Hilah’s Texas Kitchen: Shrimp Boil

How to do a shrimp boil – scroll down for recipe

Hilah’s Texas Kitchen Episode 4: Texas Shrimp Boil

Port Aransas, or just “Port A”, is the hot spot to head to in the summer for many Texans. Out of staters have probably more likely heard of South Padre Island, but to me, Port A is way more fun that South Padre. Most of the year, Port Aransas is a sleepy fishing town, but come the warm summer months May through September it’s the place to be for vacationing families and anyone who enjoys surfing or boogie boarding.

My family didn’t take many vacations when I was young, but fortunately my best friend Shannon’s family made a yearly trek to Port A and always invited me along. We’d stay a week in a condo, Shannon and I sharing the pull-out couch, spending all day long on the beach getting sunburned, eating snow cones and having fish frys and sing-alongs in the evenings. Some of my best memories are on that beach and I love getting down there anytime I can. In the winter, as you’ll see in the video, it gets blustery and cold but it’s still some of the most beautiful scenery in Texas to me.

I was glad to meet the family behind the Port A Seafood Company, since it’s always a place I stop into at least once every trip. The Gilleys are originally from Beaumont, Texas and have their own small (3 boat) shrimping fleet based in Palacios, which is the Shrimp Capital of Texas. They also do some long-line fishing in the gulf to harvest most of the fin fish they sell.

 

Texas shrimp boil recipe

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Shrimp Boil

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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Hilah Johnson
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 quarts water
  • 12 ounces beer
  • 1 lemon
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 36 dried red chilies
  • 1 package (3 ounces) shrimp boil seasoning
  • 810 small red potatoes
  • 3 ears corn
  • 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1” pieces
  • 2 pounds shell-on shrimp (and head-on if you can get them)

Instructions

  1. In a very large pot combine water and beer. Cut lemon in half, squeeze in the juice and drop in the rinds. Add garlic cloves, crushed and peeled, chilies, salt and shrimp boil.
  2. Stir to dissolve salt and add potatoes. Cover and bring to boil. Boil 10 minutes.
  3. Shuck corn and break ears in halves. Add to pot along with sliced sausage. Cover and boil 5 additional minutes.
  4. Pile shrimp on top, do not mix them in. Cover and steam/boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit 10 minutes.
  5. Serve with additional lemon wedges, salt, and cayenne pepper.

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6 Comments

  1. Bill Horn on June 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Why are you drinking a beer that requires a Co-signer. XX Texas looks cold but the food looks great…

    • Hilah on July 1, 2013 at 4:24 pm

      Ha! Yes, it was SO cold down there. Hard to believe it’s over 100 degrees now. Thanks, Bill!

  2. Randy and Kathy Lekawa on May 26, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    Just watched the video for the um-tenth time. I am making the shrimp boil for my Grand daughters birthday camp trip this weekend. Thank you for the inspiration. Your incredible funny, warm and a great cook.

    Randy and Kathy

    • Hilah on May 27, 2016 at 7:33 am

      Enjoy! Happy birthday to your grand daughter! 🙂

  3. Fancy Nancy on May 27, 2018 at 11:49 am

    This is one of my favorite recipes. Perfect for a hot Texas summer.






    • Hilah on May 28, 2018 at 7:24 am

      It’s such a fun thing to make for a party, too

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