What makes this so delicious is not only the perfect blend of seasonings, but the fact that it’s baked in the oven. The food becomes evenly covered in the seasoning/butter as opposed to just dumping all the goodness down the drain and being left with food reminiscent of the seasonings. While I can still appreciate seafood boils done in a big pot – and I still make them – I just find that you get the most flavor, the best sauce, and you waste less seasoning/ingredients doing it in the oven!
If you have a cookout, barbecue, or are having guests over, give this a try! It’s easy and yields a lot of food – just alter the heat in the dish by using less of the West African Hot Pepper or a milder sausage if you feel that some of your guests don’t love spicy food.
Tip #1: Shrimp.
The star of this dish is the shrimp! You’ll want to use large or jumbo shrimp (the bigger the better) that is peeled and deveined, TAILS ON. Yes, peeled. Unpopular opinion, I know, but I find that leaving the shell on means a less seasoned outcome. Trust me, you want your shrimp to be covered in seasoning and butter. Also, I put 40 shrimp in the ingredients list but you can definitely use more without having to change the amount of seasoning (you’ll just have less extra sauce for dipping/rice/bread).
Tip #2: Par-boiling and browning.
You’ll notice in the instructions that we’ll be par-boiling the potatoes and corn and browning the sausage. Yes, you must do it. Browning the sausage really brings out the flavor and gives it those nice crispy edges. I love to char mine just a little bit! When par-boiling adjust the timing of the potatoes based on the size you’re using, but typically about 10-13 minutes is fine. Add the corn into the pot with the potatoes for the last 3-5 minutes. Don’t overcook the corn!
Tip #3: Foil Pans.
My favorite pans to use for this dish are the cheap foil baking pans that you can get at the dollar store or supermarket. You can toss them when you’re done, they’re easy to cover and store in the fridge, and you can bring them with you to parties/cookouts without having to worry about your dishes or serving trays being left behind. This is just my recommendation – you can use any baking dish or a cookie sheet lined with foil if you prefer.
Tip #4: Seasoning.
This is spicy, but not too spicy. If you like Cajun/Creole seasonings with a little heat, you should be just fine. If you don’t like a lot of spice, I’d recommend omitting the West African Hot Pepper. This spice adds a lot of heat and flavor (I highly recommend it)! Also, the Jamaican Choice Seafood Seasoning can be found in your international isle – it’s cheap and adds such a rich flavor! For the sausage, I use Park’s hot smoked turkey sausage. They are very spicy (which I love)! You can use any hot smoked/andouille sausage that you’d like.
I recommend serving this alongside bread and butter to soak up the delicious, buttery sauce or over white rice! That’s it! I really hope that you love this recipe as much as I do.
Spicy Cajun-Style Shrimp Boil Servings: 6-8 plus Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: easy Print An easy and flavorful take on a Cajun-style shrimp boil - perfect for cookouts, barbecues, and all year long!
Ingredients 40 large/jumbo shrimp 8 medium/large potatoes, quartered 5-7 hot sausages 6-8 frozen corn cobbettes 2 sticks salted butter, melted 2 tbsp olive oil, divided –
For Seasoning *NOTE: this will be DOUBLED in the instructions!1 tsp Creole 1/2 tsp Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning 1/2 tsp Hot Old Bay 1/2 tsp Old Bay 1/4 tsp Thyme 1/4 tsp west African hot pepper 1/4 tsp Jamaican Choice Seafood Seasoning 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 7 turns Freshly Ground Pepper 5 turns Freshly Ground Sea Salt
Directions Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Start by scrubbing and quartering your potatoes. Drop them into a large pot filled with water. Set aside until ready to boil. Prepare your shrimp – peel and devein if necessary, leaving tails on. Place the prepared shrimp into your foil pans (about 20-30 shrimp per pan). Place in the fridge until ready to bake. Thinly Slice your hot sausages diagonally. Place them in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Start to brown the sausage on medium-high heat. While the sausage is browning bring your pot of water to a boil and par-boil your potatoes for 10-13 minutes. During the last 3-5 minutes of boiling drop your corn into the pot. When the sausage has browned to your liking remove it from heat and set aside. Drain the corn and potatoes completely and arrange them in your foil pans. Add the sausage as well. (I like to mix the shrimp and sausage together, corn in the middle, and potatoes at the other side.) Place two sticks of butter in two bowls or measuring cups. One stick per bowl. Melt the butter. NOTE: Seasoning measurements listed are for one shrimp boil pan! This recipe makes two pans – add the seasoning ingredients a second time to the second bowl of butter. For example, add 1 tsp creole to one bowl of butter, and another 1 tsp creole to the second bowl of butter. Make your way down the list this way until all seasonings are added. Pour one bowl of seasoning/butter mixture over each pan, doing your best to distribute evenly. Use a spoon to push out any seasoning that has settled at the bottom as you pour. Place your pans, uncovered, in your preheated oven on the upper middle rack and cook for 15 minutes. (About half way through use some tongs to gently toss the contents of each pan, then return to the oven to finish.) When the time is up, remove from the oven and serve with bread and butter or white rice! You’ll see the beautiful sauce at the bottom of the pans as you make your plates. Be sure to spoon some of the extra sauce over your dish!
