Bigly Shrimp Boil
Prep
15m
Cook
25m
Total
40m
Bigly says
Folks. FOLKS. We are doing a shrimp boil. The BIGLY shrimp boil. A real shrimp boil is one of the most beautiful things human beings have ever invented — it's a one-pot miracle, it's a party that you eat, and most people have never had a real one. They've had a 'shrimp scampi' from a chain restaurant with a salad bar that hasn't been cleaned since the second Bush administration. That's not a shrimp boil. That's a tragedy with a side of garlic bread.
Scientists — and I've talked to scientists, very smart people, the smartest — have run the numbers on this. Food chemists agree: shrimp cooks in roughly 90 seconds at 200°F. NINETY SECONDS. After that, you are not cooking the shrimp anymore, you are PUNISHING the shrimp, you are taking a beautiful crustacean and turning it into a pencil eraser. I had a guy with a PhD explain protein denaturation to me for forty minutes once. I didn't follow all of it. But the takeaway was clear: pull the shrimp early or you're cooking erasers. That's the science. That's just a fact.
The real Bigly boil is what happens when shrimp, sausage, corn, and baby potatoes get into a pot together with half a cup of Old Bay and decide to throw the greatest party of all time. The timing matters. Potatoes go first — they're dense, they take the longest. Then sausage. Then corn. Then shrimp, LAST, for two to three minutes, heat off, lid on, finished in the residual broth. You dump the whole thing on a newspaper-covered table, the Louisiana way, the Cajuns figured this out a hundred years ago and we owe them, and everyone GRABS with their hands. No forks. Forks at a shrimp boil are an insult.
Ingredients
- 6 quartswater
- 1/2 cupOld Bay seasoning(yes, half a cup, do not be afraid, this is the way)
- 2lemons, halved
- 1garlic head, halved crosswise
- 3bay leaves
- 1.5 lbbaby Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 lbandouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces(andouille if you can find it, kielbasa works in a pinch)
- 4 earsfresh corn on the cob, halved
- 2 lblarge shrimp, shell-on, deveined(shell-on, the shells are where the flavor lives, do not buy peeled)
- 8 tbspunsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cupfresh parsley, chopped
- as neededlemon wedges (for serving)
- 1 loafcrusty bread (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Fill a very large stockpot (at least 12 quarts) with the water. Add Old Bay, squeezed lemon halves (drop them in too), halved garlic head, and bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
- 2
Add the baby potatoes. Boil for 8 minutes.
- 3
Add the andouille sausage. Continue boiling for 5 more minutes.
- 4
Add the halved corn cobs. Boil for another 4 minutes.
- 5
Add the shrimp. Stir once. Cook for 2-3 minutes, just until the shrimp turn pink and curl into a loose C-shape. Do not overcook.
- 6
Turn off the heat. Let everything sit in the hot broth for 2 minutes to absorb seasoning.
- 7
Drain through a large colander (or scoop everything out with a spider strainer, reserving a cup of the broth for dipping).
- 8
Dump the entire boil onto a newspaper-covered table or a large serving platter. Drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and surround with lemon wedges. Serve with crusty bread for sopping up the butter.
One more thing
Make this once and your family will demand it every summer for the rest of your natural life. They will not let you off the hook. They will mention it in your eulogy — 'and he made the greatest shrimp boil, the BIGLY shrimp boil, and we miss it more than we miss him.' That's how good this is. Get a roll of paper towels — get TWO rolls — pour something cold, and get out of the way. The boil does the talking. The boil always does the talking. Tell your friends.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Shrimp Boil.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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