Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe

seafood boil with cajun garlic butter sauce.

5 from 16 votes

Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe

This show stopping Seafood Boil Recipe with Cajun Garlic Butter is the perfect addition to your dinner table during the holiday season or any time of year! Add all of your favorite seafood, plenty of seasoning, lemons, garlic, and butter. It's simple to throw together, and enjoyed by all!

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Calories: 1142kcal

Author: Briana

Equipment

40-quart stock pot (or two smaller stockpots to divide everything)
large tongs
large wooden stir paddle
large skillet
large baking sheet
large skimmer (if you don't have a stockpot with a built in strainer)

Ingredients

Seasoning blend

1 cup Old Bay seasoning
½ cup smoked paprika
6 tablespoons cajun seasoning (opt for a salt free version if possible, if using a blend with salt, you may not need to add as much salt later on)
4 tablespoons onion powder
4 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons cayenne
3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons dried thyme
3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground mustard
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon ground coriander

Seafood boil

20 quarts water (or enough water to fill up your pot a little over halfway. Leave enough room for the seafood, corn, and potatoes)
6.5 tablespoons kosher salt (to taste, you may not need to add as much depending on the amount of salt in your seasoning mixture)
12 cloves garlic, smashed
3 medium onions, quartered
3 whole lemons, cut into rounds
¼ cup Louisiana hot sauce
6 whole bay leaves
3 pounds red potatoes
3 pounds whole shrimp
3 pounds mussels
2 pounds snow crab clusters
2 pounds andouille sausage
6 ears sweet corn, halved

Cajun garlic butter sauce

4 sticks unsalted butter
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium lemon, juice and zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste, you may not need to add any salt depending on the amount of salt in your seasoning mixture)
water from the boil to thin the sauce
remaining spice blend from above (To taste! There should be about 11 tablespoons of seasonings leftover)

Instructions

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. If your stock pot isn't big enough, separate it between two smaller ones. This could take an hour or longer, so be sure to start early.
Add water to a large stock pot (or separate between 2 stock pots). Bring to a boil and then add 6.5 tablespoons salt, bay leaves, onions, hot sauce, smashed garlic, lemon slices, and 2 and ¾ cups of the seasoning mix (most of it, reserve the rest for the garlic butter sauce).
Add potatoes to the pot and boil for about 12 minutes. The potatoes should be mostly tender, but not entirely cooked through as they will finish cooking as other ingredients are added.
Add the seafood and sausage to the pot, cover, and gently boil for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add in the corn, and gently boil it for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the butter to a large saucepan to melt. Once melted, add in the garlic and cook over low heat to infuse the flavor, stirring often. Add the remaining blend slowly and to taste. Stir to combine, then add lemon zest and lemon juice. Add 2-3 cups of the liquid from the seafood boil to thin. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Remove ingredients from the pot and put on a newspaper-lined large baking sheet. Drizzle with some of the cajun garlic butter sauce, garnish with parsley, and lemon wedges, and enjoy! Make sure to serve it with the remaining sauce on the side. This also tastes great with a cold beer and hot sauce too!
Store any leftovers on a baking sheet tightly wrapped with foil or plastic wrap, or an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. To reheat, add to a 350°F oven, and cook for 15-20 minutes. You can also reheat the leftovers by steaming them on the stovetop in a large stockpot with a lid, or in a cast iron skillet with a little water. Do not freeze leftovers.

Notes

Salt. As noted above, the salt level can be greatly impacted by the cajun seasoning blend you use. Many store bought versions have salt in them already, so you may not need to add as much salt to the boiling liquid or garlic butter sauce. We recommend using a homemade (salt free) cajun seasoning if possible so you can control the salt level!
Adjust heat level & season to taste. This recipe is a bit spicy. It may seem like a lot of seasoning in the seafood boil liquid, but it helps to infuse the potatoes and other than that, doesn't impact the final heat level much. With that being said, when making the garlic butter sauce, taste as you go. If you find the mixture to be too spicy, add more melted butter!
Don't overcook the seafood or the corn. Both of these items cook quite quickly and overcooking leads to an unpleasant texture.
Keep the raw seafood cold before cooking it. Seafood and shellfish can spoil quickly in a hot kitchen, and no one wants to be sick from bad shellfish! Keep all items refrigerated or on ice after prepping them until it's time to cook.
You should plan for about ¾ of a pound to 1.5 pounds of seafood per adult, and about ½ pound per child. Don't forget to add plenty of potatoes, sausage, and corn as an easy way to fill everyone up.

Nutrition