Louisiana Seafood Boil
A great backyard party, a real Louisiana seafood boil requires a 50-gallon pot on top of a propane burner. This stovetop version turns out a smaller feast, but the flavors are the same. Once you’ve mastered the basics, as described below, it’s time to release your inner Emeril. Exuberant cooks throw extra goodies into the pot to soak up the spicy brew (try sausage links, whole artichokes or mushrooms). Spread out some newspapers and the table is set. Saltines and cocktail sauce are optional. Cold beer is essential.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 15 of 16 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 15 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Shrimp | 100g cooked | 99 |
| Blue Crab | 100g cooked | 97 |
| Crab | 100g cooked | 97 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Celery Stalks | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 8 quarts water
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 6 yellow onions, unpeeled
- 4 celery stalks, halved crosswise
- 2 lemons, unpeeled and quartered
- 12 garlic cloves
- 5 bay leaves
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, thickly sliced
- Crab boil spice mix (see above) or 6 oz. packaged whole-spice crab boil
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sea salt, or to taste
- 1 Tbs. cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 Tbs. black peppercorns, or to taste
- 2 to 3 lb. small red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled
- 24 live blue crabs or 4 to 6 small live Dungeness crabs
- 6 ears of corn, husked and halved crosswise
- 5 lb. large shrimp, with heads attached