-pot meal. The flavorful cooking liquid turns into a buttery, lemony sauce that coats the seafood and vegetables. Cover your table with kraft paper and dump the seafood boil out, letting everyone dig in, or, for easier cleanup, serve the boil in a large shallow bowl, with small bowls of garlic butter on the side for dipping.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

2large lemons, halved
1(12-ounce) bottle lager, or 1½ cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1head garlic, cut in half crosswise
¼cup Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving
3dried bay leaves
2tablespoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1½pounds Yukon gold or small red potatoes, about 1½ inches in diameter
3large ears corn, husked and cut into thirds
2pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed
1pound Andouille sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1½-inch pieces
1pound large (16/20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
1pound cooked frozen crab legs, thawed
4tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Garlic butter, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a very large stockpot, heat 4 quarts of water over medium-high. Quarter one lemon and add it to the pot, along with the beer, onion, garlic, Old Bay, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add the corn, clams and sausage. Cover and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the clams begin to open, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Add the shrimp and crab legs, and cook until the shrimp are just starting to turn opaque, about 3 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Step 4
Using a spider strainer or sieve, remove the seafood, sausages and vegetables and place them in a very large bowl or platter, discarding any clams that have not opened. Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid and pour it into a small bowl. Add the butter and squeeze in the juice of half of the remaining lemon; stir until the butter is melted. Pour the mixture over the seafood and gently mix until coated. Sprinkle with parsley and Old Bay. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges, and serve alongside the seafood boil with small bowls of garlic butter for dipping.

Ratings

4 out of 5

65 user ratings

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Comments

Bill1 year ago

When we cook sweet corn in the summer we rarely boil it for more than a couple of minutes. I would think that adding it at the beginning of cooking here would result in the soggy, squishy cob found in most restaurant versions of this dish.

MH1 year ago

Excellent!!! Got high fives from the fam. Tweaks: Excluded crab, heavied up on clams and local SC shrimp Had a heavy hand with a local boil spice mixture (didn’t use Old Bay) Used a Belgian beer - boiled shrimp heads and shells in 1.5 bottles - gave amazing depth Potatoes - cut in half, removed after the first ten minutes - came out perfect Added local corn after clams and andouille had five mins right before shrimp

MC1 year ago

Straightforward and easy - We have a shrimp boil every year, but always seems to forget timing of ingredients. I also cooked lobster tails in oven at 350 for 11 min and added them before adding final butter and old bay.

JB5 months ago

First time ever making a seafood boil, and it was super easy! I ended up using mussels instead of clams — not too sure how different they are as it was my first time cooking either of them. Loved this recipe though!

Kate Read Ezell10 months ago

2024.08.05 with Read, Lindsay & Eleanor. Could not find clams so used 2 lbs shrimp. Next time, don’t bother what crab if can’t find crab claws. We don’t have tools to break large crab claws or to pick out the crabmeat. Wonder if scallops would be been an ok addition. Could brown the sausage first which would make it better. Needed more seasoning. Failed to cook down the liquid when cooking the potatoes so flavor was not very strong. Needed salt. Worth trying again with the modifications.

emily y10 months ago

This was perfect. Use common sense and cut down on the time for items as you prefer. Cut down on sausage and clams to 5 min tops. Corn 4 min tops and 2 min only for shrimp. I used king crab legs from the market — they pre steamed for me and I added for last 2 min, barely. I made this for my kids upon their request and it was better than catered meals at the shore. Try it and enjoy :)

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