Shrimp Boil!

Happy 4th of July, Y'all!!!

My older son's last night on vacation, winding up on the 4th of July - and he wanted a shrimp boil.  Nothing works better for a big old pot of shrimp boil than your turkey fryer!  Clean that puppy out, make sure you have plenty of propane, and a safe place for cooking...you are set!  We stopped in at Quik Stop for a pound and a half of jumbo Gulf shrimp, grabbed some beef sausage links, new potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, and some Zatarain's Shrimp and Crab Boil in a bag from HEB and we were set.

After bringing the water to a boil in the big container that sits on the flame, drop the perforated basket in with the bag of shrimp boil in it.  Bring it back up to boil and then we dropped the pieces of fresh corn on the cob (shuck and clean all the silks... and cut into 3 pieces for each cob) and the cleaned up new potatoes (leave the skin on)...let them boil for about 15 minutes (almost fork tender, but not quite there).  Drop the shrimp (shell on) and the sausage (cut into 2-3 inch pieces).  Boil just until the shrimp turn bright pink and begin to curl - do not overcook.

Using the hangar shaped device, pull the perforated basket and allow to drain...be very careful it is some hot liquid!  Have a large bowl ready with a hot pad or a towel underneath to place the basket in for transport to the table.

Have the table prepped with overlapping sheets of waxed butcher paper.  (If you have a wooden table, you might want to put a couple of towels underneath the paper to ensure the heat doesn't damage the wood)  Completely cover the table with butcher paper...and dump the entire basket of food onto the paper...dig in - use your hands...fun, fun, fun!

We also served some steamed and buttered broccoli on the side and a hot loaf of French whole grain baguette.  A side of melted butter and some homemade shrimp sauce (easy - ketchup, creamy horseradish, and fresh lemon to taste) were served in ramekins.  The only think that would have made it better would have been the addition of crab...unfortunately the only crab we found was Alaskan king crab and a big leg cost about $30+...and it wouldn't have fit in our pot, even as big as it was!!!  We skipped the crab this time.

Again, I tried to take photos about halfway through the chow down...but was waved away by those chowing down...I gave in and put the camera away (not very graciously I will say).  My son tells me I am obsessed with taking pictures of food.   They just don't get it.  I love writing my blog and "seeing" the results makes it all the more appealing!

Oh well - take my word - it is a fun meal, eaten with fingers (and a fork if desired)...and once again, we waddled away from the table.

If you have never done this, you must...easy to do in your kitchen on a smaller scale...just use a big Dutch oven and make sure you have enough pan for all the stuff going in!  It's an incredibly fun, and delicious, meal!  After a day on the beach...it can't be beat!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!