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This year as Easter rolled ever closer, I finally sat down a couple weeks prior and started to mull over my menu. We were hosting my side of the family and as I wrote down the traditional baked ham and accompanying sides, I started to question whether or not I was accommodating everyone’s dietary restrictions. We have gluten-free and diabetic family members and I quickly realized that my twice baked mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, etc might not be able to be enjoyed by everyone.
My sister suggested a completely 180 on the menu – making Frogmore Stew. Frogmore (also known as Lowcountry Boil) is not a traditional stew, in that, you’re not slurping down bowls of hearty soup. Instead, it’s a feast that can be thrown together in (literally) the BIGGEST pot you own. We actually needed about 4 pots to get the job done and now Bob swears that he is going to buy this massive 30 quart pot or this 32 quart pot (literally double the size of the biggest pot we used).
You can cook this one-pot-dish over the stove or campfire and the most fun part about the whole thing is how you serve it. Cover your table in newspaper/kraft paper/paper grocery bags and literally DUMP THE FOOD into a huge pile in the middle of the table. We put trash bags (big contractor-sized bags) under the paper on our table as well.
There were so many highlights to serving this meal, I am positive we are in for many many more Frogmore nights. It was so ridiculously simple to make. It tasted delicious, provided for many people and left us all STUFFED but not feeling utterly bloated and gross. The variety in foods meant that there was something (multiple somethings) for everyone to eat, no matter what their dietary needs were). The clean-up was a cinch – roll up your paper and toss it in the trash. DONE!
Here’s what you’ll need to make Frogmore stew. I followed this recipe, added snow crab legs, clams and eggs. We ended up quadrupling it for our crowd. We had plenty of food and had leftovers that lasted for a couple of days.
3 quarts water
1 lemon, halved
1 medium onion, halved
2 cloves garlic, smashed
coarse salt to taste
1 (3 ounce) package dry crab boil
1 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, scrubbed
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces (we used turkey sausage)
4 ears fresh corn, shucked and broken in half
1 1/2 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
snow crab legs (we bought 1 cluster for each adult)
clams (we bought 100 clams for 7 adults and only had about 8 clams left!)
melted butter (small cup for each guest – or we shared 1 cup for every couple)
1 dozen eggs, whole and uncooked
How to make:
1. Bring water to boil in the largest pot you own. Squeeze lemon juice into the water and then throw the lemons into the pot.
2. Add your onion, garlic, salt and crab boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add potatoes and sausage, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, if you choose to include crab legs, get a pot of water boiling to defrost them. Here’s a pic of everything getting underway. Pots everywhere!
We chose to cook our clams up on the grill. It was so simple. Cover the grill with the clams and cook them until they pop open. When they pop all the way open, they’re done. Pull them off the grill and set them aside.
5. Add corn and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the shrimp. Let sit covered (or until the shrimp are pink).
7. Drain and dump onto your table. Add the clams and crab legs.
WOW!!
And there you have it – Frogmore Stew! I have several friends who love to make this dinner while on vacation. It’s so easy and makes so much food… this would work great if you vacation with other families in a beach house, mountain house, etc.
As for Easter, we had a great day! Lily had a blast playing with her cousin while Landon decided that Easter was a pretty good deal. :)
My bro and Landon – hat twins!
