George’s Simple Shrimp Boil With Lots of Flavor
My wife hosted a dinner party for work colleagues and their spouses this weekend. One of the spouses was my friend George, who brought the most delicious shrimp boil. George is an avid fisherman, clammer, crabber, and a good cook.
If I remember his story correctly, he purchased the spices for this boil from a roadside stand somewhere in Maryland for years. When the stand’s owner died, and the spices for this boil were no longer available, he asked a friend with the right equipment to analyze the spice mix and give him all the ingredients.
How do you know when shrimp are done cooking?
Good News – Bad News
After playing around with the spices, he eventually came up with the perfect blend of spices that most closely resembles the original spices. That’s the good news.
The bad news is he doesn’t have an exact amount to add to the water before bringing it to a boil. He says, “I just look at the color of the water and adjust by adding more spice or more water. It’s not an exact science, but it turns out great every time.”
He promised to measure the spices next time he makes them and let me know so I can report back here. He mixes about 1/2 of the Hot Blend with 1/2 cup of the Mild Blend and adjusts from there.
Since I have no idea what the “right” color of the water should be, we’ll have to adjust our seasonings – to taste.
George says, “Colossal shrimp work best,” his secret to keeping the shrimp from overcooking and drying out is to “cover them with ice cubes after draining until chilled.”
And one other piece of advice from George – leave the peels on, or else people will eat them too fast, and they’ll be gone before everyone’s had a chance to have one!
Shrimp Boil Recipe Alternatives
George told me he buys the spices in bulk and makes big batches of these blends, so he always has some on hand. I thought it would be fun to use his spice blend in some other ways, and again, I will report back after trying.
- How about coating the shrimp in a bit of oil, coating the shrimp with the spices in a bowl, and then grilling them on your barbecue?
- Or how about peeling the shrimp, coating them with a flour/spice mix, and frying them in a deep fryer?
- Why not try the spice on other seafood like scallops or swordfish? And if it’s excellent for a shrimp boil, I’m sure it would be great for a crab or lobster boil.
Thanks again, George, for sharing your blend recipes for this shrimp boil recipe with us.
Georges Simple Shrimp Boil Recipe
Ingredients
Mild Blend
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup MSG
- ⅛ cup curry powder
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Hot Blend
- ½ cup salt
- ¼ cup pepper
- ¼ cup cayenne
- ¼ cup paprika
- ⅛ cup ground celery seed
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
Shrimp
- 2 pounds shrimp Colossal, unpeeled, tails on.
Instructions
- Fill a big pot with water, add about 1 cup of the spice blends and bring to boil. You can try just the mild spice blend, just the hot or a combination of the two. Experiment with how much you add and in no time you’ll have the perfect amount for your taste buds.
- When the water is at a boil, add the shrimp and cook for 5-7 minutes. Pull one out and taste for consistency and if not quite done, add another minute or two but don’t overcook them.
- Drain them in a colander and cover them immediately with ice until chilled.
- Serve in a bowl or on a platter with cocktail sauce but in my opinion, they don’t need the cocktail sauce. They are good enough on their own without it.
Some of My Favorite Seafood Recipes
6 Responses
You go, baby brother…your shrimp are the best!
That spice blend sounds delicious !! Not being a fan of boiled anything … I think I would prefer them on the grill myself 🙂
I had Georges shrimp a couple of times, they were so good. But you need a case of beer to go with the shrimp.
Tom, I don’t think you “need” a case of beer to go with the shrimp but it wouldn’t hurt. 🙂
1/2 cup of MSG?? That’s a lot of MSG. Typo or for real?
Hi Roy, I thought so too and asked George again if this was the correct amount and he told me it was indeed. If you feel it’s too much, I suggest you experiment with your own ratios to find one that works best for you. I didn’t see George prepare these shrimp but I tasted them and they were really good.