My Seafood Boil Shopping Adventure
Woke up this weekend dying for a legit seafood boil. Saw all those crazy good-looking pictures online and thought, “How hard could it be?” Plus, everyone always asks, “how much is a seafood boil?” Figured I’d track every penny and share the real deal.
First thing Saturday, grabbed my keys and hauled myself over to the closest big grocery store. Needed the heavy hitters for a proper boil.
- Found fresh shrimp – not frozen, gotta be fresh. Looked decent, 2 pounds set me back.
- Crawfish? Nah, couldn’t find decent ones, skipped ’em.
- Went for crab legs instead. Big ones. Man, those claws look good but wow they hurt the wallet.
- Snagged some corn, maybe 4 ears? Gotta have that.
- Threw in a bag of those tiny potatoes.
- Saw smoked sausage on sale, tossed that in too. Adds flavor, you know?
- Almost forgot the lemons and onions! Grabbed a couple of each.
- Cajun seasoning powder? Found a big container near the spices.
Pushed my cart up to checkout, bracing myself. Scanned the items one by one, beep, beep, beep. Heart kinda sank a little watching the total climb. Paid, tossed the bags in the car thinking, “Dang, this better be worth it.”
Let’s Get Cooking
Got home, kitchen counter buried under grocery bags. Took everything out. Big pot! Filled it maybe ¾ full with water, tossed in a big handful of salt like I saw online. Turned the burner on high, dumped in a ton of that Cajun powder. Stirred it messy, water turning angry red fast. Chopped the onions rough, squeezed those lemons right in, chunks and all. Threw the sausage links in whole. Slapped the lid on, waiting for it to bubble like crazy.
Water finally going nuts, big rolling boil. Threw in the potatoes first, let ’em hang out for maybe 10 minutes. Corn went in next, whole ears straight in. Another few minutes ticking by. Then the big moment: dropped the crab legs and shrimp. That pot was stuffed. Covered it again fast. The smell? Started smelling like heaven already. Watched the clock like a hawk, letting everything cook together just a few minutes – shrimp cooks super fast, don’t wanna murder it!
Turned the burner off fast. Scooped it all out using my biggest slotted spoon, dumped it right onto my biggest baking sheet covered in foil – easier cleanup, trust me. Piled it all up messy, bright red shrimp, orange crab legs, yellow corn, potatoes soaked in spice… looked like the pictures!
The Money Talk
So, how much did this whole pot of goodness set me back? Broke it down:
- Shrimp (2lbs): Hovered around there.
- Crab Legs (1 cluster): Okay, this hurt. Cost more than the shrimp! Freaking crab legs.
- Corn (4 ears): Only a couple bucks.
- Potatoes (small bag): Another couple bucks.
- Smoked Sausage (pack): That sale was a lifesaver.
- Lemons & Onions: Barely a blip.
- Giant Cajun Seasoning: Yeah, like , but hey, I got tons left.
Total Cost: Ended up being solidly for one big pot feeding maybe 3 or 4 people if you stretch it. Thought it would be cheaper, honestly. Worth it? Yeah, tasted amazing. But those crab legs… man, that’s where they get you.
Why I Bothered Tracking This
My neighbor Dave kept bugging me last week. Saw me grilling outside and just had to lean over the fence. “Hey, you ever do those fancy seafood boils? Looks epic! Bet it’s cheap, right? Just throw stuff in a pot!” He was picturing it costing like pennies.
Told him “Dude, stop eyeballing my burgers, and lemme tell you, that boil ain’t cheap!” He didn’t believe me. Kept insisting it must be simple and cheap as dirt. Drove me nuts. So yeah, that’s why I wrote it all down this time. Did it for me, but mostly to shove the receipt in Dave’s doubting face next time I see him over the fence. Proof, man. Proof. Seafood boils taste like heaven but the price ain’t no joke, especially if you want the good claws! Just saying.
