Low Country Boil Kabobs

One of the many, many advantages of being married to a Southern man is that you learn about the complete fabulousness of something called Low Country Boil.  It's also sometimes known as Frogmore Stew (based on the hometown of the National Guardsman that invented it).  The town of Frogmore was eliminated by the Postal Service and incorporated into the nearby Beaufort, and the name of the recipe officially changed to Low Country Boil.  This is your culinary history lesson of the day.

Anyway, the way this usually works is that you boil up baby potatoes with a seafood seasoning, and then add the sausage, the corn and then the shrimp as time rolls on so that everything is cooked up perfectly.  Then you drain the whole thing and dump it all onto a platter and let folks dig in...forks optional.  We always have this a few times during the summer, so when I saw this version that called for adding the grill into the mix, my antenna went up.  I always do love to shake up a recipe that I've made a hundred times before.

In this version, you still boil up the potatoes, but after they are done you thread them onto skewers with uncooked large shrimp, chunks of andouille sausage, and pieces of corn on the cob that you have cut into 1-2 inch sections.  Now, the most challenging part of this entire thing is getting the dang corn sections on to the skewers.  The center of corn cobs?  HARD.  So the Southern husband sprang into action...he took each one and hammered a nail into it and then pulled it out - making a perfect little hole for me to slip it right onto the skewer.  There is nothing that makes this man happier than the chance to use his workshop skills in the kitchen.

Once everything is on the skewer, you brush it with a mixture of melted butter and Old Bay seasoning.  Or, if you are like me and THOUGHT you had a container of Old Bay and then remembered too late that you threw it out in a frenzy of purging the spice cabinet of old spices, you can fake it by putting together the mixture I found by clicking here.

Now pop the skewers onto the grill for as long as it takes to cook the shrimp and lightly char the corn - 5-8 minutes should do it.  Now you not only have the wonderfulness of Low Country Boil, but with the added flavor of the grill. 

Life is very, very good.

Low Country Boil Kabobs, from Everyday Food

1/2 pound baby potatoes

2 ears of corn, cut into 1 inch sections

1/2 pound cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1 inch rounds

1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deviened

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1. Boil potatoes in salted water for about 12 minutes or until tender.  Drain and cool slightly.

2. Thread skewers with potatoes, shrimp, corn and sausage.

3. Combine melted butter and Old Bay and brush onto skewers.  Grill on medium high for about 5-8 minutes or until shrimp is cooked and corn is lightly charred.  Serve immediately.

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