New Orleans style BBQ shrimp

[squirtthecat]

STC, I sent the recipe to Hal today.

Cool.  I'll have to pester him into making it...    We've been in kind of a partycooking 'slump' lately.

[Ka Honu]

I was surprised to find that there's a fairly significant difference in the ingredients of Zaterain's dry and liquid crab boils (see below) while Rex's says they use the same ingredients for both.  In any event, I might start by simply adding a bit (1/8 - 1/4 tsp?) of each of the "standard" crab boil spices not already included in the original recipe (coriander, allspice, dill, cloves) and a bay leaf and see where it goes.  



    Zaterain's Crab Boil ingredients:

         Liquid - water, polysorbate 80, benzyl alcohol, oleoresin capsicum, essential oils of: bay, clove, black pepper, thyme, marjoram and artificial spice flavors.

         Dry -  mustard seed, coriander seed, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, dill seed, allspice.

    OBTW, oleoresin capsicum is sort of a distilled essence of pepper and is the active ingredient in pepper spray.  It's sometimes used in food prep to avoid identifiable pepper specks.

[classicrockgriller]

Sorry, ran to the store. I didn't have any &*(^&*%^% basil. I lost it somewhere. Geez

[squirtthecat]

In any event, I might start by simply adding a bit (1/8 - 1/4 tsp?) of each of the "standard" crab boil spices not already included in the original recipe (coriander, allspice, dill, cloves) and a bay leaf and see where it goes.  

And maybe a big pinch of cayenne to get that capsicum heat, a few cracks of black pepper, and a splash of bourbon?

[KyNola]

KH,
What a difference in ingredients.  I agree with your recipe substitutions.  There you go HR.  Our friend from Hawaii has given you the answer to your dilemma.

Thanks Ka Honu.

KyNola

[Hopefull Romantic]

Ky and KH,

did I understand that correctly, I can use the stuff I found on ebay by adding 1/8 - 1/4 of that to say a cup of water?

HR

[KyNola]

HR,
I think you should give it a go.  You are wanting a really big bold flavor out of the liquid so give it a very small taste and if it doesn't seem bold enough add a little more of the dry ingredient, then only use 2 tablespoons of your "finished" liquid in the shrimp recipe.

BTW, I would heat the water to dissolve the dry mix in.

KyNola

[Hopefull Romantic]

Thanks Ky will do and let you know but probably it will be two weeks before I get the stuff from Ebay.

HR

[Ka Honu]

HR - Just what exactly is it that you found on eBay?

[Hopefull Romantic]

KH here is the link for the stuff I found:

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Spice-Express__W0QQ_sidZ127038222?_nkw=crab+boil

Please let me know if that is okay.

HR

[Ka Honu]

HR - Obviously this is my opinion.  You might want to wait for KyNola or CRG to chime in before doing anything rash.

There are several "styles" of crab boil (e.g., New England, Maryland/Chesapeake Bay, South Carolina/Low Country, Louisiana) which differ slightly in ingredients.  I think for KyNola's recipe you'd want one in the Louisiana style. 

If you want a bunch of dry crab boil mix and can't get Rex's or Zaterain's, you're probably better off making your own and adjusting according to your preferences.  Here's a "copycat" recipe for Zaterain's (dry) - it's a good starting point as far as ingredients and proportions are concerned.

When I do get around to trying this dish (and I will, eventually), I'll probably just add crab boil spices to the recipe and adjust from there.  Might also need a bit of liquid to make it work and don't forget to add a bay leaf or two to the sauce while it's simmering - can't make Cajun food without bay leaves.

[Hopefull Romantic]

Thanks KH.

I will wait for KY and CRG to put in their opinions and will take that spice off my ebay watch list for now.

HR

[classicrockgriller]

 Well I may be out of this one as I have never used the liquid as part of a recipe. If you can get the dry bags, you could bust one open and either pestal grind or small coffee grinder and crush everthing up and boil that with small amount of water.

I can see the importance of the liquid of the crab boil but you may be able to doctor up some seafood stock since you only need two tablespoons.

[Hopefull Romantic]

Good point CRG

HR

[classicrockgriller]

One thing that Ka Hona pointed out is that the liquid is from the oils of these spices which does make it more powerful, the crab boil bags are a seasoning for the crayfish, shrimp, crabs, potatoes, corn........somebody stop me, I'll be boiling shrimp in a minute.