Seafood boil
Encyclopedia
Seafood boil is the generic term for any number of different kinds of social events in which shellfish
is the central element. Regional variations dictate the kinds of seafood, the accompaniments and side dishes, and the preparation techniques (boiling, steaming, baking, or raw). In some cases, a boil may be sponsored by a community organization as a fund-raiser or a mixer. In this way, they are like a fish fry
, barbecue
, or church potluck
supper. But boils are also held by individuals for their friends and family for weekend get-togethers and on the summer holidays of Memorial Day
and the Fourth of July. There are also companies that can cater a boil for large and small events. While boils and bakes are traditionally associated with coastal regions of the United States, there are notable exceptions. For example, the Fiesta Oyster Bake (San Antonio) began in 1916 as an alumni fund raiser for St. Mary's University
. It is now attended by over 70,000 people during its two day run and is a major music and cultural event in the city.
Shrimp
, crab
, and crawfish boils can be found across southern Louisiana. But it is the crawfish boil that is most closely associated with the region. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival has been named one of the top 10 food events by USA Today
and is a showcase for Cajun
music and culture. Major crawfish boils are held by churches and other organizations as fundraisers throughout the spring. Tulane University
holds an annual "Crawfest" in April, and the University of New Orleans
holds an annual crawfish boil for all students at the end of the spring semester (Students unwinding on Crawfish and Unprecedented Fun—SUCAUF). Smaller events can be found in backyards and parks throughout April, May, and June. Locals traditionally eat crawfish, as well as crabs, without tools such as shell crackers or picks.
One reason for the popularity of crawfish may be price. During the height of the season (late spring) the price may be less than a $1.50/pound retail for live crawfish (2006) with crawfish prices currently being around $.99/pound. Shrimp and crab are higher valued cash crops, and can be a less affordable option for larger groups.
A boil is usually done in a large pot (60 to 80 quarts) fitted with a strainer and heated by propane. However, some traditionalists see no need for a strainer and make use of a net or a wire mesh scoop. Seasonings include crab boil
packets, cayenne pepper
, hot sauce
, salt
, lemons, and bay leaf
. Ears of corn, new potatoes, onions, and heads of garlic are usually included in shrimp and crawfish boils. Some people will add smoked sausage links and/or mushrooms. When cooking crawfish there is a debate over whether or not the crawfish must first be purged by covering them with clear water and a generous amount of salt for a few minutes. Advocates argue that this forces the crawfish to rid their bodies of impurities. Others argue that it does not work and is an unnecessary step. A "Boil Master" is in charge of making sure the ingredients go into the pot in the proper sequence and controls the timing of the steps. There is no right or wrong when seasoning a crawfish boil and many experienced boilers simply go by feel although there are some guidelines to follow and a great deal of opinions on how a boiled crawfish should be seasoned. Many recipes call for a short boil followed by a period of soaking with the heat turned off. The contents of the pot are removed, drained, and then dumped onto a newspaper covered table. Sometimes, crawfish may be dumped into the traditional watercraft in which crawfishermen have historically used to traverse the bayous and swamps; a pirogue
. Bottles of hot sauce
, lemons and melted butter are usually available, along with cocktail sauce at a shrimp boil. Some families like to use Italian salad dressing or ketchup, or a mixture of both.
Howard Mitcham
and his Guild of Chimney Sweepers (named in honor of a dinner that Charles Lamb hosted for the London sweeps) hosted a shrimp boil every year for French Quarter
bohemians during the 1950s and 1960s. He notes, "At our last big party we boiled 400 pounds of shrimp and 400 fat crabs for 200 guests and we drank eight thirty-gallon kegs of beer. For music we had Kid Thomas
and his Algiers Stompers, the famous old gut-bucket jazz group from Preservation Hall
, and the Olympia Funeral Marching Band". The Chimney Sweepers technique was to use new thirty-gallon galvanized garbage cans, filled one third full of water and brought to a boil with seasonings. The shrimp were divided into 25 pound batches and stuffed into new pillow cases and tied off. Twenty-five pounds of shrimp took about 25 minutes to cook. One batch came out and the next went in.
. Known variously as Frogmore Stew, Beaufort
Stew, a Beaufort boil, a Lowcountry boil, or a tidewater boil, they tend be a bit milder than their Louisiana Cajun and Creole cousins. For example, it is not unusual for a Lowcountry recipe to call for a mixture of hot and mild crab boil
seasonings, e.g., Zatarain's
and Old Bay
, whereas a Cajun
recipe may start with crab boil
packets and add large amounts of cayenne
pepper and hot sauce
. While shrimp are most often used, crabs and or crawfish may be included if available. This is also a bit different from a Louisiana boil, which usually involves just one kind of shellfish.
