Recipe courtesy of Kardea Brown

Low Country Boil

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 35 min
  • Active: 15 min
  • Yield: 8 to 10 servings
When Kardea Brown was growing up on Wadmalaw Island outside Charleston, SC, she’d often gather with family beneath the Spanish moss–covered tree in her great-grandfather’s yard, and they would spill endless buckets of boiled crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes onto a newspaper-lined table. Like crawfish boils in Louisiana and clambakes in New England, Low Country boils are a regional summer staple — they’re super fun. These days Kardea carries on the tradition with her girlfriends, hosting a boil right on the beach whenever they visit. It’s the best kind of communal eating, she says. “Instead of breaking bread, we’re breaking crab.”

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat an extra-large pot of water over medium-high heat (you can do this indoors or outside with a propane burner). Add the seafood seasoning and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and sausage and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook until tender, about 5 more minutes. Add the crab and cook another 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, another 3 or 4 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan; remove from the heat and add the garlic and sprinkle with seafood seasoning. Drain the seafood mixture and transfer to a newspaper-lined table or a large platter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the garlic butter. 

Cook’s Note

It’s all about the timing, so pay attention to the pot, especially when you’re cooking the shrimp. As soon as they turn opaque and pink, they’re done.