How To Host a Shrimp Boil

I’ve spent the majority of my life in Louisiana and Texas where the crawfish boil is about the most anticipated rite of spring. But what to do when there are no crawdads to be found within 1,500 miles? You host a shrimp boil instead! And that’s exactly what we decided to do to celebrate our move to Palm Desert.

One big advantage a shrimp boil has over a crawfish boil is that shrimp is available all year. For a party of 15-25 people, the shrimp boil is fun and very easy. Because it’s messy by nature, all table coverings, napkins, etc. should be disposable. AND… no cutlery is needed. Now I know some of you are shuddering as you imagine a party with disposables, but trust me. In this instance, you just gotta go for it… It’s what is expected!

I picked party colors of orange, turquoise, lime green and yellow. I found my cups at Walmart and a collection of straws I already had on hand (you can find similar on Amazon.com). I had guests write their names on chalkboard labels with chalk pens to identify their cups. This, I have to admit, wasn’t a great idea, as some labels stayed on the cups and others didn’t. Chalk that up to a learning experience!

We strung up lighted paper lanterns in our party colors, as it would get dark at some point during the festivities.

My table decorations were simple and minimal, because you must leave plenty of room for the shrimp and other yumminess. I used three 6-foot tables and covered them first in freezer paper and then brown kraft paper.

At three different spots on the table, I placed sunflowers and greenery in over-sized mason jars. Then I added everything needed to enjoy the boil in a galvanized bucket. Squeeze margarine for the bread, cocktail sauce for shrimp, Tabasco and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning for everything. The paper towels were used as napkins (it’s really best because your guests will go through MANY of these during the course of the night.) Now… picture the table above with tons of yummy food in all the blank spots!

Beverages included White Minty Sangria with Serrano Pepper, Skinny Cucumber Margaritas (inspired by Perfectly Disheveled), an assortment of beer, and water with limes.  The Sangria and Margaritas were pretty quick and easy to make.

Now I’ll tell you the REAL reason I love shrimp boils. My dear husband cooks everything! I focus on decorating, party favors and drinks. T cooks all the food. It simply divides the labor into more manageable portions.

Here’s the second REAL reason I love shrimp boils. You throw all the food in the middle of the table. Seriously. You don’t have to work at making your presentation look pretty!

You may be wondering, “What about people who hate seafood?” No problemo. Here’s what we boiled up along with the amazingly huge shrimp I bought at Costco: andouille sausage, corn on the cob, red potatoes, mushrooms, cauliflower, artichoke hearts and asparagus. And then there’s the french bread. A feast for anybody! Our guests seemed to love it all. Click here for our recipe and directions.

None of our California guests had ever attended a seafood boil and didn’t quite know what to do. So they used paper towels as plates. Which is fine, but certainly not necessary.  It was a beautiful night for a shrimp boil in the desert!

For the party favors, I planted little cacti and succulents in votives along with a little chalk art, inspired by Perfectly Disheveled. They turned out SO cute!

That’s it, folks. They easiest party to ever throw! Do you have variations or ideas? If so, let me know in the comments below!

xoxo

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