How to Make a Seafood Boil

Co-authored by Ollie George Cigliano and Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: October 19, 2021 References

If you have access to great seafood, a seafood boil is a must! Use whatever fresh seafood you have like clams, mussels, shrimp, lobsters, or crabs, and cook them all together in the same pot or roasting dish. The great flavor comes not only from the seafood, but from butter, garlic, and lots of spices. Make a seafood boil and you'll be rewarded with a succulent meal that serves a crowd.

Ingredients

Stovetop Seafood Boil

2 lemons, halved
1 medium sweet onion, quartered
2 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise with seeds removed
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 head of garlic, peeled and halved
2/3 cup (76 g) of seafood seasoning
1 tablespoon (17 g) of kosher salt, or more to taste
3 bay leaves
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds (680 g) of red potatoes, halved
2 to 3 13-ounce (396 g) packages of smoked kielbasa sausage, cut into 2 in (5.1 cm) pieces
3 ears of corn, shucked and halved
15 littleneck clams, scrubbed
2 pounds (910 g) of jumbo shrimp, deveined
1 ¹⁄₄ pounds (570 g) of Alaskan king crab legs

Makes 7 to 8 servings

Oven-Roasted Seafood Boil

1 pound (450 g) of littleneck clams
¾ cup (169 g) of unsalted butter
2 heads of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon (10 g) of Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon (7 g) of lemon and herb seafood seasoning
½ tablespoon (3 g) of cayenne pepper
1 pound (450 g) of uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound (450 g) of snow crab legs
2 lobster tails, split in half lengthwise
4 andouille sausage links
3 ears of corn

Makes 4 servings

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Stovetop Seafood Boil

1
Put a large stockpot on the stove and pour in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water. Use a stockpot that's large enough to hold all of the water along with all of the seafood that you'll be adding. Set it on the stove and add 1 gallon (3.8 L) of cold water or enough water fill the pot two-thirds full.^{[1]
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- If your stockpot has a basket insert, use it! This makes it a lot easier to lift the cooked seafood out of the pot once it's done. If you don't have one, don't worry—you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out the food.
2
Add lemons, onion, chilies, thyme, garlic, and seasonings to the water. Cut 2 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Then, toss the halves in along with 1 quartered sweet onion.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Ollie George Cigliano
Private Chef & Food Educator
Expert Interview. 18 October 2021.} Add 2 halved serrano chiles, 1 bunch of fresh thyme, 1 halved head of garlic, 2/3 cup (76 g) of seafood seasoning, 1 tablespoon (17 g) of kosher salt, and 3 bay leaves.^{[3]
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- To give your boil a hoppy taste, you can pour in a 12 fl oz (350 ml) can of your favorite beer.
- You can make your own cajun-style seasoning with paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, and dried thyme.^{[4]
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  Expert Source
  
  Ollie George Cigliano
  Private Chef & Food Educator
  Expert Interview. 18 October 2021.}
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3
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook it for 10 minutes. Turn the burner to medium-high so the water comes to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium so the liquid bubbles. Keep it at a low-boil for 10 minutes so the seasonings flavor the water.^{[5]
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- Heating the liquid also dissolves the salt to make a brine for your seafood.
4
Add potato halves to the pot and simmer them for 10 minutes. Scrub 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds (680 g) of red potatoes and cut them in half. Then, lower them into the bubbling liquid and put the lid on the pot. Set a timer for 10 minutes so you know when to add more ingredients.^{[6]
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Research source}^{[7]
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Expert Source

Ollie George Cigliano
Private Chef & Food Educator
Expert Interview. 18 October 2021.}
- Don't cook the potatoes until they're soft or they'll disintegrate once you keep adding other ingredients.
- If your red potatoes are small, you don't have to cut them in half—just toss them into the pot whole.
5
Put sausage and corn into the pot and cook everything for 7 minutes. Cut 2 or 3 13-ounce (396 g) packages of smoked kielbasa sausage into 2 in (5.1 cm) pieces and put them into the pot along with 3 halved ears of corn. Put the lid back on and boil them for 7 minutes.^{[8]
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- The corn, potatoes, and sausages should be covered with liquid. If there's not enough, pour in more water until they're submerged.
- You can also add the sausage in at the same time as the potatoes.^{[9]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Ollie George Cigliano
  Private Chef & Food Educator
  Expert Interview. 18 October 2021.}
6
Lower clams into the pot and boil them for 8 minutes. Take 15 cleaned and scrubbed littleneck clams and toss them into your stockpot. Put the lid back on and set your timer for 8 minutes. The clams should open once they're done cooking.^{[10]
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- If you're cooking large clams, you may need to add 1 or 2 minutes to the cooking time.
7
Add jumbo shrimp, turn off the burner, and steep them for 10 minutes. It's really easy to overcook shrimp, so toss 2 pounds (910 g) of deveined jumbo shrimp into the liquid and turn off the burner. Then, put the lid on the pot and set a timer for 10 minutes.^{[11]
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- Keep in mind that the shrimp won't be completely cooked after 10 minutes. The timer just lets you know when to add the crabs.
8
Add crab legs to the pot and set the timer for 5 minutes. Unlike whole crabs, crab legs are usually sold pre-cooked and frozen, you just need to reheat them. Push 1 ¹⁄₄ pounds (570 g) of Alaskan king crab legs into the liquid so they're submerged. Put the lid back on the pot and let the crabs stay in the pot until they're hot.^{[12]
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- Using whole crabs instead of legs? You'll probably have to add 4 to 5 minutes to the cooking time.
9
Take all of the food out of the pot and spread it on a newspaper-lined table. If your stockpot has a steamer basket, slowly lift it up and out of the pot. If not, use a big slotted spoon and scoop the food out. Spread newspapers on your table and put the seafood directly onto it, or arrange the seafood on serving platters.^{[13]
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- Put any leftover seafood into an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Oven-Roasted Seafood Boil

