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4.8 from 30 votes

Shrimp Boil

šŸ¤šŸŒ½šŸ„” Juicy and succulent large shrimp along with corn and potatoes, all drenched in the most heavenly horseradish butter!! Thereā€™s the option to make your own homemade and ultra flavorful stock for the boil or use store bought stock as a shortcut! Either way, this is a finger lickinā€™ amazing meal!!

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 360 kcal
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Homemade Stock
  • 3 quarts water
  • 24 ounces beer use your favorite lighter/paler beer
  • 2 large carrots cut into large chunks
  • 1 head garlic cut in half so all the cloves are exposed
  • 4 celery stalks cut into large chunks
  • 2 tablespoons prepared yellow or Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt or to taste
  • OR use 3 to 4 quarts store bought chicken or vegetable stock I recommend reduced sodium
Shrimp Boil
  • 2 pounds large fresh shrimp cleaned and deveined; I use U15-18 shrimp and prefer to leave the tails on* (See Notes below about frozen shrimp)
  • 1 to 1 Ā½ pounds baby red potatoes kept whole
  • 2 to 3 ears of fresh sweet corn cleaned; each ear cut into thirds (frozen and thawed corn on the cob may be substituted)
Horseradish Butter
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
  • Ā½ cup stock homemade, chicken, or vegetable
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons prepared horseradish or to taste (use fresh refrigerated horseradish if you can find it; shelf-stable prepared horseradish may be used although try to not use one that's overly creamy/mayonnaisey-looking)
  • 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or red chili flakes to taste
  • fresh parsley optional for garnishing
  • fresh lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

Homemade Stock:
    Cup of Yum
  1. To a very large stock pot, add the water, beer, carrots, garlic, celery, kosher salt, mustard, and stir to combine. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Let the mixture boil uncovered for at least 30 minutes, up to 1 hour; stir occasionally.
  2. After 30 to 60 minutes, strain the stock into another large pot, discard the vegetables. Tip - Be very careful, the stock is extremely hot!
  3. Place the pot with the stock back on the stove over high heat, and bring it to a boil.
  4. If you are using 3 to 4 quarts store bought stock, bring it to a boil in a large stock pot over high heat.
Shrimp Boil:
  1. Add the baby potatoes and boil for 15 minutes or until fork tender, stirring occasionally.
  2. After the potatoes have cooked for about 15 minutes and are fork-tender, to that stockpot, add the corn, stir to submerge, and boil for an additional 3 minutes.
  3. Add the shrimp, stir to combine, and cook just until the shrimp are cooked. You know they are cooked when they are opaque white, they will curve in on themselves, and they will be firm to the touch; do not overcook. I recommend 3 to 4 minutes unless you are using very large U10-12 shrimp, and they may need 5 minutes but for most shrimp 3 or 4 minutes is plenty since there will also be some carryover cooking after you strain everything.
  4. Strain the potatoes, corn, and shrimp from the stock, and place them into a large serving dish, or individual dishes.
Horseradish Butter:
  1. While the potatoes are cooking in the stock, to a medium saucepan add the butter, stock, garlic, horseradish, Old Bay, salt, pepper or red pepper flakes, heat over medium-high heat until the butter has melted; stirring nearly continuously to encourage it; set aside until Step 10.
  2. Pour the butter sauce over everything and toss to combine, optionally garnish with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.

Notes

  • Shrimp: I recommend using fresh, large shrimp that have been previously cleaned and deveined, with the tails still on. My preference are U15-18 shrimp.Ā 
  • If you absolutely donā€™t want to splurge on fresh shrimp, youĀ could possiblyĀ get away with previously frozen, cooked shrimp.
  • If you are going this route, I would drop them in your pot of boiling stock for about 60 to 90 seconds, just enough to warm them through. You donā€™t want to actually cook them since theyā€™ve already been cooked, and you donā€™t want them tough, so just think of it as warming them.
  • Storage: Shrimp boil is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 360kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 20g (7%) Protein 25g (50%) Fat 18g (28%) Saturated Fat 11g (55%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 5g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 228mg (76%) Sodium 1421mg (59%) Potassium 741mg (21%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 620IU (12%) Vitamin C 9mg (10%) Calcium 115mg (12%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 360

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 360kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 20g 7%
Protein 25g 50%
Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 228mg 76%
Sodium 1421mg 59%
Potassium 741mg 16%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 620IU 12%
Vitamin C 9mg 10%
Calcium 115mg 12%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.