Southern Low Country Boil With Cajun Lemon Butter

This easy one-pot seafood dinner is packed with fresh Gulf shrimp, blue crab, crawfish, cajun sausage, potatoes, sweet corn, beer, and loads of seasoning! Grab a cold one and start cracking those craw daddies open!

What’s a low country boil (Frogmore Stew)!?

Growing up in Massachusetts, I know all about seafood. While we have a traditional northern clam bake, the south enjoys a low country boil. I love the simplicity and tradition wrapped all into one huge pot of seasoned seafood!

A low country boil really embodies the idea of the south. Grab your favorite family members or friends, crack open a few cold ones, and gather around the table as the low country boil is simply tossed onto yesterday’s newspaper. Easy, simple, and centered around good food and family, just like the south prefers.

A low country boil includes a flavorful stock made of beer, loads of seafood seasoning, onions, garlic, and lemons. Next, you add all your favorite seafood like fresh shrimp, blue crab, crawfish, etc. Don’t forget the potatoes and the corn- these add a delicious heartiness to break up the seafood! Ta-da- a one-pot meal full of vegetables and protein!

No need for plates, this is a dish with no formalities! Simply grab what you want to eat, dip it in some cajun lemon butter sauce, and dig in! Everyone gets their hands in it, happily filling their bellies while enjoying conversation.

Ingredients

For the stock

• Pale ale– Any pale ale will do, but in a pinch, you can use whatever beer you have in your fridge!
• Old Bay seasoning– This seasoning is a classic ingredient when it comes to any seafood dish!
• Zatarain’s, Crawfish, Shrimp, & Crab Boil in Bag– This ingredient can be found in any major grocery store and makes this low country boil so easy!
• Bay leaves– Adding bay leaves will create a deeper flavor!
• White onions- Yellow or white onions are perfect for this dish, simply quarter them and toss ’em in!
• Garlic– Slice the garlic heads in half and toss ’em in the pot!
• Lemons– Seafood and lemons go together so beautifully, so it’s a no brainer to add halved lemons to the pot. The zest will release its oil and create a delicious undertone!
• Water

For the stew

• Shrimp– Fresh Gulf shrimp is flavorful, juicy, and preferred, but frozen is okay to use if you cannot locate fresh shrimp! Look for shrimp with the tails on, this helps develop a deeper flavor!
• Blue crab– Blue crab is a southern delicacy, practically! If you can not find blue crab, opt for other kinds like dungeness or king crab.
• Crawfish– It’s likely that you will only find pre-cooked (and pre-seasoned) crawfish, which is perfect for this dish.
• Cajun sausage- Conecuh cajun sausage is a thin sausage that is loaded with flavor and cooks quickly.
• Potatoes– Baby potatoes are easy and quick to cook, but red, Yukon, or golden potatoes are great, too!
• Corn– Fresh corn on the cob is the anthem of summer dishes, but if fresh corn is not available, opt for frozen corn on the cob.

For the Cajun lemon butter

• Butter– Opt for a high quality salted butter, like Kerry Gold butter!
• Tony Chachere creole seasoning
• Lemon– Freshly squeezed lemon juice provides a perfect tanginess to this butter sauce.

Where did low country boil originate

While living on our homestead in Folkston, Georgia, we learned all about this classic southern dish! Frogmore stew, also dubbed low country boil, originated in the small fishing community of Frogmore in St. Helena Island, South Carolina.

Locals would gather together with their catches and create an easy one-pot dish and lasting memories of togetherness!

Can you reheat low country boil

While most low country boils are meant to feed a crowd of 10 or more people, I regularly enjoy this meal with just my family. We often have leftovers since it’s just the five of us.

We store our leftover low country boil in a glass dish with a lid in the refrigerator.

When we want to reheat it the next day, we simply pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes to reheat it. You can also reheat it in the oven. Pop the glass bowl in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until it is heated through.

Shrimp has a tendency to get a bit tough when it is reheated, so if you want to preserve the juicy texture, simply eat this dish cold! Low country boil is a common summertime dish since it’s usually made and eaten outside. Serving this dish cold the next day is just as delicious and a perfect way to enjoy a summertime meal!

How to do a low country boil

First, make the stock

Add the beer, spices, garlic, onion, bay leaves, and lemons. Pop the tops off the beers and pour them into the stockpot along with the water. Toss in the spices. Halve the garlic bulbs and quarter the onions, no need to make it pretty, it’s only there to add flavor. Halve the lemons, squeeze them into the stock, then toss the lemons into the stock. Next, add the bay leaves. Allow the stock to come to a rolling boil. Give it a taste! Does it need more Old Bay, a pinch of tobacco sauce, or more lemon juice? The flavor depends on you!

Next, add the produce

Add the potatoes and corn. The key is to time everything according to their cooking times. I like to cook the low country boil with a 5 minutes rule. Cook the potatoes for five minutes, then add the corn and allow that to cook for 5 minutes.

Cook the seafood

Lastly, add the sausage and seafood. After you have cooked the corn on the cob for 5 minutes, add the sausage and blue crab.

Since the sausage I cooked is thin, it needed less time to cook. If you are using a thicker sausage (about 1 inch or more in circumference), go ahead and add the sausage when you add the corn. Let the sausage and blue crab boil for 5 minutes.

Next, add the shrimp and crawfish. Shrimp and precooked crawfish will only need 2-3 minutes to boil. The low country boil is done cooking when the shrimp turns bright pink!

Make the cajun lemon butter

Combine everything, then divvy it up! Melt the whole cup of butter in the microwave. To help melt the butter faster, cut it into small blocks, then place it in a small glass bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Give it a good stir, then microwave again for 20 more seconds. Add the creole seasoning to the melted butter. Squeeze a fresh lemon into the butter mixture and stir well. Divvy the cajun lemon butter into small individual serving dishes so everyone can enjoy their own dipping butter!

What sides to serve with a low country boil

• Easy 5 minute roasted asparagus is a quick dish that also tastes great with dipping butter!
• Cool down with this refined sugar free basil watermelon lemonade!
• White wine and lemon roasted artichokes are super delicious when dipped in melted butter!
• Serve an easy and impressive dessert after, this strawberry soufflé is healthy and light!
• Rosemary garlic dinner rolls are fluffy, hearty, and go with everything!

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