Shrimp or Crab Boil Seasoning

I like to stop by the Asian grocery stores on my way home from church Sunday's around noon. The variety of seafood beats all the other stores. Here is how I fix any sort of shrimp or crab.

Take a large stock pot and fill it 2 inches deep with cold water. Put it on the stove on high heat. While that is coming to a boil you can mix up this combination of spices. Note that various online recipes add ground ginger, chopped chives, whole garlic cloves, celery seeds, thyme, oregano and others. You may want to add these. I don't much like the way dried flake spices bubble up and coat the seafood but you may like the taste.

• 4 T salt
• 1 T ground cayenne pepper
• 2 T whole mustard seeds (yellow)
• 1 T crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 bay leaves (crumbled)
• 1/2 T whole cloves
• 1/2 T whole allspice
• 1 T whole black peppercorns
• 2 T whole coriander
• 1 T dill seeds (not dill weed)

Add 6-8 T (about 2/3 of the above amount) of spice mixture to a stock pot that's 10" in diameter. A 12" pot needs the whole amount (10-12 T) as it holds 50% more water when 2" deep.

Bring this to a boil covered.

Add 2 lb of seafood. It should not be frozen. Leave on high heat unless it starts to boil over. (In that case, turn the heat down or adjust the lid to let some air in.)

2 lb or shrip, crawfish or crab need to cook for about 5 minutes. Don't overcook.
A 2 lb lobster take about 10 minutes. 2-1 lb lobsters would be somewhat less.

Remove the seafood with tongs or a strainer. Bring the pot back to a boil and cook some more. You can use the seasoned mixture 2 or 3 times.

(On a side note, with shrimp or crawfish, you can cook whole corn on the cob or small potatoes in the same water if you like. Corn takes about 10 min. Potatoes about 15 depending on the size. Add them first and then add the seafood for the last bit.)