One of the greatest traditions on the gulf coast is hosting shrimp boils. I grew up in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, a little seafood community with shrimp being one of the biggest industries in the town.
I’m going to teach y’all just how to boil raw shrimp so y’all can keep on “keeping traditions” by hosting y’alls own shrimp boils.
To boil raw shrimp you need to bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the raw shrimp in the boiling water and bring the water back to a boil for 1 minute. Cut off the heat, add your favorite seafood boil seasoning, and let the shrimp soak for 5 minutes. Now serve and enjoy. See below for detail.
If you need more in depth information on how to boil raw shrimp keep reading I’m going to go over each step in detail and soon you will be boiling up some awesome shrimp and hosting your own shrimp boils.
Boiling Raw Shrimp Step-by-Step
Step 1:
Buy some domestic wild caught shrimp. I recommend two to three pounds of raw shrimp per person for portion sizing.
This sounds like a lot but the shrimp loses weight from cooking. The head and shell accounts for nearly 2/3 of the weight of shrimp so 3 pounds will yield 1 pound of meat as a rule of thumb.
Check our article on the 10 best tasting shrimp caught in the United States, all of them are excellent boiled.
Step 2:
Fill a pot with water. Make sure the pot is big enough to handle how many pounds of shrimp you have. Bring The pot of unseasoned water to a rolling boil.
Step 3:
Drop the raw shrimp into the boiling water. Make sure the water is unseasoned (No Spices or Salt need to be added to the water at this point).
Bring the water back to a rolling boil. Once the water and shrimp are at a rolling boil, boil the shrimp for 1-2 minutes. Immediately turn off the heat once the time is up.
You will notice a pinkish or orange foam appearing on top of the water this is an indication that the water is about to be at a rolling boil.
*Pro Tip- Make sure to boil the shrimp in unseasoned and unsalted water. Only add the seasoning and salt once they are done boiling this will make the shrimp peel easily.
Step 4:
Once the shrimp are done boiling now is the time to hit’em with some spices. I use 8 oz of seafood boil to 5 pounds of shrimp and 4-6 oz of salt.
Many seasonings will have the recommended amount of seasoning for each pound of shrimp. I recommend Louisiana seafood boil and salt.
*Pro Tip- Use the seafood boil seasoning not the seafood liquid boil when seasoning shrimp to not over spice the shrimp. Liquid boil is only recommended if you really want to spice things up.
Step 5:
Once you seasoned your shrimp let them soak for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pull out a shrimp and taste it.
If they need more seasoning or salt add a small amount and let them soak for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Repeat this process till they are seasoned to your liking.
Step 6:
When the shrimp are seasoned to your liking it’s time to serve them up! Boiled shrimp are best served with friends and family while enjoying some cold snacks (i’m referring to some ice cold Colorado cool aid a.k.a beer).
If you want to know which sides go best with your boiled shrimp keep reading.
Now that you’re a shrimp boiling expert if you would like to know more info about hosting a shrimp boil check out our complete guide to boiling shrimp.
The Best Sides for a Shrimp Boil
The best sides for a shrimp boil are boiled corn, red potatoes and rope sausage. That’s not to say those are the only sides you can have at a shrimp boil.
Check out some creative sides you can have at your next boil:
- Fresh whole mushrooms
- Whole or chunks of onion
- Bell pepper chunks
- Fresh string beans
- Fresh whole okra
- Fresh whole brussels sprouts
- Whole spicy peppers
- Whole garlic cloves
The possibilities are endless of what you can throw in the boiling pot. If you have a crazy idea at what might taste good, throw it in the pot.
*Pro Tip- Boil your corn and potatoes separately rather than trying to boil them in the same pot as the shrimp. Corn and potatoes tend to soak up most of the seasoning and have different cooking times making it extremely difficult to cook the corn, potatoes and shrimp perfectly.
How many pounds of Shrimp are needed for a shrimp boil?
I recommend two to three pounds of shrimp per person when trying to figure out how many pounds you will need for the shrimp boil.
This sounds like a lot but the shrimp loses weight from cooking and the Head is ⅓ of the weight of the shrimp and the shell is another ⅓.
How to peel Boiled Shrimp?
When hosting a shrimp boil, it is common there is that one person who has never eaten a boiled shrimp and doesn’t know how to peel one.
If your shrimp have heads on them, grab the head of the shrimp with one hand and place it between your thumb and trigger finger.
Then grab the tail of the shrimp with your other hand placing it between your thumb and trigger finger with quick snap motion remove the head of the shrimp from the tail.
Many people including me will suck on the head of the shrimp. This is where all the flavor is so don’t knock it till you try it!
Put the end of the tail in one hand and peel the top part of the shrimp shell off. Then pinch the bottom of the tail of the shrimp you should be able to pull the meat from the rest of the shell.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to boil raw shrimp in you can start boiling them up with friends and family. Make sure to only us domestic wild caught shrimp from the U.S.
Check out our Awesome shrimp hats and show your support for the local fishing community.
If you would like more information on boiling shrimp and any other type seafood please feel free to give me a call 251-508-7234.