Cooking Lesson #60—Instant Pot All-American Seafood Boil

Instant Pot All-American Seafood Boil

How you doin’? I have a great idea for your 4th of July backyard picnic. It seems that every region of the United States has a “boil” of some sort—New England has a lobster boil, Maryland has a crab boil, Louisiana has a crawfish boil, the Carolina’s have their shrimp boil and in California, we mix things up to make a seafood and sausage boil—and I love it.
 
Though it may look complicated at first glance, please read through the entire recipe. It really is quick and easy “plug and play” Instant Pot holiday recipe. You will need a 6-quart Instant Pot— you may need two, depending on the number of people invited—and a very long extension cord to reach out to the backyard. Plug in your Instant Pot and get ready to Play with your food!
 
A seafood boil can be served as-is, but many people like to add a few side dishes to round out the meal—green salad, French or sourdough bread, coleslaw or potato salad. You can feed about four hungry people with this recipe and it can be ready in 30 minutes. Before you start mixing herbs and spices, read down the ChefSecret for a simple, zesty spice mixture. This recipe is sized for a 6-quart Instant Pot.
 
By the way, a few things I learned going down this path.

• There is not a green vegetable that works in this recipe. The pressure process makes them mushy and icky. You may see some green beans in my photo, but I learned my lesson—stick with the corn. It is simply sweet, tender and delicious.
• If you choose to add a lobster or lobster tails make sure they have not been pre-cooked. You will see a lobster in my photo; crayfish were not available and I wanted to get this recipe posted. Crawfish season can last from November to July, especially during an exceptionally warm and wet winters, but the most reliable months—and the time you'll find the best crawfish—are in the springtime and early summer, from late February through May.
• You can change or add other ingredients like chicken, duck or pork. Flaky fish and lamb… not so much.
• Lastly, please trust me—it really only takes 1 minute cook time on your Instant Pot’s timer. It does 10 to 15 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure, but the results are fantastic, tender, plump shrimp, great sausage, tender sweet corn and fully cooked, buttery potatoes.  

Prep time:  20 minutes
Cook time:  1-minute; Instant Pot will take about 10 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure.
Yield:  4 big servings
 
Ingredients
For the homemade boil seasoning
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed (optional, if you can find it.)
3 tablespoon minced garlic
1 seeded lemon, cut in quarters
 
For the boil pot
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1-pound petite red potatoes, washed, halved
1-pound smoked sausage—mild or hot, sliced into 1/2" rounds
6 ears fresh corn, husked, cut into thirds
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1-pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined (21-25)
1/2-pound of clams or mussels
1-pound crawfish
 
Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together the boil seasonings—herbs, spices and parsley.
2. Pour the stock into the bottom of the Instant Pot and add the bay leaves.
3. Begin to layer all the ingredients in the pot by adding the potatoes in an even layer. Sprinkle about half of the boil seasonings over the potatoes.
4. Next, add the sausage in an even layer. Sprinkle the sausage with half of the remaining seasonings.
5. Add the corn in an even layer. Top the corn with the butter. Sprinkle the corn with the rest of the seasoning.
6. Add the shrimp, clams (or mussels) and crawfish to the top of the pot.
7. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the valve is set to seal.
8. Set the PRESSURE cook button to 1 MINUTE. The pot will take about 10 minutes to come up to pressure.
9. When the one minute of pressure cook time is up, immediately VENT.
10. Remove the lid.
11. Toss the contents of the pot with tongs.
12. Spoon up the boil ingredients into serving dishes and drizzle some of the boil liquid over each bowl.

ChefSecret:  If you like your boils on the Louisiana spicy side, you can save time shopping and mixing all the herbs and spice and use a bag of Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil seasoning instead (it’s in a boil bag inside the box). Just drop the whole bag into the stock in the Instant Pot in place of the seasons, add 2 teaspoons of salt and an additional cup of stock. Your lips and tongue may sing a bit. 

#SeafoodBoil #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #InstantPot #ComfortFoods #Lobster #Crawfish #Clams #Mussels #Zatarains #July4 #IndependenceDay

---