My daughter has requested a seafood or Low Country Boil for her 20th birthday party. We will be serving about 20 people. She wants it to include crab, and I'm going to go with some of Costco's Colossal crab as well as shrimp. For you guys with more experience with this type of cook, how much shrimp and crab do you think I need to buy? Any advice to make this a success is also very welcome!
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I've been involved in Low Country Boil's for 8 folks up to about 80 folks. Since you will have corn, potatoes and sausage and such in there with the shrimp and crab legs, I think I would plan a 1/2 pound shrimp per person, along with a couple of crab legs? I would say a pound if they were not eating the other stuff. The crab is what will cost you! That stuff ain't cheap!
There are plenty of recipes out there, and I am sure you know the shrimp is the very LAST thing that goes in the pot just a couple of minutes before you kill the boil.
Last time I did this, I did it in one of my beer brewing kettles, so that we could just open a valve and dump the water pretty quickly, then we were able to lift the pot (with gloves - bottom was hot), and dump it onto a picnic table covered with foil, and that was where folks served themselves from.
If I did this often I would want a boil pot with a strainer basket you could lift out, to get the low country boil out of the pot and hot water, and dump it on the table or serving trays.-
Thanks, Jim! Very helpful. How do you like to season yours? Old Bay? -
hoovarmin I've used Old Bay, and also like Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab Boil. Zatarain's has a liquid version of the boil, as well as the traditional dry spice version. They even sell the dry version in a mesh bag, to keep things nice and tidy.
I think the liquid Zatarain's is the best of the bunch, but its probably a lot spicier than Old Bay.
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Go with the Heaven Made seasoning. It's the best. They have all kinds but I've used the Amazin Cajun in boils and they've turned out fantastic. There are several options for heat level. Personally I go for the hottest (Blazin, I think) but they are all good.
Edit: make sure you see this before you order:
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hoovarmin Whew! I just looked at a few web pages, and it sounds like the Costco king crab legs are up to $42.99 a POUND!?!?! That was a price increase in May 2022.
I think you need to ensure your daughter gets her birthday crab legs, and everyone else eats shrimp!Comment
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The king crab population basically disappeared this year off Alaska and neither the fed nor state fishery experts know why. https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...-crab-climate/
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hoovarmin just load up all the guests on corn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VbZE6YhjKkΓ’β¬βΉ
Have a Corntastic Day! And don't forget the NyQuil in your boil either...Comment
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jfmorris did you see the video where they put the little boy's words to music? https://youtu.be/90YRN1tPGAI -
For those that don't know, the Nyquil comment is a joke. Apparently, there's a fad amongst the younger crowd of cooking chicken and who knows what all in Nyquil. It is very dangerous, not just the finished product but also the fumes coming off the hot cook pot.
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Donβt cut open the low country boil mesh bag like I did on my first boil π³ππComment
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I do this a lot - at least I used to before king crabs skyrocketed in price. I use the Zataran's liquid boil and some Heaven Made Neau Bay. It isn't as salty as Old Bay. After I take it out I shake more Neau Bay on everything. I also slip a couple of boiled eggs in when I add the shrimp. Man, now I want some, but snow crabs are too much trouble and king crabs too expensive...Comment
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There was a time when did this allot, it has been almost 10 years, but I would always use Strohs beer to steam everything
Sausage, Shrimp, Crab Legs, Oysters, Red Potato, Corn on the Cob, Onion, lemon and Old Bay Seasoning
I would make a vinegar based almost like in NC, but it had a little bit of dissolved Brown sugar and Hot Sauce...the guys loved it especially on the shrimp and potato
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I would steam the legs. Here in MD, unless you're making soup, boiling anything crab will cost you jail time. Have a great celebration, you know dinner is gonna be good!
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