Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe
This Cajun Seafood Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce is a flavorful feast of shrimp, crab, lobster tails, mussels, sausage, and potatoes. Prepared in under an hour, this easy seafood boil recipe is the perfect meal for entertaining guests.
Equipment
- Newspaper or Aluminum Serving Pans (you can also use 2 sheet pans for serving)
Ingredients
- 2- 12 oz Beer, (I used Blue Moon for its orange notes, but use your favorite beer)
- 8 qts Water, (pot should be about 2/3 the way full, add more water if needed)
- 2 tbsp Chicken Bouillon Paste, (optional)
- 5 Bay leaves
- 3/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/4 cup Cajun Seasoning
- 2 packets Sazon, (optional, highly recommended)
- 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes, (less or more as desired)
- 1 tbsp Seasoned Salt
- 2 Lemons, (sliced)
- 10 Garlic cloves, (peeled and smashed)
- 2 Large onions, (peeled and sliced)
- 3 lbs Red potatoes, (halved)
- 6 ears Corn, (peeled and cut into thirds)
- 1 lb Andouille sausage
- 2 lbs Snow crab clusters/legs
- 1 lb Lobster tails
- 1 lb Raw Mussels, (do not use pre-cooked)
- 2 lbs Jumbo shrimp
Seafood Boil Sauce
- 2 cups Unsalted Butter, (I recommend using unsalted butter to prevent the sauce from being too salty)
- 8 Garlic cloves, (minced)
- 1/4 cup Cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp Old bay seasoning
- 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes, (optional)
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt, (to taste)
- 1 cup Reserved broth, (from above)
- 1/4 cup Fresh parsley, (diced, more for garnish)
- 1/2 cup Hot sauce, (for serving)
Instructions
Seafood Boil
- Add beer, water, and chicken bouillon paste to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then add bay leaves, Old Bay seasoning, Cajun Seasoning, Sazon, Red Pepper Flakes, Seasoned salt, sliced lemons, smashed garlic, sliced onions. Stir together and boil for 5 minutes to allow flavors to come together. 2- 12 oz Beer 8 qts Water 2 tbsp Chicken Bouillon Paste 5 Bay leaves 3/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning 1/4 cup Cajun Seasoning 2 packets Sazon 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes 1 tbsp Seasoned Salt 2 Lemons 10 Garlic cloves 2 Large onions
- Add halved red potatoes and corn to the pot and allow them to cook until the potatoes are tender but not mushy (about 15 minutes). Then add sausages and allow them to cook for another 5 minutes. 3 lbs Red potatoes 6 ears Corn 1 lb Andouille sausage
- Prep the crab legs - optional but highly recommended. Slightly crack the crab legs with kitchen shears or crab leg crackers. This helps the flavorful broth seep into the shells and add flavor to the meat. It also makes it easier (and less messy) for you to crack them open.
- Add crab legs and cook for 3 minutes. Then add lobster tails, and mussels. Cover the pot with a lid and allow everything to boil together for 5 minutes, then add shrimp and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. (The mussels will pop open once they are finished and the shrimp will be pink) Stir together, save 2 cups of the broth, then drain. 2 lbs Snow crab clusters/legs 1 lb Lobster tails 1 lb Raw Mussels 2 lbs Jumbo shrimp
- Use a strainer or spider to remove seafood from the broth and place seafood onto newspaper or a large serving tray.
Garlic Butter Seafood Sauce
- Make the sauce. Melt butter over medium low heat in a large sauce pan, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Then add cajun seasoning, old bay seasoning, red pepper flakes, onion powder, brown sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup of the reserved broth and simmer on low for 3-5 minutes, until sauce thickens. Add fresh parsley and remove from the heat. 2 cups Unsalted Butter 8 Garlic cloves 1/4 cup Cajun seasoning 2 tbsp Old bay seasoning 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes 1 tbsp onion powder 1/2 tbsp brown sugar Salt 1 cup Reserved broth 1/4 cup Fresh parsley
- Pour about 3/4 of the sauce over the seafood and toss everything together so that the sauce coats everything. Use leftover sauce as a dip for the seafood. Serve with hot sauce (optional) 1/2 cup Hot sauce
Video
Notes
- The key to a great seafood boil is adding everything in stages. Potatoes, corn, and sausages need a head start, while delicate seafood, especially shrimp goes in toward the end so nothing overcooks.
- Crack the crab shells before boiling. I lightly crack the crab-leg shells before they go into the pot. It gives the seasoned broth a chance to work its way closer to the meat instead of only seasoning the outside of the shell.
- Season the broth aggressively. Most of that seasoning stays in the cooking liquid, so a timid broth can produce bland seafood.
- Don't judge seafood by time alone. Use the doneness cues in your cooking-time chart, particularly with shrimp and lobster.
- Serve immediately. Seafood tastes best fresh out of the pot, so this isn't a dish you want sitting around. Serving a little later? Transfer the cooked seafood boil to a covered aluminum foil pan and add enough hot broth to lightly cover the bottom. Keep the pan in a warm oven (about 200°F) so the seafood stays at 140°F or warmer until serving. The broth and steam help keep everything warm and juicy.
Nutrition
Calories: 942kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 65g, Saturated Fat: 35g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 19g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 346mg, Sodium: 3136mg, Potassium: 1635mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 5977IU, Vitamin C: 50mg, Calcium: 289mg, Iron: 8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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