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Short-Order Kitchen

Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil

By Wes Ellis2 min read
A bowl of seafood boil with whole shrimp, corn on the cob and potatoes beside lemon wedges.
Recipe card
Servings
8
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
3 to 4 hours on high or 7 to 8 hours on low, plus 10 minutes
Method
Slow cooker
Heat
Low or high
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 6 of the thread Soups, chili and the slow cooker

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Potatoes and broth first, then sausage, Old Bay and corn on top.
  • Low 7 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4, until the potatoes are tender.
  • Shrimp go in last, on high, for about 10 minutes.
  • Toss with melted butter and parsley and serve with lemon.
THE RECIPE · SLOW COOKER SHRIMP BOIL

Ingredients

Boil

To finish

You'll need

  • 6- to 7-quart slow cooker
  • Slotted spoon
  • Large serving bowl or platter
  • Knife and cutting board

Directions

Boil

  1. Halve any larger potatoes so everything is bite-sized, and put them in the slow cooker.
  2. Pour in the broth.
  3. Add the sausage, then sprinkle the Old Bay and cayenne over it. Lay the corn on top.
  4. Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours, until the potatoes and corn are tender.

Shrimp

  1. Turn the cooker to high and stir in the shrimp.
  2. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, just until the shrimp turn opaque.

Finish

  1. Lift everything into a big bowl with a slotted spoon and drizzle some of the cooking liquid over it.
  2. Stir the melted butter and parsley together, pour it over and toss gently.
  3. Serve with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce.
Notes Leftovers keep up to 2 days in the fridge; reheat gently so the shrimp don't turn rubbery. Onions or peppers are easy additions, and more cayenne makes it hotter. Roughly 459 calories and 35 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/slow-cooker-shrimp-boil/

A proper shrimp boil means a giant pot, a propane burner and newspaper on a picnic table. This one fits on the counter. The potatoes, sausage and corn take their time in a spiced broth, and the shrimp show up at the very end.

Layer it in order

What goes in first matters. Potatoes take the longest, so they go on the bottom, sitting in the broth. The sausage and seasoning go on top of them, and the corn sits on top of that, where it steams more than it boils. Nothing needs stirring until the shrimp.

Tip

Halve anything bigger than a golf ball. Mixed sizes mean some potatoes are creamy and others are still firm in the middle.

Shrimp go in last, always

Shrimp need about ten minutes in hot liquid, and not a lot more. Add them when everything else is tender, bump the cooker to high, and pull them as soon as they turn pink and opaque. A few extra minutes turns them tight and rubbery.

Smoked sausage and shrimp team up again in the Sheet Pan Jambalaya, with Creole seasoningA Louisiana-style blend of paprika, garlic, onion, pepper and herbs, often with a good bit of salt and cayenne. Brands vary a lot in heat and salt, so start light.More: Sheet Pan Jambalaya and a much shorter cook time. For shrimp and butter without the all-day wait, try Air Fryer Garlic Butter Shrimp. And How Long Food Keeps is worth a look, because cooked shrimp don't last long in the fridge.

Heads up

Andouille brings heat of its own. If you're using it, taste the broth before adding the full half teaspoon of cayenne.

LINKED FROM2 notes

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