Home cook LYNN BAIN shares a traditional dish from South Carolina.
Called a ‘boil’ instead of a barbecue on the east-coast of the United States and typically (but not always) a community cooking event in coastal areas, a boil (aka seafood boil, or in South Carolina, either of the regional-based terms of low country boil or Frogmore stew) incorporates shellfish with other types of food.
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One of the historical aspects of the boil concept is that, before the days of refrigeration, everything perishable would be gathered and then cooked together at the same time. The potatoes, not requiring refrigeration, and regularly the corn in season, were often, if not always, on hand, as were the preserved types of sausages.
The shellfish may be crabs, lobsters, crawfish (red claw/marron, freshwater yabbies are an option), scallops, clams, prawns, even oysters, and they are normally all cooked in the same pot. Extras include sliced sausage, corn on the cob and red potatoes, with a few lemon ‘corners’ added at serving time.
At home in Australia, raiding my garden, optional extras include onion and/or celery. Blue crabs (swimmer/sand crabs) or crab legs are often added to seafood boils and low country boils.
My focus in this recipe is on the mildly seasoned low country boil. Incidentally, I’ve enjoyed this dish in its traditional homeland of South Carolina, however my version incorporates oysters as a side dish.
The inclusion of oysters is a bit of a cross-over, because the other popular social backyard food-focused gathering in the Carolinas and nearby Georgia is the oyster roast.
I used shucked oysters au natural, whereas the true oyster roast cooks and steams them unshucked over hot coals.
Typical low country boil side dishes include coleslaw, bread rolls, iced tea (of course) and watermelon (which is a popular side dish in south-eastern America). Remember, the corn, potatoes and sausage are incorporated into the main dish.
Handy hack one: beer can be used as the boiling liquid.
Handy hack two: if you want to make a spicier dish, you can use Zatarains Crab Boil (2 tablespoons per litre of water) as it is hotter than Old Bay Seasoning.
Handy hack three: you can use whatever sausage you desire (or more than one type). Options include andouille sausage (spicy, smoked) and kielbasa (smoked).
Handy hack four: oysters make a logical addition at serving time. Add them, shucked and in the half-shell, to the outside of the presented and cooked ingredients.
LOW COUNTRY BOIL
INGREDIENTS
2 lemons, cut into wedges
2 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 small red potatoes, halved
4 small ears corn
250g green prawns, peeled
1 smoked sausage, cut into slices
1 tbsp butter
Step 1: Add three to four litres of water to a large pot. Then pop the chopped onion, half of the lemon wedges, the crush of garlic, and the Old Bay Seasoning into the water. Bring to a boil.
Step 2: When the liquid in the pot is boiling, add the potato halves to the pot and continue to boil for a further 10 minutes.
Step 3: At the end of the 10-minute cooking time, add the corn to the pot. Continue to cook for a further five minutes.
Step 4: Now add the sausage slices to the pot.
Step 5: Add the green prawns to the pot and continue to cook until the prawns are pink. Remove the pot from the heat.
Step 6: Drain the contents of the pot through a fine sieve, retaining a cup of the liquid.
Step 7: Melt the butter in a glass jug or similar.
Step 8: Whisk the melted butter through the retained liquid/broth from the pot.
Step 9: Arrange the sausage, prawns, potatoes and corn in a large bowl. Pour the butter/broth mixture over the contents of the bowl. Arrange the shucked oysters around the outside of the bowl.
Step10: Your low country boil is ready to eat. What a feast.
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