Best Ever Seafood Boil Recipe (with Old Bay Butter)

5 stars from 2 reviews

This seafood boil recipe includes fresh shellfish, sausage, and veggies all cooked in a seasoned broth. Have it on the table in 35 minutes!

Servings: people

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

2 lemons quartered
1 yellow onion trimmed, peeled and quartered
1 pound baby red potatoes scrubbed and cut into halves
4 ears of corn husked, cleaned and cut in half or thirds (depending on the size)
1 pound lobster tails 4 tails, 4 ounces each
1 pound Littleneck clams cleaned (about 16 clams)
1 pound smoked sausage cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 pounds extra-large raw shrimp (55 to 60) peeled and deveined, tails left on
9 cloves garlic
1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning

Fill a large stockpot half full with water. Add in quartered lemons and onions, whole garlic cloves, and Old Bay seasoning. Bring to a boil.
Add in the potatoes and corn. Cook for about 8-10 minutes.
Add lobster tails and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
Next, carefully lower the clams into the pot and cook for 5 more minutes.
Finally, add in the smoked sausage and shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and all clams have opened.
Remove pot from heat and drain the liquid. Remove and discard any clams that have not opened. Return the seafood and vegetables to the stock pot.
Transfer to a serving tray, or spread out over butcher paper to serve family-style. Top with Old Bay butter.
If desired, serve with additional Old Bay seasoning, lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Add the Old Bay and butter to a small saucepan. Cook on medium-low, stirring to combine. When butter has melted, remove from heat and pour over the seafood, corn and potatoes.

Shrimp cook very quickly, so watch them closely at the end. If they are overcooked, they tend to become tough.
If you are purchasing frozen seafood, just be sure to thaw before using in this recipe. Lobster tails can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator. Shrimp thaws much faster and can be done under running water for 5-7 minutes. Check the packaging or check with your local seafood specialist at the grocery store if you aren’t sure how long to thaw or cook your food, especially if you purchased different seafoods in different weights from what is shown in this recipe.
If you are using pre-cooked seafood, you will need to adjust your cook times since we used raw seafood. Shrimp normally takes about 1-2 minutes to cook through from raw, so you could decrease your time if you bought pre-cooked.
Throw away any clams that didn't open while cooking. Do not force them to open, they are most likely not good to eat if they have stayed closed.
I recommend eating this the same day you cook it for the best flavors and for safety. The USDA recommends refrigerating any cooked leftovers, and consuming within 3-4 days.