Seafood Boil

When my family took a trip to Florida last year, I was dead set on doing one of those seafood boils where you cook a bunch of seafood in a big pot and then dump it on a newspaper covered table on the beach. I've never seen this done in the Pacific Northwest, it's something I envisioned on warm sandy beaches.

Sadly, this never happened, and I've been really bitter about it over the last year!

So when we started renovating our new home, I started to go through my mind on what kinds of meals I can prepare using minimal effort, maximizing on not being around for 6-8 hours, but yeilding DELICIOUS results. Of course - anything with a crockpot, right? ;)

With a compilation of a few recipes found throughout the internets as well as my own tastes, I present to you a seafood boil that even us Pacific Northwesterners can have. No, you probably won't be dumping it spectacularly on a table on a sandy beach (I'm pretty bitter about the lack of sandy beaches around here too, I guess), but you can enjoy it after a rough day of pulling up nasty old carpet, masking off mirrors for paint, or just if you have company coming over ;) For all you East Coasters, keep in mind that I've never actually had a legit version of this before. In fact, this was the first time I've ever had it. Share your warm water skills and tell me how you do it!

This will happily feed 4 adults.

You will need:
A HUUUUUUUUUGE crockpot!
1 package of Zatarains Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil
8 baby red potatoes
4 ears of corn, cut in half
4 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
4 sausages - we used Aidell's Cajun Style Adouille and it was REALLY spicy! I'd opt for a more mild flavored one next time.
2 lbs of unshelled shrimp (so excited for Zaycon Fresh's wild caught Argentine shrimp!)

1 large lemon for the finish

optional: add your favorite mussels, shellfish, lobster, shellfish, crab, artichokes - you name it! But keep in mind the size of your crockpot.

You will do:
*Note: Before we begin, you can make this in the crockpot from start to finish. I was on somewhat of a time crunch, so I prepared the boil seasoning and potatoes on the stove to speed up the cooking process on the potatoes. The following recipe is what I did.
1. Prepare the crab boil according to the instructions with how much water it calls for. Add quartered baby reds to the mixture, allow to cook long enough for the potatoes to soften slightly - they don't need to be fully cooked. This is probably less than 20 minutes.
2. Pour the boil and potatoes into your crockpot. Add your corn, celery, garlic, sausages (I cut them into quarters as well). Cover, turn on low and you can walk away for about 3-4 hours (probably 5-6 hours if you didn't precook the pototoes).
3. 20 minutes before you want to eat, toss in your shrimp. It's going to be a very tight fit so try to squeeze it all in there. Serve immediately once the shrimp is done- don't let those babies overcook!
4. To serve, discard the boil broth. That's right, it's not a soup - it's more of a marinade. Give a healthy squirt of lemon juice on top for some freshness and have some fresh french or sourdough bread handy too!


As a growing family of 4 I make it a goal to source the best quality meat at the best prices. That's why I buy all of our meat through Zaycon Fresh.  We've saved hundreds of dollars in the price of meat as well as I always have the convenience of not having to go to the grocery store to purchase meats. Sign up for Zaycon Fresh and see all the different meats you can buy - salmon, cod, shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, sausages, bacon, turkey and more! By signing up for Zaycon Fresh I get a referral bonus, so thanks in advance for helping me feed my family!