This hearty one-pot dish is always a crowd-pleaser. When Frogmore Stew was first cooked in the 1960s, Frogmore was a little hamlet on St. Helena Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina. In the 1980s, however, the postal service abolished the name Frogmore. That changed the name of the popular dish to Lowcountry Boil or Beaufort Stew-except, of course, among the proud (and peeved) residents of Frogmore.
However, the origins of the Low Country Boil go farther back to the cuisine of the Gullah
/Geechee peoples of the Sea Islands
along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Africans in the slave trade often brought with them not only cooking influences from their homeland, but Spanish and French cooking influences as well. Meals for large gatherings of people would have to be made as quickly as possible with readily-available foods. The boil was a quick and easy way to prepare all the foods at once.
The most well attended function to feature Frogmore Stew occurs in July at the 10 day Beaufort Water Festival (in the 54 years of the festival it has grown to be the largest totally volunteer run festival on the south eastern coast), the event feeds 2,400, the recipe includes 1,200 lbs of shrimp, 2,400 ears of corn, 600 lbs of sausage, 72 oz of seafood seasoning and is served with 350 lbs of coleslaw, 250 gal of iced tea, 2,400 rolls and 90 watermelons.
The other kind of event is the Oyster Roast. Sheet metal or a fine mesh grill is placed over hot coals. Oysters are piled onto the grill (after having the mud washed off their shells). Wet burlap sacks are draped over the shells and the oysters are half grilled and half steamed. A shovel is used to scoop them onto nearby tables (plywood sheets on sawhorses works as well as anything). The shells have popped open (and are still hot), but the oysters are attached and just need a little coaxing to come free. This is particularly popular in the winter (the 'R' months) when the oysters are good and a hot fire keeps the coastal chill at bay.
Both of these events are often large social functions in which a neighborhood, family, or friends gather for fellowship. Music, drinking, and dancing, especially the Carolina shag
, are also common at these events. The most famous example of such a function takes place in Columbia, South Carolina, in late November prior to the in-state Clemson and South Carolina football game, on South Waccamaw Street.
is the largest estuary system in North America and provides an abundance of blue crab, Chincoteague
oysters, and clams
. It is located at the boundary between the South and Mid-Atlantic states and shares culinary traditions with both. Crab houses (also known as Crab shacks) serve freshly steamed crabs and are found along both shores of the bay.
The Maryland Crab Boil (known as a Crab Feast– "Crab Boil" is not a phrase used in Maryland) is a popular event for small groups of friends. Despite the name, the cooking technique is actually steaming. Crab pots have a raised bottom that keeps a fitted basket above the liquid. A couple of inches of beer (or water) mixed with vinegar is brought to a boil. The crabs are placed in the basket and sprinkled liberally with a seasoning mix (usually Old Bay
), and then placed in the steamer. Twenty minutes later the bright red crabs are pulled up and turned out onto trays or platters. Tables are covered with layers of brown paper and wooden mallets and serrated knives are made available for cracking claws and picking out meat. Typical side dishes are cole slaw
and corn on the cob
.
, a clam bake
is traditionally done on a beach. A pit is dug in the sand and lined with stones. A fire is built on top of the stones from driftwood. Once the fire dies down, seafood is placed on the stones and covered with seaweed and a canvas tarp. The residual heat from the stones along with steam from the moisture of the seaweed combines to cook the food. While lobster is often featured at clam bakes, some authors suggest that in practice, lobster will not be fully cooked by the time the stones have lost most of their heat.
An alternative to the labor-intensive bake is the New England Clam Boil. Like other regions, corn, potatoes, and sausage are popular additions. Recipes from the region suggest that little or no seasonings are added. Beer is often used as the boiling liquid.
s (not a Louisiana item). The boil seasonings are also quite typical of the Louisiana style, but with the inclusion of oranges.
département of France
on the Bay of Biscay
, is noted for the abundance of mussels. The Éclade des Moules is a bake often held on the beaches outside of La Rochelle
. The mussels are arranged in concentric circles on a plank so that the hinged part of the shell is facing up. Pine needles are mounded on top to a depth of a foot or so and set afire. The needles burn down quickly, producing a rich resinous smoke. Two or three minutes after the fire goes out, the ashes are swept away and the mussels are eaten directly from the shell along with country bread, butter, and white wine.
