A 100-quart pot is ideal for serving a crowd of 25 to 35 people. This party-sized recipe calls for 25 to 30 pounds of seafood—such as shrimp, crawfish, or crab—along with all the classic fixings. For perfect results, begin with the ingredients that take the longest to cook, and save the delicate seafood for last.
PARTY-SIZED LOW COUNTRY BOIL
Ingredients for a 100-Qt Pot (Serves ~30)
- Seafood: 25-30 lbs of fresh, shell-on shrimp (Jumbo or Extra Large), and optionally 10 lbs of crab legs (snow or king) or crawfish.
- Sausage: 15 lbs of smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1-inch rounds.
- Potatoes: 15–20 lbs (Baby red potatoes, scrubbed and left whole)
- Corn: 30–40 ears (shucked and cut into halves or thirds)
- Seasoning: 2 to 3 large boxes of crab boil seasoning (e.g., Old Bay) and 2-3 bottles of liquid crab boil (e.g., Zatarain’s).
- Aromatics: 8-10 lemons (halved), 5-8 quartered onions, and 3 garlic cloves (split in half)
- Extras: 2–3 lager or pale ale beers (optional)
Step-by-Step Cooking Guide
The Boil
- Fill your 100-quart pot about halfway with water (roughly 50 quarts).
- Stir in your crab boil seasoning mix, lemons, onions, and garlic.
- Bring to a rolling boil over your high-output burner (this will take 20-30 minutes)
Potatoes & Sausage
- Once boiling, add the red potatoes and the smoked sausage into the basket. Carefully lower the strainer basket into the pot.
- Cover the pot and let them boil for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork-tender.
The Corn
- Drop the halved ears of corn directly into the basket.
- Cover and boil for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
The Seafood
- Lastly, add the seafood (shrimp, crawfish, crab legs, etc.) on top of the corn.
- Cover tightly and cook until the shrimp turn bright pink and start to curl, which should take roughly 3 to 4 minutes.
- TIP - Perfectly cooked shrimp is C-shaped. Overcooked shrimp is O-shaped.
The Soak & Serve
- Turn off the gas burner.
- To lock in maximum flavor, drop in about 10 lbs of ice into the pot to shock the shrimp and stop the cooking immediately.
- Let the whole mixture soak for 10-15 minutes.
- Carefully lift the strainer basket and hang it with the pot hanger on the side of the stock pot, letting the excess liquid drain off.
- Dump the feast out onto a long, paper-lined table or cooler and serve with melted butter, cocktail sauce, and hot sauce.