Unleash Your Inner Chef With Our Lip-smacking Boiling Crab Shrimp Recipe

If you haven’t tasted this one before, you’re missing out. As possibly the most popular dish on the Boiling Crab menu, this shrimp has everything: Savory, sweet, and meaty. Accompanied by sausage, ears of corn, and fries, our copycat Boiling Crab shrimp recipe brings the famous dish to you.

What makes this Boiling Crab copycat recipe great is not only its taste but that it is for those special days. Whether you have a dinner date coming up or a family gathering on the horizon, you can always rely on this one. Admittedly, this recipe is not the easiest, or the cheapest one, but we think it is worth it.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage and reheating
• Tips
• Boiling Crab Shrimp Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Shrimp — 2 pounds, peeled and deveined.
• Old Bay seasoning — 1 tbsp.
• Paprika — 1 ½ tbsp.
• Oregano — 1 ½ tbsp.
• Cayenne pepper — 1 ½ tbsp.
• Hot sauce — 2 tbsp.
• Cajun seasoning — 1 ½ tbsp.
• Garlic powder — ½ cup.
• Butter — 1 cup.
• White sugar — 2 tbsp.
• Kielbasa sausage — 1 pound.
• Ears of corn — 2 pcs.
• Lime — 1 per person.

Instructions

1. Melt some butter in a skillet, and add the white sugar. Cook on medium heat until sugar dissolves.

2. Then, add the Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano.

3. Let it simmer for a few minutes.

4. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil.

5. Add the chopped kielbasa sausage and the shrimp, and cook until pink, about 1-2 minutes.

6. Transfer the now-cooked shrimp and sausage into the pot with the sauce in it.

7. Mix well.

8. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with lime and ears of corn.

Substitutions

• White sugar — Also known as granulated sugar, white sugar is probably the most commonly used sweetener. Despite its popularity, it has been linked to various diseases. However, this Boiling Crab shrimp recipe needs a sweetener, so it is replaceable. 
  
  The most obvious alternative would be brown sugar. It's still tasty and sweet, with a hint of caramel flavor, and is healthier than its white counterpart. 
  
  If you’re looking for something else entirely, consider using honey. It's sweeter and much tastier, though it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. More importantly though, if your priority is your health, honey just might be what you’re looking for. 1 tbsp. of honey would do the job.
  
  Coconut sugar is also a good option, especially if you’re concerned about your blood sugar levels, as its glycemic index is considerably lower.

• Hot sauce — Hot sauce gives your boiling shrimp a good amount of spice, flair, and character. It should not be omitted, but you can choose your own.
  
  While Louisiana hot sauce is ideal for those who’d like to stay true to the Southern roots of this dish, tabasco would do the job too. The latter is less salty, and contains a good deal of cayenne pepper, which might be a problem considering our recipe contains a lot of cayenne.
  
  Louisiana hot sauce, on the other hand, is saltier, though it comes with a mild taste. Make your pick and let us know how you like it.

• Cajun seasoning — If you happen to be short on Cajun seasoning, you have plenty of alternatives. Both Adobo and Creole will work just fine. After all, these two are the go-to options for seasoning when it comes to seafood. If they won’t cut it for you, a simple mix of herbs and spices like onion powder, turmeric, oregano, and garlic powder is a good option.

• Kielbasa sausage — This German national treasure is great, especially when combined with sauerkraut. However, this Boiling Crab shrimp recipe, paired with kielbasa, works well. The unique taste might be too much for some, though. If that’s the case with you, feel free to swap kielbasa for any kind of sausage you prefer. Bratwurst and andouille are strong candidates if you’re looking for a substitute, and chorizo is not bad either.

Variations

• Fries — This dish is usually accompanied by fries at the Boiling Crab. 4-5 baby potatoes fried in a deep fryer and seasoned with Old Bay, fries could make or break your shrimp. Make sure you try it out!

• Dairy-free/Gluten-free — Well, luckily, this Boiling Crab shrimp recipe does not contain a lot of dairy products, except for the butter. The good news is, there are many dairy-free butter alternatives out there. You can always go with vegan butter or coconut oil. None of the seasonings, spices, or meat products in this recipe contains gluten.

Equipment

• Skillet.

• Cooking pot.

• Measuring cups and spoons.

Storage and reheating

• Store any leftover shrimp in an airtight container in the fridge.

• You can reheat using an oven, at 275 degrees and preferably covered.

Tips

• The crab — This copycat Boiling Crab shrimp recipe could be cooked by using either fresh or frozen shrimp. While the former will be costlier, it might taste better. The latter, on the other hand, is more accessible, all the while still providing a great taste.

• Save time — Using precooked shrimp will help you save some time, as you won’t have to deal with cooking the shrimp from scratch. However, it should also be mentioned that fresh shrimp will have better texture, and a slight difference in taste.