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
is the central element. Regional variations dictate the kinds of seafood, the accompaniments and side dishes, and the preparation techniques (boiling, steaming, baking, or raw). In some cases, a boil may be sponsored by a community organization as a fund-raiser or a mixer. In this way, they are like a fish fry
Fish fry
A fish fry is a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. It typically also includes french fries, coleslaw, hushpuppies, lemon slices, tartar sauce, malt vinegar and dessert. Some Indian versions are cooked by coating fish with semolina and egg yolk...
, barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
, or church potluck
Potluck
A potluck is a gathering of people where each person or group of people contributes a dish of food prepared by the person or the group of people, to be shared among the group...
supper. But boils are also held by individuals for their friends and family for weekend get-togethers and on the summer holidays of Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
and the Fourth of July. There are also companies that can cater a boil for large and small events. While boils and bakes are traditionally associated with coastal regions of the United States, there are notable exceptions. For example, the Fiesta Oyster Bake (San Antonio) began in 1916 as an alumni fund raiser for St. Mary's University
St. Mary's University, Texas
St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...
. It is now attended by over 70,000 people during its two day run and is a major music and cultural event in the city.
Louisiana
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
, and crawfish boils can be found across southern Louisiana. But it is the crawfish boil that is most closely associated with the region. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival has been named one of the top 10 food events by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and is a showcase for Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
music and culture. Major crawfish boils are held by churches and other organizations as fundraisers throughout the spring. Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
holds an annual "Crawfest" in April, and the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
holds an annual crawfish boil for all students at the end of the spring semester (Students unwinding on Crawfish and Unprecedented Fun—SUCAUF). Smaller events can be found in backyards and parks throughout April, May, and June. Locals traditionally eat crawfish, as well as crabs, without tools such as shell crackers or picks.
One reason for the popularity of crawfish may be price. During the height of the season (late spring) the price may be less than a $1.50/pound retail for live crawfish (2006) with crawfish prices currently being around $.99/pound. Shrimp and crab are higher valued cash crops, and can be a less affordable option for larger groups.
Crab boil
thumb|right|Soldiers preparing a crab boil at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, IraqCrab boil usually refers to a spice mixture that is used to flavor the water in which crabs or other shellfish are boiled...
packets, cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper
The cayenne pepper—also known as the Guinea spice,cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper,or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper—is a red, hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum...
, hot sauce
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, lemons, and bay leaf
Bay leaf
Bay leaf refers to the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine...
. Ears of corn, new potatoes, onions, and heads of garlic are usually included in shrimp and crawfish boils. Some people will add smoked sausage links and/or mushrooms. When cooking crawfish there is a debate over whether or not the crawfish must first be purged by covering them with clear water and a generous amount of salt for a few minutes. Advocates argue that this forces the crawfish to rid their bodies of impurities. Others argue that it does not work and is an unnecessary step. A "Boil Master" is in charge of making sure the ingredients go into the pot in the proper sequence and controls the timing of the steps. There is no right or wrong when seasoning a crawfish boil and many experienced boilers simply go by feel although there are some guidelines to follow and a great deal of opinions on how a boiled crawfish should be seasoned. Many recipes call for a short boil followed by a period of soaking with the heat turned off. The contents of the pot are removed, drained, and then dumped onto a newspaper covered table. Sometimes, crawfish may be dumped into the traditional watercraft in which crawfishermen have historically used to traverse the bayous and swamps; a pirogue
Pirogue
A pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. In West Africa they were used as traditional fishing boats. These boats are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land...
. Bottles of hot sauce
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
, lemons and melted butter are usually available, along with cocktail sauce at a shrimp boil. Some families like to use Italian salad dressing or ketchup, or a mixture of both.
Howard Mitcham
Howard Mitcham
James Howard Mitcham was an American artist, poet, and cook best known for his books on Louisiana's Creole and Cajun cuisines and that of New England, with an emphasis on seafood....
and his Guild of Chimney Sweepers (named in honor of a dinner that Charles Lamb hosted for the London sweeps) hosted a shrimp boil every year for French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
bohemians during the 1950s and 1960s. He notes, "At our last big party we boiled 400 pounds of shrimp and 400 fat crabs for 200 guests and we drank eight thirty-gallon kegs of beer. For music we had Kid Thomas
Kid Thomas Valentine
Thomas Valentine, commonly known as Kid Thomas was a jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Kid Thomas was born in Reserve, Louisiana and came to New Orleans in his youth. He gained a reputation as a hot trumpet man in the early 1920s. Starting in 1926 he led his own band, for decades based in the New...
and his Algiers Stompers, the famous old gut-bucket jazz group from Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
, and the Olympia Funeral Marching Band". The Chimney Sweepers technique was to use new thirty-gallon galvanized garbage cans, filled one third full of water and brought to a boil with seasonings. The shrimp were divided into 25 pound batches and stuffed into new pillow cases and tied off. Twenty-five pounds of shrimp took about 25 minutes to cook. One batch came out and the next went in.
