Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Easy To Make Frogmore Stew

When spending time in South Carolina restaurants, it is common to find the local favorite low country boil otherwise known as Beaufort Boil or Frogmore Stew. The stew is pretty simple as it consists of a kettle full of hot water and bay seasonings cooking away a delicious combination of shrimp, smoked sausage, corn (on the cob), onions, and new potatoes. There are some variations out there that include adding other vegetables, seafood, hot sauces. The debate with Frogmore stew to some is whether the cooking liquid should be part of the serving. Those that serve it straight up on a platter would discard the liquid and serve as any other seafood boil. I usually serve this item in large bowls with a little liquid which is awesome for dipping biscuits or bread. I recommend plenty of paper towels (for the shrimp peeling) and icy cold beverages to calm the heat of the andouille.
Frogmore Stew Recipe
5 quarts of water
2 bottles or cans of beer
1 lemon cut in half
¼ cup bay seasoning
4 pounds of red (new) potatoes
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
5 ears of fresh husked corn (cut in thirds)
3 pounds of andouille sausage (cut into smaller stew size pieces)*
3 pounds of fresh shrimp, (shells still on).
Method
1.In a large kettle or dutch oven bring water, beer and bay seasoning to a boil; add lemons.
2.Add potatoes and continue cooking fifteen minutes.
3.Add corn, onions, and andouille sausage and cook additional five minutes, covered.
4.Add shrimp and cook another five minutes or until pink.
5.Serve in bowls with a little broth.
*Note: For those that do not want it too spicy, consider using Kielbasa instead of Andouille.