1
Soak clams in cold water for up to 1 hour. Pick through 1 pound (450 g) of littleneck clams and throw out any clams that are open or broken. Put the good clams into a bowl and cover them with cold water. Let the clams sit for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour so they spit out sand. Then, take out the clams and scrub them with a cloth or brush.^{[14]
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- Don't be tempted to drain the clams in a colander or the sand will wash back onto the clams.
2
Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and spread the seafood in a roasting pan. Although you can use a large rimmed baking sheet in a pinch, a deep roasting pan is perfect for holding lots of delicious seafood and sausage. Put your cleaned clams in the pan along with 1 pound (450 g) of shrimp, 1 pound (450 g) of snow crab legs, and 2 lobster tails.^{[15]
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- Keep in mind that these are just suggestions for seafood you can use! The great thing about a seafood boil is that you can totally customize what seafood you cook. Don't have crab legs? Use extra shrimp instead or just use all lobster—whatever you like is fine.
3
Place 4 andouille sausages in the pan with 3 ears of corn. Cut 4 andouille sausage links into quarters and scatter them over the seafood in your pan. Then, cut 3 shucked ears of corn in halves or thirds and put them in the pan, too.^{[16]
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- Want to add potatoes to the boil? Parboil 2 or 4 quartered potatoes until they're just softening. Then, transfer them to the roasting pan so they can finish cooking along with the seafood.
4
Put butter and garlic into a saucepan with the seasonings. Set a medium-sized saucepan on the stove and put ¾ cup (169 g) of unsalted butter into it along with 2 chopped heads of garlic. Then, add 1 tablespoon (10 g) of Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon (7 g) of lemon and herb seafood seasoning, and ½ tablespoon (3 g) of cayenne pepper.^{[17]
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- Add extra Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper if you want your seafood boil to be even spicier.
5
Cook the seasoned butter over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the burner to low and stir the seasonings into the butter as it melts. Once the butter is completely melted, cook it for a few minutes so the butter becomes fragrant.^{[18]
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- The spices will intensify when you heat them with the butter. They'll also be easier to mix with the seafood in your pan.
6
Pour the seasoned butter into the pan and stir to coat the food. Turn off the burner and slowly pour the flavorful butter over the food in your roasting pan. Then, use a large spoon to toss the food so everything's coated in the spicy butter.^{[19]
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- Some people like to season the seafood in a large bowl before spreading it in the pan, but mixing it in the roasting pan saves you a little cleanup!
7
Cover the pan and bake the seafood boil for 25 to 30 minutes. Tear off a piece of aluminum foil and tightly cover the roasting pan. Bake the seafood boil in the preheated oven until the shrimp turns opaque and the clams open. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes.^{[20]
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- If you want the sausages to brown, remove the foil and cook the seafood boil for another 5 minutes.
8
Serve the seafood boil with crusty bread for soaking up the butter. Some people like to spread newspapers onto the table and dump the seafood directly on them. While you can do this, you'll lose lots of the flavorful butter and juices that are in the pan. Try setting the pan directly at the table and letting guests help themselves instead.
- Got leftover seafood? Put it into an airtight container in the fridge and store it for up to 3 days.

Expert Q&A

Question

What is the best way to cook seafood?

Ollie George Cigliano
Private Chef & Food Educator
Ollie George Cigliano is a Private Chef, Food Educator, and Owner of Ollie George Cooks, based in Long Beach, California. With over 20 years of experience, she specializes in utilizing fresh, fun ingredients and mixing traditional and innovative cooking techniques. Ollie George holds a BA in Comparative Literature from The University of California, Berkeley, and a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from eCornell University.

Ollie George Cigliano

Private Chef & Food Educator

Expert Answer

The key to a Cajun boil is to layer ingredients in the pot so that everything is done cooking at the same time. You start it all with heavily seasoned, aromatic boiling water. Potatoes take the longest to cook, so they are always added first. Sausage is next, then the shrimp, then the corn on the cob halves. Using frozen corn is a trick to bring the temperature down and prevent overcooking.
Question

Should I add water to the roasting method at all?

HisGirlFriday

Community Answer

Nope! This would create steam. Instead, you want to roast the seafood with dry heat.