Georgia and South Carolina
There are two kinds of social gatherings in coastal Georgia and South Carolina that revolve around shellfish. One is very much like a Louisiana boil, usually involving shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage, and red potatoes and is considered part of Lowcountry cuisineLowcountry cuisine
Lowcountry cuisine is the cooking traditionally associated with the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Georgia coast. While it shares features with Southern cooking, its geography, economics, physics, demographics, and culture pushed its culinary identity in a different direction from regions above...
. Known variously as Frogmore Stew, Beaufort
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
Stew, a Beaufort boil, a Lowcountry boil, or a tidewater boil, they tend be a bit milder than their Louisiana Cajun and Creole cousins. For example, it is not unusual for a Lowcountry recipe to call for a mixture of hot and mild crab boil
Crab boil
thumb|right|Soldiers preparing a crab boil at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, IraqCrab boil usually refers to a spice mixture that is used to flavor the water in which crabs or other shellfish are boiled...
seasonings, e.g., Zatarain's
Zatarain's
Zatarain's is a food and spice company. It was started in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna by Emile A. Zatarain, Sr., who took out a trademark and began to market root beer in 1889. He expanded his product range to include mustard, pickled vegetables, and extracts.Then he moved into the spice...
and Old Bay
Old Bay Seasoning
Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that is currently marketed in the United States by McCormick & Company, and produced in Maryland. It is produced in the Chesapeake Bay area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s, and where the seasoning is very popular...
, whereas a Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
recipe may start with crab boil
Crab boil
thumb|right|Soldiers preparing a crab boil at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, IraqCrab boil usually refers to a spice mixture that is used to flavor the water in which crabs or other shellfish are boiled...
packets and add large amounts of cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
pepper and hot sauce
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
. While shrimp are most often used, crabs and or crawfish may be included if available. This is also a bit different from a Louisiana boil, which usually involves just one kind of shellfish.
This hearty one-pot dish is always a crowd-pleaser. When Frogmore Stew was first cooked in the 1960s, Frogmore was a little hamlet on St. Helena Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina. In the 1980s, however, the postal service abolished the name Frogmore. That changed the name of the popular dish to Lowcountry Boil or Beaufort Stew-except, of course, among the proud (and peeved) residents of Frogmore.
However, the origins of the Low Country Boil go farther back to the cuisine of the Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
/Geechee peoples of the Sea Islands
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...
along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Africans in the slave trade often brought with them not only cooking influences from their homeland, but Spanish and French cooking influences as well. Meals for large gatherings of people would have to be made as quickly as possible with readily-available foods. The boil was a quick and easy way to prepare all the foods at once.
The most well attended function to feature Frogmore Stew occurs in July at the 10 day Beaufort Water Festival (in the 54 years of the festival it has grown to be the largest totally volunteer run festival on the south eastern coast), the event feeds 2,400, the recipe includes 1,200 lbs of shrimp, 2,400 ears of corn, 600 lbs of sausage, 72 oz of seafood seasoning and is served with 350 lbs of coleslaw, 250 gal of iced tea, 2,400 rolls and 90 watermelons.
The other kind of event is the Oyster Roast. Sheet metal or a fine mesh grill is placed over hot coals. Oysters are piled onto the grill (after having the mud washed off their shells). Wet burlap sacks are draped over the shells and the oysters are half grilled and half steamed. A shovel is used to scoop them onto nearby tables (plywood sheets on sawhorses works as well as anything). The shells have popped open (and are still hot), but the oysters are attached and just need a little coaxing to come free. This is particularly popular in the winter (the 'R' months) when the oysters are good and a hot fire keeps the coastal chill at bay.
Both of these events are often large social functions in which a neighborhood, family, or friends gather for fellowship. Music, drinking, and dancing, especially the Carolina shag
Carolina shag
Carolina Shag is a six-count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music . During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The lead is the center of attention, and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's or mark time while the lead...
, are also common at these events. The most famous example of such a function takes place in Columbia, South Carolina, in late November prior to the in-state Clemson and South Carolina football game, on South Waccamaw Street.
