Think of a seafood boil as your ticket to the American South without leaving home! Easy to make, fun to eat, interactive, and delicious—what’s not to love? And the best part is you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to what you’d like to include in the pot. We offer you two options: a wallet-friendly shrimp boil with corn, potatoes, and sausage; and a levelled-up version where you get to dive deep into the ocean’s bounty. Alfresco dining at its best. Don’t forget your lobster bib!

Shrimp boil how-to

Casual, communal, and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face, this easy Shrimp Boil with Sausage, Potatoes & Corn recipe is a wallet-friendly winner the whole family will enjoy. The best part is you can cook it outside on your BBQ, set up a picnic or outdoor table lined with butcher kraft paper or newspaper, and in under an hour, you’ve got dinner for eight, with leftovers.

Seafood boil how-to

Level up your Shrimp boil by fine-tuning this base recipe with a variety of tasty optional add-ins and add-ons sure to have them licking their fingers!

1. Add a hit of colour and increase appetite appeal by swapping in red onions for regular cooking onions, plus 1 bag small red fingerling potatoes or small red potatoes (1 lb/454 g) for yellow-fleshed potatoes. Reduce the corn to 3 cobs, quartered, too!
2. Don’t want to stop there? Boost the boil’s flavour with this easy addition: Add ¼ cup (60 mL) prepared Cajun seasoning (found in your grocery store’s spice aisle) to the base recipe’s spice bundle. Watch those aromatic flavours infuse the broth, potatoes, corn, and seafood for a sublime supper.
3. You can swap the sausage, too. For a smokier flavour, add ½ lb/250 g kielbasa sausage, quartered, or 3 Compliments Smokies, cut into thirds, in lieu of the Compliments Hot Italian Sausages called for in the original recipe.
4. Bring on the seafood! You don’t have to stop at shrimp for this elevated seafood boil. Here are some tasty add-ins to boost the seafood and up the flavour quotient.
• Feel free to add 2 small lobsters (each 1 to 1½ lb/450 to 675 g) and frozen king crab claws (1.1 lb/500 g) to the pot once you’ve cooked and removed the onions, potatoes, corn, and sausage to a platter. Cover seafood and let stand for 10 min.
• Add scrubbed littleneck clams or mussels (1 lb/450 g); let stand for 5 min. Remove with tongs to platter. Note: Before cooking, discard any mussels or clams that don’t close when tapped. Mussels and clams that remain closed after cooking should be thrown away, too; they’re not safe to eat.
• Add shrimp and let stand until cooked through, about 5 min. Remove to platter and dig in y’all!
• Grilled fish extras: For those who fancy grilled fish, add a few choice pieces of fish (such as Compliments Wild Pacific Pink Salmon Skin-On Fillets or Wild Sole Fillets) to the BBQ while the seafood boil bubbles away in the stock pot. Drizzle olive oil all over the fish and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place over a greased clean grill and cook uncovered until slightly charred and releases easily from the grate, 7 to 9 min. Flip and grill until flesh is white or flakes easily when pierced, 5 to 7 min.
5. Make it saucy! Whip up a flavourful Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce to drizzle over the entire spread before digging in—or, for those who prefer, on the side!

Here’s how: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 1 cup (250 mL) salted butter, ¼ cup (60 mL)lemon juice, 3 tbsp (45 mL) Louisiana hot sauce, 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced garlic, 1 tbsp (15 mL) smoked paprika and 2 tsp (10 mL) Cajun seasoning; simmer for 5 min. Dip seafood and vegetables into butter sauce or pour over the seafood boil just before serving.

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