Planning on cooking ribs and doing a seafood boil for Easter. I've never done a seafood boil but I'm sure some of you have and have some tips, recipes, etc. I figured after y'all hitting it out of the park with the pinto bean recipe why not come here. Thoughts?

Swamp Fire Seafood Boil is an exceptional seasoning for boils. Crawfish/shrimp, sausage, carrots, onion, red potatoes, mushrooms and artichoke.

What type of seafood?

We were thinking shrimp as far as seafood. May throw some crab in there also.

Then sausage, potatoes, and corn.

I recommend it

If you have never done one, google "low country boil" watch some videos and tons of recipes out there. All the seasonings are similar imo.

aggielax11 said:

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We were thinking shrimp as far as seafood. May throw some crab in there also.

Then sausage, potatoes, and corn.

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I use liquid boil, any of the brands you can get at the store or academy are going to be good - Zataran's, Tony's, etc. The dry boils work also, just need to make sure you have them completely dissolved. Go at least 1.5 the amount recommended for the volume you are boiling. I also tend to spice it up with other stuff depending on how drunk I am, what I have on hand, who all is eating, etc. Always add more garlic, always. Usually some cayenne, paprika, tony's and herbs like oregano and a touch of thyme if the mood strikes. Be careful with herbs though, you can overdo them with a small amount.

Shrimp are easy and pretty forgiving, just pay attention to time in the boil so you don't overcook them. Really, overcooking is about the only way to really mess up a seafood boil for the most part. Don't get too crazy with the seasonings and you will have a solid product.

Definitely need to add the garlic, forgot that on our list.

Here's a tip. Once you add the shrimp to the boiling water, cut off the fire. This will let the shrimp sit in the water longer to soak up the spice. When you get to the point they are done cooking, dump a big cup of ice in the water to stop the cooking, but keep them in the spice. The longer you leave them, the more of the spice they will soak up. Don't overcook them.

Thank you!

13B said:

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Swamp Fire Seafood Boil is an exceptional seasoning for boils. Crawfish/shrimp, sausage, carrots, onion, red potatoes, mushrooms and artichoke.

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Swamp Fire has been our go to for well over 10 years now

Can't go wrong with Frog Bone or Swamp Fire. Can get both on Amazon.

Everything is good in the boil. Some of our favorite extras (besides the standards list above) are mushrooms, artichokes, pearl onions, brussel sprouts, asparagus tied in bunches, and pineapple with core removed and cut into wedges (trust me on this one.

II have friend that adds some boudin sausage as well. Don't cut it until you pull it out or it will fall apart.

If someone tells you to add chicken wings............you should ignore that person

I agree that almost any of the store bought spices or liquids will work fine...........use more than the recipe on the jar/bottle says. Soaking is the key. MBL has good advice

This, some amount of President brand butter and a couple lemons to the pot.

Personally hate the liquid stuff. I avoid crawfish cooked with that.

Swamp Fire vote here

Everything above is the way to go. Don't overcook the shrimp and can't go wrong.

For off the wall things that were surprising good:
-I've never made it but a restaurant I started going to puts pealed hard boiled eggs in the mix. Would go well for Easter eggs.
-This is so wrong but better than a lot of boils I've had: Dry in the oven in a pan: https://damndelicious.net/2017/02/13/sheet-pan-shrimp-boil/

Everything that I typically do has been mostly covered already. But wanted to add one more interesting thing you don't normally see:

Ravioli

Trust me on this. They soak up all the flavor like potatoes, mushrooms, etc do, plus you get a cheese bomb. Its a fun little surprise. Buy the frozen ones. They work great. Toss em in at the end of the boil and let 'em soak. Plus you get the added benefit of dropping the water temp to allow for longer soak time without overcoooking your protein.

thenational said:

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Personally hate the liquid stuff. I avoid crawfish cooked with that.

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Same. Has a weird everything to it. I'd steer clear and use better ingredients.

Since you are planning on doing ribs already, simmer the ribs for about 30 mins in the mudbug pot. You'll get flavor on the ribs and pork fat in the boil.

Trolley Problems said:

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Everything that I typically do has been mostly covered already. But wanted to add one more interesting thing you don't normally see:

Ravioli

Trust me on this. They soak up all the flavor like potatoes, mushrooms, etc do, plus you get a cheese bomb. Its a fun little surprise. Buy the frozen ones. They work great. Toss em in at the end of the boil and let 'em soak. Plus you get the added benefit of dropping the water temp to allow for longer soak time without overcoooking your protein.

