The Fun Of Fish Boils

One of the greatest joys of summer is the fish boil. If you're by a beach whether seaside or lakeside then there's bound to be one. It's a great way of enjoying the day's catch as well as the veggies of the season. These beach barbecues are also a fun way to spend  meal with friends and enjoy good company.

The New York Times Food section featured  in its' outdoor cooking issue. Regular contributor , Kim Severson, got the chance to try several variations as well as writing about them. Boils are nothing new and are as American as squash  and popcorn..The coastal indigenous tribes first created them cooking, seafood along with corn as a meal after fishing. Potatoes were added probably in the early 1800's. Various regions have customized, for example the Great Lakes fish boils have a decidedly Scandinavian influence while the Louisiana is pure Cajun. New Englanders enjoy the Maine Lobster boil. The fish varies from region to region depending on where you are. The Great Lakes boil up white fish along with onions and potatoes. Peppercorns, bay leaves and allspice, the last taken from Swedish immigrants flavor it. Lousiana's boils boast of  - what else - crawdaddies and then lobster along with different spices. A Texas boil calls for the addition of Old Bay spice as and lemons.  Those along the Chesapeake Bay use crabs, fresh from the bay  with a good dousing of O.J. spice a mix of dried garlic and other seasonings.

One of the most famous boils is Frogmore stew. This is a relatively new invention being created by a shrimper, Richard Gay in the early 1960s. He threw shrimp and leftovers into a pot of boiling water while he was on a National Guard exercise. He named it Frogmore after a community on St. Helena Island.By the seventies it was a staple in Low Country restaurants. It is easy to recreate  and Ms Severson uses an expert , Ben Moises' a retired Game Warden's recipe. You'll need about six ears of corn and a cup and a half of Old Bay seasoning. Mr Moise recommends two pound of kielbasa or any other sausage. (Italian is fine here) and about two and a half pounds of  shrimp in the shell. The sausage and corn are boiled first in a large pot (think lobster pot or the largest soup pot you have) in a mix of water and Old Bay,The meat and corn are cooked for eight minutes and then add the shrimp. It;'s then cooked two or three minutes more and the whole pot is dumped onto spread  newspapers and then seasoned with more Old Bay seasoning. Anybody can create their own boil using the seafood and different spices. Just make sure you have the corn  and potatoes too, and beer. Beer is sometimes added to the water, most of the times it's just to wash down  everything. Also serve plain brown bread and cole slaw.

Fish boils are a fun way to enjoy both the season and seafood.Gather up some friends  , make an outdoor fire and cook the simple mix of fish ,potatoes and corn  for some basic deliciousness. It's the perfect cook out.