As I sit outside noding, I'm watching the lights of channel markers and the single light of a shrimp boat meander over the waves which are making the only audible sounds out here. I want to share this with you because good food and good family is good times.
Low country boil, or "bog", is a dish straight from the South. Primarily found along the Southeastern coastline, this dish suffers several local variations that should be excised from the collective cookbooks of mankind. Cajun derivatives include crawfish and South Carolina varieties are known to include cabbage as well as stupid names--it's called "Frogmore Stew" in Frogmore, South Carolina. But the hell with them, we're going to do this right! Wake up those e-tastebuds, here comes the Tasty Train!
Ingredients:
- Fresh corn on the cob (6 whole ears)
- Hillshire Farm smoked pork sausage (two packages, approximately 3 pounds)
- Fresh shrimp (3 pounds)
- Irish potatoes (5 pounds)
- Old Bay Seasoning or Old Savannah Seasoning (a 6 oz can)
Note: When I say "fresh shrimp" I mean "shrimp that came out of the ocean last night and off the boat this morning". Challenges to this rule will be ignored with extreme prejudice.
Tools:
- Knife
- 5 gallon pot with lid
- Stove or hopefully, a burner and propane to do this at the beach.
- Newspaper
Preparation:
- Cut the corn into chunks about 3 inches long.
- Drink beer.
- Cut the sausage into sections about 2 inches long.
- Drink beer.
Directions:
For the Full Experience(tm), you need to do this at the beach, or at the very least outside.
- Fire up your fire device.
- Pour two gallons of water into your pot.
- Toss your potatoes and sausage into the pot along with half a box of seasoning; that's three ounces.
- When your potatoes are a bit past halfway done (ie, halfway boiled), throw in the corn and start a 7 minute countdown.
- After the corn has been in for 7 minutes, drop in the shrimp. Start a 3 minute countdown.
- After the shrimp has been in for 3 minutes, immediately remove the pot from heat and drain.
- Serve immediately.
Hold on there, Speed Racer. This ain't your momma's servin'.
Grab the newspaper and cover your table in a few layers of FoxTrot and editorials.
Dump the entire pot of bog on the table. No, I'm not fucking kidding, do it.
Advise your guests to reach down, yes, into the pile, and grab a couple handfuls of bog.
Enjoy. Some people may point out this is messy but I can't hear them over the sound of how kick ass this dish is. Also, if you'd like to point out that my Preparation section involved the drinking of beer not mentioned in the Ingredients section, bite me. According to my grandfather, who turned 75 years young today while cooking this dish, said you have to drink beer when you eat shrimp. I wouldn't argue with him. Additionally, you need to be drinking sweet tea, just like God intended.