Other food at the beach

But N, I hear you ask, (did I not?) (I didn't?) (okay, well I'm going to pretend you did ask, tell you the question, and then answer it) "didn't you eat anything other than bread at the beach?"

Yes we did! And at least one of the meals is worth mentioning, especially for the sake of those who haven't spent much time in the south east US.

The coastal southeast has a specialty that it calls a "low country boil": it typically consists of local produce, thrown in a big pot of water+, cooked, and eaten, sort of like a quick stew. And in our case, it was pretty good. Good enough we made it twice, especially because the fresh shrimp were amazing. All quantities are adjustable, so what I did was to ask: how many people? how much shrimp will they eat, how much corn, etc.

Low Country Boil
Shrimp: at least large, if not extra large or jumbo: ours were probably about a 20-25 count, that is 20-25 per pound.
Kielbasa or smoked sausage
Corn (on the cob)
Carrots
Potatoes
Beer/water
Old Bay seasoning mix*

The cooking method is incredibly easy: prep work takes a little time because of the shrimp (prawns in UK lingo): peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the sausage into 1-2 inch pieces. Dice the potatoes and carrots into 1-2 inch pieces. Cut the ears of corn into 2-3 inch lengths.
Saute the pieces of sausage for a few minutes in a large pot: this will help bring out some flavour. Add the potatoes, carrots and enough water and beer to cover (make sure that there is enough that the corn will fit in later too), and a good amount of the seasoning blend. For four adults, we used about 1/4 cup.
Bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes or so until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Add the corn, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the shrimp, and cook for two more minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and cooked.
Serve with freshly baked crusty bread: just spoon out some of everything into a bowl, eat with a fork or spoon, and sop up the juice with the bread.

Yours, bubbling away,
N.


Old Bay seasoning mix contains a bunch of spices and herbs like ground bay leaves, paprika, pepper, red pepper, mustard etc. You could probably try recreating it from the ingredients listed at the above web site.