68
WBM august 2011
Carolina
Boil
The classic one-pot seafood dish
Call it Carolina Boil,
Shrimp Boil or by
its authentic name:
Frogmore Stew, this Low
Country, one-pot seafood dish is often
served outdoors, in restaurants and on
social occasions on tables sometimes
covered in newspapers.
Chef James Bain recalls childhood
memories of seafood boils with his
family on hot summer nights.
“It’s one of those feel-good dishes,”
Bain says. “There are a million different
variations but what I like to do
is start with small potatoes, boiling
water and a pinch of salt. A lot of
people add Old Bay or hot peppers
for seasoning. You’ll hear of all different
flavor variations. Each family has
their own unique way of doing it,” he
explains.
The dish is simple enough with
only five key ingredients — potatoes,
corn, onion, sausage and shrimp —
although Bain admits to having tried
different types of seafood to spice
things up a bit.
Because the history of preparing
seafood dates back to the beginning of
time, thousands of chefs, professional
and otherwise, have claimed to be the
first to discover a new food technique.
The case is no different when dealing
with a Low Country Boil. Some
claim it originated in New England.
Others, like cookbook author Jean
Anderson, tie it to the South saying it
emerged from the marshes of a small
South Carolina town.
The community of Frogmore,
found between St. Helena Island and
Beaufort, is where the boil gets one
of its many nicknames and where