Ingredients:

  • 6 quarts water
  • 1/2 cup Old Bay Seasoning (or to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 lemons, halved
  • 2 pounds small waxy potatoes, quartered
  • 4 ears corn on the cob, cut into thirds
  • 1 pound Andouille sausage (or smoked sausage), sliced into rounds
  • 1.5 pounds large shrimp, deveined and shells on
  • (optional) 1 pound mussels or clams, cleaned and debearded
  • (for serving) melted butter, about ½ cup
  • (for garnish) chopped fresh parsley or chives

Instructions:

  1. Prepare Your Equipment: You will need a large stockpot with a lid and a slotted spoon for easy removal of the seafood and vegetables.
  2. Boil Water: In your large stockpot, add the water along with Old Bay seasoning, salt, and halved lemons. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
  3. Cook Potatoes: Once boiling, carefully add the quartered potatoes to the pot. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they are just tender but not falling apart.
  4. Add Corn & Sausage: After the potatoes have cooked for ten minutes, add in the corn pieces and sliced sausage. Cover again and let them cook together for another 5 minutes.
  5. Add Seafood: Next, stir in the shrimp along with mussels/clams if using; cover again and cook for an additional 3–5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and opaque while mussels/clams open up.
  6. Check Doneness: Make sure all seafood is cooked through by checking that its opaque; discard any mussels or clams that did not open during cooking.
  7. Drain & Serve: Carefully drain everything using a slotted spoon into a colander set over a sink or bowl to catch any liquid you want to keep for broth later if desired.
  8. Prepare Butter Sauce: While still warm from draining but before serving; melt butter in small saucepan over low heat—feel free to mix in some minced garlic or herbs here if you like!
  9. For presentation purposes (optional), spread newspaper on your table as traditional seafood boils often do! Pour out your seafood boil onto it directly from the colander or serve individually on plates garnished with parsley/chives alongside melted butter for dipping!