Truly Southern Low-Country Boil

When Boyce and I first moved to Nashville, we got a knock on our door one day and it happened to be the neighbors who lived across the way. "We are having our yearly low-country boil and we'd love to have ya'll," they said. "We usually have over 100 people, we are hoping it wouldn't be an issue if people could park in front of your house. Oh, and if you could bring a side dish, that would be great and it is BYOB." Not one to shy away from new food experiences or meeting new people, Boyce and I made plans to join them that coming weekend. As the cars started lining up on the street, we watched from our living room window. I knew it had to be good. Especially since it was about 95 degrees outside, with 95 percent humidity. The minute I stepped outside I felt like I was in a sauna. I wanted to die. But Boyce brought some ice, our side dish and a fifth of vodka, so I figured I'd keep cool sipping on a few drinks.

I watched in amazement as our new friends were cooking in the largest pots outside I'd ever seen in my life. It was mentioned that they had gotten several hundred pounds of crawfish. After each pot was finished, the cooks would take out all of the good stuff and pour it on these giant tables that were either lined in newspaper or plastic. "Get at the food before it gets cold, ya'll, don't be shy!", they said. Oh, and there was no silverware - just your fingers, and you were literally sharing the meal with at least 50-100 strangers. As my husband watched me suck the guts out of a crawfish with instructions on how to do so from our postman (it was my first time eating crawfish), he was totally disgusted. He loves the shrimp part of the equation, just not the crawfish. But you know what? We made several friends that day, I learned how to cook low-country boil, and I learned just what Southern Hospitality was. All in all, it was a great day.

Truly Southern Low-Country Boil

Ingredients:

5 gal. water

1 stick salted butter

4 lbs red potatoes

10 ears sweet white corn, shucked, halved

2 sweet Vidalia onions, quartered

6 garlic cloves, peeled

6 oz. crab boil seasoning

3 bay leaves

3 lemons or oranges (your choice), halved

1 oz. whole black peppercorns

1 oz. whole red peppercorns

1 oz. sea salt

16 oz. tallboy Miller High Life beer

3 lbs. smoked sausage (already cooked, like kielbasa)

3 lbs. 16-20 count shrimp (head on if you can find them)

In a large stockpot over a high flame, boil water with crab boil, butter, lemons, onions, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, sea salt, peanuts, and beer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes. Add corn and boil for 15 minutes. Add sausage and boil for 5 minutes. Cut off heat source. Add shrimp to pot. Let Low Country boil sit for 5 minutes. Strain. Dump the contents of the pot on newspaper or in a suitable serving container. Serve with lemons, melted butter, extra crab boil seasoning, and hot sauce (on the side).