Seafood Boil

By Lidey Heuck

Published Feb. 29, 2024

Seafood Boil — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(31)
Notes: Read community notes

You don’t need to be at the beach to make this classic seaside dinner — an assortment of fresh seafood and a really big stock pot will get you there in an hour. Feel free to make this seafood boil your own by swapping in mussels for the clams, or lobster in place of the crab legs. With sausage, corn on the cob and steamed potatoes, this is a true one-pot meal. The flavorful cooking liquid turns into a buttery, lemony sauce that coats the seafood and vegetables. Cover your table with kraft paper and dump the seafood boil out, letting everyone dig in, or, for easier cleanup, serve the boil in a large shallow bowl, with small bowls of garlic butter on the side for dipping.

Learn: How to Make a Sheet-Pan Dinner

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

2large lemons, halved
1(12-ounce) bottle lager, or 1½ cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1head garlic, cut in half crosswise
¼cup Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving
3dried bay leaves
2tablespoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1½pounds Yukon gold or small red potatoes, about 1½ inches in diameter
3large ears corn, husked and cut into thirds
2pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed
1pound Andouille sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1½-inch pieces
1pound large (16/20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
1pound cooked frozen crab legs, thawed
4tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Garlic butter, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a very large stockpot, heat 4 quarts of water over medium-high. Quarter one lemon and add it to the pot, along with the beer, onion, garlic, Old Bay, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add the corn, clams and sausage. Cover and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the clams begin to open, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Add the shrimp and crab legs, and cook until the shrimp are just starting to turn opaque, about 3 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Step 4
Using a spider strainer or sieve, remove the seafood, sausages and vegetables and place them in a very large bowl or platter, discarding any clams that have not opened. Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid and pour it into a small bowl. Add the butter and squeeze in the juice of half of the remaining lemon; stir until the butter is melted. Pour the mixture over the seafood and gently mix until coated. Sprinkle with parsley and Old Bay. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges, and serve alongside the seafood boil with small bowls of garlic butter for dipping.

Ratings

4 out of 5

31 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Bill3 months ago

When we cook sweet corn in the summer we rarely boil it for more than a couple of minutes. I would think that adding it at the beginning of cooking here would result in the soggy, squishy cob found in most restaurant versions of this dish.

MollyMarineJD2 days ago

Agree. As a young and inexperienced cook, I found this out the hard way. The corn doesn’t add any flavor to the boil. I now add it in for the last 10-15 minutes depending on size of the cob. The cob soaks the flavor in without becoming mushy/overcooked.

Jessica6 days ago

I did not enjoy this - making it or eating it. So difficult to get the timing of all the ingredients right, and even with the buttery broth poured over, it was lacking flavor. Not to mention the mess of fishing the ingredients out of the pot and serving. I chose a large platter to serve on and sloshed the broth all over the floor.

MH1 month ago

Excellent!!! Got high fives from the fam. Tweaks: Excluded crab, heavied up on clams and local SC shrimp Had a heavy hand with a local boil spice mixture (didn’t use Old Bay) Used a Belgian beer - boiled shrimp heads and shells in 1.5 bottles - gave amazing depth Potatoes - cut in half, removed after the first ten minutes - came out perfect Added local corn after clams and andouille had five mins right before shrimp

Bill3 months ago

CFXK3 months ago

Agreed. Just a couple minutes for corn. And if you are not doing this during summer corn season, leave out the corn. Corn on the cob that is anything but fresh and in season is just not, well... corn.

Too much butter, too much cream3 months ago

Made this with local seafood while on vacation in South Carolina. There were no crabs in the market, so we just increased the shrimp. We also used an IPA instead of lager, and turkey sausage instead of kielbasa, and those were both fine. If I made this again, I would add quite a bit more salt. The potatoes also completely disintegrated, so decrease the time. Also— watch your shrimp, mine were done in less than 3 minutes!

MC3 months ago

Straightforward and easy - We have a shrimp boil every year, but always seems to forget timing of ingredients. I also cooked lobster tails in oven at 350 for 11 min and added them before adding final butter and old bay.

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