A delectable feast of fresh shrimp, crab legs, lobster tails, mussels, clams, smokey sausage, corn, and soft potatoes can be found in this Crab Boil Recipe with Garlic Butter Sauce.
Best of all, it takes less than an hour to prepare. This recipe for a simple crab boil is ideal for hosting guests.
The finest crabboil recipe is this one! It’s the most comprehensive supper that the whole family will enjoy, and it has a range of seafood with the best flavors.
When prepared with lots of love, one of the greatest garlic butter crab boil sauces, and a touch of spicy sauce, seafood boils make the ideal outdoor meal to entertain.
Crab Boil Recipe Ingredients
Ingredients for a Crab Boil recipe include shrimp, lobster, crab legs, mussels, and clams. The boil should be done on a white surface.
1. Red potatoes: Yukon potatoes, baby potatoes, or tiny new potatoes can be used in their place if you can’t get red potatoes.
2. Sausage from Andouille: Andouille has a hint of spice. It’s the greatest sausage, in our view, for a seafood boil; but, if you’d rather have something tastier, use kielbasa.
3. Sweet Corn: As long as it’s fresh, use any kind of corn you prefer. To guarantee that the corn cooks faster, cut it into thirds and cut each one into around 2-inch pieces.
4. Large Shrimp: Use the largest shrimp you can locate, known as jumbo shrimp. This is not the time to cut corners. The best shrimp are enormous or gigantic shrimp. Moreover, you can use shell-on or peeled shrimp, based on your taste.
5. Crab: Snow crab clusters are broken-up bodies with the legs still attached; however, you can get the snow crab legs by themselves in your neighborhood fish market. Try king crab or even Dungeness crab legs if you can’t find any snow crab. Ensure that they have been precooked.
6. Lobster tails: Maine lobsters, sometimes called North Atlantic lobsters or cold water lobsters, are what you should eat. Unlike other breeds, they don’t taste fishy and have the best flavor.
7. Mussels: Mussels are not required. Because they don’t need to boil for as long as fresh mussels, we prefer to use pre-cooked mussels.
8. Clams: Discard those that didn’t open up before serving.
How to Make this Crab Boil
Follow the instructions below to make the perfect Crab boil recipe:
1. Get the boil ready. Pour the water and beer (if using) into a large stockpot and cook over medium-high heat. Heat the mixture until it boils.
Add Old Bay, Crab, and a few dashes of spicy sauce to taste when seasoning the boil. Sliced onion and lemon wedges should be added to the stew. After combining, give the mixture a 15-minute boil.
2. Stir thoroughly after adding the potatoes and andouille to the pot. After the potatoes are fork-tender, let the andouille and potatoes simmer together for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add the corn and seafood. Place the corn on the cob, shrimp, and snow crab clusters into the pot. Boil the shrimp for a further five to seven minutes, or until they turn pink. Make the sauce in the interim.
4. Prepare the buttery garlic sauce. Combine the butter, garlic, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, parsley, Crab seasoning, smoked paprika, and spicy sauce to taste in a small saucepan set over medium heat on a different burner.
After the butter has melted and the sauce has fully blended, stir and boil for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Combine the sauce and fish in a Crab boil: Line a very big baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
After removing the crab boil’s contents from the pot using a spider strainer, transfer it to the baking sheet that has been ready and add the hard-boiled eggs, if using. Toss to coat the contents in the crab boil after adding the garlic butter sauce.
6. Serve: Serve this Crab boil straight off the baking sheet, or, if you’d like, divide it up into separate serving dishes. Have fun.
Tips for making a Crab Boil Recipe
Below are the tips to use to make the perfect crab boil recipe:
- Keep the shrimp from overcooking! When the shrimp curls slightly and turns pink, it’s done cooking. Remove your shrimp from the saucepan if it seems like they are cooking more quickly than the other ingredients.
- Tailor this recipe to your preferences! Add any more seafood you’d like to add to the pot when making the crab boil. Simply watch the cooking timings to avoid overcooking any of the components.
- Use as many fresh ingredients as you can, as a pro tip. The secret to a good crab boil is using fresh ingredients.
- This recipe tastes best just out of the pot, so I wouldn’t suggest preparing it in advance.
- Make use of the largest shrimp available. This is not the time to cut corners! You can use shell-on shrimp or peeled shrimp, depending on what you want.
- This homemade crab boil recipe is an excellent substitute if you can’t locate crab seasoning.
- Before adding frozen shrimp to boiling water, let them thaw in cold water for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Make sure to throw away any clams that did not crack open. It’s difficult to locate them in the crab boil.
Types of Seafood for Crab Boil
The kinds of seafood that this recipe calls for will help you have a delicious crab boil, but feel free to experiment and tailor it to your preferences.
Snow crab clusters and shrimp are the main ingredients in our crab boil, but other seafood like mussels, clams, different types of crab (such as king crab legs or Dungeness crab), crawfish, and lobster tails also work nicely.
Simply add 2 to 2 ½ pounds of your preferred seafood to the boil (be careful to get pre-cooked crab.). This dish works just as well with frozen fish.
It’s crucial to remember that different types of seafood cook at different rates. Let’s examine some cooking times for certain types of seafood:
- Five to seven minutes for precooked crab (one or two minutes longer for larger pieces).
- Crawfish: little ones take around 4–5 minutes.
- Clams and mussels: cook for about five minutes, or until the shells split open.
For a 5–6 ounce lobster tail, allow it to cook for approximately 5–6 minutes (or until the opaque flesh turns a bright red color on the lobster shell).
