Italian Seafood Boil Recipes

Steps:

• Use a very large pot (we use a 40 quart pot), fill it half full with water; bring water to a full boil. Add salt, shellfish boil, sausage, and potatoes. Let cook until the potatoes are approximately 1/2 completed cooking.
• Stir in lemons, hot peppers, and corn. Continue boiling until all of the vegetables are tender. Turn off the heat.
• Mix in shrimp and crab. Cover pot and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. When shrimp are pink and the crabmeat opaque and flaky, remove all of the vegetables and shellfish from the pot, and drain well. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Fill a very large stockpot fitted with a basket insert with about 8 quarts of water, or about halfway full. Squeeze lemons into the water, tossing the halves in too. Add onions, chiles, thyme, garlic, 1 2/3 cup seafood seasoning, 6 teaspoons kosher salt, and bay leaves; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir potatoes into the pot and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Next, add the sausage and corn; cook another 5 minutes, making sure everything stays covered with the liquid. Add the clams and boil until they open, about 8 minutes. Toss in the shrimp and shut off the heat. Cover the pot and let the shrimp steep in the flavor for 10 minutes, adding the crab in the last 5 minutes (press them into the liquid).
• Drain and spread the crab, shrimp, sausage, clams, corn, potatoes, and onions out on a newspaper-covered table or on 3 large serving trays. Sprinkle with a dusting of Old Bay® or provide for individual use.

Steps:

• Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. When water is at a full boil, salt generously and then add bay leaves, crab boil seasoning, fennel seeds, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, and lemons. Return to a boil, add artichokes, and cover. Boil for 10 minutes and then add potatoes and onions; reduce heat to a simmer and return the cover to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add garlic and wine. Simmer, covered, until artichokes, onions, and potatoes are tender; as they vegetables become tender, remove them to a serving platter (the potatoes should take about 20 to 30 minutes, and then artichokes and onions, about 30 to 40 minutes).
• After you have removed all the vegetables, add the lobsters. Cook just until they begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes. Then add the clams; after 30 seconds, add shrimp. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl and the clams open fully, about 5 minutes.
• Cut the onions in half. Cut the artichokes in half and scoop out and discard the chokes.
• Serve the shrimp, potatoes, onions, and artichokes with shallow bowls of melted butter, sea salt, and the Fennel Spice Rub for dipping, and with jars of hot sauce.
• This is my favorite spice mixture. There is almost nothing it doesn't taste good on or in. Use it to make spice-encrusted pork ribs, chops, or tenderloin; veal chops; chicken breasts; duck; beef; liver; or eggplant; or add a teaspoon to lentil soup.
• Put the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades.
• Pour the seeds into a blender and add the salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender occasionally to redistribute the seeds. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.

Steps:

• Wrap the bay leaf, rosemary, and fennel seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Set the sachet aside. Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped fennel and shallots and saute until the fennel is tender, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the wine and fish broth. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the sachet. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Add the clams to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams open, about 6 to 8 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Using tongs, transfer the clams to a bowl. Repeat with the mussels. Add the potatoes to the cooking liquid and simmer until they are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add the fish, shrimp, and corn. Simmer until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the corn is heated through, about 5 minutes. Return the clams and mussels to the soup. Stir in the parsley. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the Garlic Toasts with Red Pepper Aioli. This recipe yields 6 servings.