Cajun shrimp boil with corn and potatoes
45 min · 49 g protein · 401 cals / serving
The Louisiana backyard boil, scaled for a stockpot: a heap of pink shrimp, sweet corn, mushrooms and smoky sausage cooked in a peppery, lemony Cajun broth, a few baby potatoes for heft, then tossed in a spicy garlic-butter glaze that clings to every piece. Tip it onto a sheet pan, squeeze over lemon and eat with your hands.
Ingredients
Boil
- 1/4 cup cajun or creole seasoning, for the boil water, plus extra salt; most of it is drained away
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 1 small head garlic, halved crosswise
- 10 oz baby red potatoes (about 10) red potatoes, halved if large
- 3 ears sweet corn, husked, each snapped in 3
- 3 1/2 oz smoked hot turkey sausage, andouille-style, cut in 1-inch coins
- 8 oz whole button mushrooms mushrooms
- 2 1/4 lb large shrimp, peeled except the tails, deveined
Garlic-butter glaze
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
To serve
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 lemon, in wedges
Steps
- Fill a large stockpot with about 4 quarts (4 liters) of water and add the 1/4 cup Cajun seasoning, a big pinch of salt, the halved lemon (squeeze it in, then drop in the halves), the onion and the garlic head. Bring to a rolling boil and let it bubble 5 minutes so the broth tastes properly seasoned.
- Add the potatoes and boil 10–12 minutes, until a knife slides in with just a little resistance.
- Add the corn, sausage and mushrooms and boil 5 minutes more.
- Add the shrimp, stir, and turn off the heat. Leave them 3–4 minutes, until pink, curled and opaque all the way through, 145°F. Drain everything well and tip onto a large sheet pan or a table lined with paper; fish out the lemon halves and garlic skins.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan over low heat, add the minced garlic and the 1 tsp Cajun seasoning and sizzle 1 minute. Take off the heat and stir in the hot sauce and lemon juice.
- Pour the glaze over the hot boil, toss with tongs so everything is coated, scatter with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Good to know
Can I use frozen shrimp?
Yes. Thaw them in a colander under cold running water for 10 minutes and pat dry. They go in last and cook in the residual heat, so they stay juicy rather than rubbery.
Can I use real andouille?
Of course; it is the classic, and a little richer: about 71 instead of 75. Smoked turkey sausage gives the same smoky, peppery note for fewer calories, which leaves room for more shrimp.
How spicy is it?
Medium. The boil water carries most of the heat into the shrimp and corn. For mild, halve the seasoning in the water; for proper Louisiana heat, add a few dried chiles to the pot.
Per
- Calories
- 89
- Protein
- (50%)
- 11 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (31%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 140 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1603 kcal goes into the pot and 2243 g of ingredients comes out as about 1800 g of food: 89 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.