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2nd for the raviolis. They turn out really good

interesting, never heard that one.

Another long time swamp fire user...as in well over a decade and we do a big boil every year
I just ordered mine from them a week ago and got delivered.

I use a mix of liquid and dry. The liquid is less salty so helps give the heat without over doing the salt.

I'll use one gallon of liquid for each sack plus half a bag of the dry. This totals about 1.5x what they say for a sack so makes it a good spice level. Enough the people who are sissies can still handle and the ones that really like spice say its solid. Then for those that like really spicy I crank it up at the end and we go to town

aggielax11 said:

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We were thinking shrimp as far as seafood. May throw some crab in there also.

Then sausage, potatoes, and corn.

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As has been stated before but needs to be reiterated, DO NOT OVER COOK YOUR SHRIMP. If all you're doing in your boil is shrimp, all you need to do to make sure they are cooked through is return the pot to a boil after shrimp are added then turn off the heat. Let them soak for about 5 minutes and you're good to go. If you overcook them, your shrimp will turn out tough or rubbery.

For my pot, I use both liquid and granulated. I like Pro Boil by Zatarain's for the granules, then add lemon, garlic, onion, and butter to the pot to round out the seasoning. Throw some of the boil granules on the shrimp after you drain if you want some extra heat.

Ok, so I need a clarification, having overcooked shrimp several times and making them rubbery. When the shrimp are dumped into the boiling water, do you have to let the water return to a boil (which might take 2-4 minutes), or can you turn off the burner immediately and just let the shrimp soak? Is a rolling boil necessary to make sure any bacteria are killed? Seems like every time I waited for the water to return to a boil, the shrimp ended up overdone.

I get the water boiling well, dump them in, and kill the fire. I don't take the water back to boiling. Bacteria will be dead. Back to boiling is too much.

Everything you put in there has a different cook time. Potatoes take longer than corn. Corn takes longer than shrimp. Figure out how long to cook everything, and add things as needed to get done all at once.

Example:
Boil potatoes 15 min
Add corn, boil for 5 more min
Add shrimp, boil for 2 more min



I like the powder seasoning more than liquid. Add butter and more seasoning after you dump it out.

If you're using a big enough pot and enough water (and your shrimp aren't frozen...), the temp shouldn't drop enough to matter. Start your timer when you add stuff. Judge your shrimp done-ness on appearance: they're cooked through as soon as they're pink and curled up. It happens fast!

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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I get the water boiling well, dump them in, and kill the fire. I don't take the water back to boiling. Bacteria will be dead. Back to boiling is too much.

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This is the conclusion I have been moving toward - just kill the fire and let the shrimp soak in seasonings. I like the idea of a cup full of ice poured in to stop the cooking process, too.

axan77 said:

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Milwaukees Best Light said:

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I get the water boiling well, dump them in, and kill the fire. I don't take the water back to boiling. Bacteria will be dead. Back to boiling is too much.

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This is the conclusion I have been moving toward - just kill the fire and let the shrimp soak in seasonings. I like the idea of a cup full of ice poured in to stop the cooking process, too.

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I like the frozen ravioli idea…

I know it has been said already many times on here, but it can't be emphasized enough. DON'T OVERCOOK THE SHRIMP !!!!

Olives are fantastic in your boil. Also, peel some sweet potatoes, chop them up into golf ball sizes (or slightly smaller). They're awesome, too.

Interesting…. Black or green olives?

The big green ones. No pit or pimento. Mine are called "Texas olives", I think.

Ogre09 said:

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Everything you put in there has a different cook time. Potatoes take longer than corn. Corn takes longer than shrimp. Figure out how long to cook everything, and add things as needed to get done all at once.

Boil potatoes 15 min
Add corn, boil for 5 more min
Add shrimp, boil for 2 more min



I like the powder seasoning more than liquid. Add butter and more seasoning after you dump it out.

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Golf ball sized potatoes need only 10 minutes, then add fresh cut corn on the cob and boil for 2 minutes, then add shrimp and kill the fire. Soak 5-10 minutes and you're done.

I use swamp fire and dry seasoning. 2 cups of swamp fire is more than enough for a 60 quart boiling pot, and then add dry seasoning to taste. If you're boiling live blue crabs as well then I would start them a couple minutes after the potatoes. If you're adding sausage as well then I would add that a couple minutes after or with the crab.

This is good stuff everyone, much appreciated. I've done crawfish boils before but it's been awhile. Wife threw out this idea for Easter and sounded good so figured we'd give it a try.