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
is the largest estuary system in North America and provides an abundance of blue crab, Chincoteague
Chincoteague
Chincoteague may refer to:Geography*Chincoteague Bay, a bay on the coast of Maryland and Virginia*Chincoteague Channel, a channel in Virginia connecting Chincoteague Bay and Chincoteague Inlet*Chincoteague Inlet, an inlet on the coast of Virginia...
oysters, and clams
CLaMS
CLaMS is a modular chemistry transport model system developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. CLaMS was first described by McKenna et al. and was expanded into three dimensions by Konopka et al....
. It is located at the boundary between the South and Mid-Atlantic states and shares culinary traditions with both. Crab houses (also known as Crab shacks) serve freshly steamed crabs and are found along both shores of the bay.
The Maryland Crab Boil (known as a Crab Feast– "Crab Boil" is not a phrase used in Maryland) is a popular event for small groups of friends. Despite the name, the cooking technique is actually steaming. Crab pots have a raised bottom that keeps a fitted basket above the liquid. A couple of inches of beer (or water) mixed with vinegar is brought to a boil. The crabs are placed in the basket and sprinkled liberally with a seasoning mix (usually Old Bay
Old Bay Seasoning
Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that is currently marketed in the United States by McCormick & Company, and produced in Maryland. It is produced in the Chesapeake Bay area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s, and where the seasoning is very popular...
), and then placed in the steamer. Twenty minutes later the bright red crabs are pulled up and turned out onto trays or platters. Tables are covered with layers of brown paper and wooden mallets and serrated knives are made available for cracking claws and picking out meat. Typical side dishes are cole slaw
Cole Slaw
Cole Slaw is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Argo label in 1964 and performed by Donaldson with Herman Foster, Earl May, Bruno Carr, and Ray Barretto.The album was awarded 3 stars in an Allmusic review....
and corn on the cob
Corn on the cob
Corn on the cob is a culinary term used for a cooked ear of freshly picked maize from a cultivar of sweet corn. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender...
.
New England
In New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, a clam bake
New England clam bake
The New England clam bake is a traditional method of cooking foods, especially seafood such as lobster, mussels, crabs, steamers, and quahogs. The seafood is often supplemented by sausages, potatoes, onions, carrots, corn on the cob, etc...
is traditionally done on a beach. A pit is dug in the sand and lined with stones. A fire is built on top of the stones from driftwood. Once the fire dies down, seafood is placed on the stones and covered with seaweed and a canvas tarp. The residual heat from the stones along with steam from the moisture of the seaweed combines to cook the food. While lobster is often featured at clam bakes, some authors suggest that in practice, lobster will not be fully cooked by the time the stones have lost most of their heat.
An alternative to the labor-intensive bake is the New England Clam Boil. Like other regions, corn, potatoes, and sausage are popular additions. Recipes from the region suggest that little or no seasonings are added. Beer is often used as the boiling liquid.
Other US
The events listed above are generally regarded as the definitive versions. But variations exist around the country.Napa Crab and Crawfish Boil
This variation on the Louisiana boil features shrimp and crawfish as well as Dungeness crabDungeness crab
The Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister , is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America. It typically grows to across the carapace and is a popular seafood...
s (not a Louisiana item). The boil seasonings are also quite typical of the Louisiana style, but with the inclusion of oranges.
Charente-Maritime
The Charente-MaritimeCharente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, is noted for the abundance of mussels. The Éclade des Moules is a bake often held on the beaches outside of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
. The mussels are arranged in concentric circles on a plank so that the hinged part of the shell is facing up. Pine needles are mounded on top to a depth of a foot or so and set afire. The needles burn down quickly, producing a rich resinous smoke. Two or three minutes after the fire goes out, the ashes are swept away and the mussels are eaten directly from the shell along with country bread, butter, and white wine.
See also
- Louisiana Creole cuisineLouisiana Creole cuisineLouisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Asian Indian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine...
- Cajun cuisineCajun cuisineCajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation...
- Cuisine of the Southern United StatesCuisine of the Southern United StatesThe cuisine of the Southern United States is defined as the historical regional culinary form of states generally south of the Mason Dixon Line dividing Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware as well as along the Ohio River, and extending west to Southern Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.The most...
- Lowcountry cuisineLowcountry cuisineLowcountry cuisine is the cooking traditionally associated with the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Georgia coast. While it shares features with Southern cooking, its geography, economics, physics, demographics, and culture pushed its culinary identity in a different direction from regions above...
- Fish boilFish boilA fish boil is a Great Lakes culinary tradition in areas of Wisconsin and along the coastal Upper Great Lakes, with large Scandinavian populations. Fish boils enjoy a particularly strong presence in Door County, Port Wing and Port Washington, Wisconsin...
- Crayfish partyCrayfish partyA crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva...