A seafood boil is one pot, one burner and a table full of people. This one leans Northwest: Dungeness crab, the big crab caught along the West Coast, plus shell-on shrimp, corn, small potatoes and whole artichokes. Most stores sell Dungeness already cooked, and that's the easy way; it only needs to heat through. Everything goes into the pot in order of how long it takes, so the artichokes start first and the shrimp go in for the last 2 or 3 minutes. Do the trimming and shucking at home. At the lot, it's boiling water and a timer.
At the lot: Set the burner on level ground away from the tent, bring the pot to a boil and cook in stages; plan on 1¼ to 1½ hours from lighting the burner to dumping it on the table, most of it waiting for 4 gallons of water to boil. Raw shrimp ride at the bottom of the cooler, below the crab. Homegating: Same pot and burner in the backyard. On a stove, split everything between two 16- to 20-quart stockpots, or halve the recipe.
165°F
Cooked crab, heated through
145°F
Shrimp, opaque
60–80 QT
Pot with a basket, for 12
12
Serves
Ingredients
Pot
- 4 gallons water
- 1 cup kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; ½ cup plus 2 tbsp if Morton)
- 3 lemons, halved
- 2 heads garlic, halved crosswise
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- ½ cup seafood boil seasoning (optional)
Boil
- 4 medium artichokes
- 4 lb small red and yellow potatoes, about 1½ inches across
- 8 ears corn, shucked and halved
- 6 whole Dungeness crabs, 1½ to 2 lb each, bought cooked (or live)
- 3 lb large shell-on shrimp (21 to 25 per pound)
To serve
- 3 lemons, cut into wedges
Steps
At home
- Trim the artichokes: cut the stems to 1 inch, slice the top inch off, snip the sharp tips off the outer leaves and pull off the small leaves at the base. Rub the cut sides with a lemon half. Scrub the potatoes. Shuck the corn and snap or cut each ear in half. Bag the vegetables together; they don't need the cooler, but keep them shaded.
- Pack the salt, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, seasoning and lemons in one bag so the pot goes together in a minute.
- Seal the shrimp in a zip-top bag and double-bag it. Bag the cooked crabs separately. Refrigerate both at 40°F or below until you leave.
- In the cooler, the shrimp ride at the bottom, below the crab and anything ready to eat, at 40°F or below. If your crabs are live, buy them the day of the game and carry them in a second cooler on frozen ice packs under a damp towel, not in water or meltwater, and cook them that day.
At the lot
- Set the burner on flat, level ground away from the tent, the cars and foot traffic. Set the pot and basket on it and fill it with the water, about halfway up. Squeeze in the 3 halved lemons and drop them in with the salt, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and seasoning. Cover it and bring it to a hard boil over high heat, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Put the artichokes in the basket and boil them 10 minutes.
- Add the potatoes. If your crabs are live, add them now too. Once it's back to a boil, cook 15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly tender and the live crabs are bright red-orange.
- Add the corn and the cooked crabs and boil 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and boil 2 to 3 minutes, until they're opaque all the way through and read 145°F. Check the crab: the body meat of cooked crab should read 165°F, and live crab should be bright red-orange all over. A knife should slide into a potato, and an inner artichoke leaf should pull out easily.
- Turn off the burner. With heat-proof gloves on, lift the basket, let it drain over the pot for a minute, then dump it down the middle of a table lined with butcher paper or a plastic tablecloth. Set out the lemon wedges, a bowl for shells and the crab crackers.
- Leave the hot water on the burner to cool before you move or empty it. The boil sits out no more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Leftovers go back in the cooler within that window and get reheated to 165°F.
Pack for the lot
How much seafood boil do you need per person?
For 12, this recipe uses six 1½- to 2-lb crabs (about half a crab each), ¼ lb of shrimp each, a third of a pound of potatoes and one or two pieces of corn each.
Should you buy Dungeness crab live or cooked?
Cooked is easier for a tailgate: it keeps in the cooler like any cooked food and only needs to heat to 165°F. Live crab has to stay cold and damp, out of water, and be cooked the same day; boil it until the shells are bright red-orange.
What goes in a seafood boil?
Seafood, potatoes and corn are the base. This one adds whole artichokes. Sausage, clams and onions are common add-ins; clams go in with the shrimp and cook until they open.
How do you know when a seafood boil is done?
Shrimp are opaque all the way through and read 145°F. Cooked crab reads 165°F in the body meat. Potatoes are tender to a knife, and an inner artichoke leaf pulls out easily.
What size pot do you need for a seafood boil?
A 60- to 80-quart pot with a basket for 12 people. The basket lets you lift everything out at once and leave the boiling water on the burner.
How long can a seafood boil sit out?
No more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Pack up leftovers before that and reheat them to 165°F.
More seafood: seafood paella, clambake foil packets, cedar plank salmon and Old Bay crab dip. Cold chain and heat: how to pack a cooler for a tailgate and how to keep food hot at a tailgate. Set out Texas caviar and sweet tea lemonade.
