Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil yummy crab along with lobster, shrimp, clams, corn, potatoes and spicy sausage in a garlic butter beer sauce.
Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil is my recipe of the day with the blogging group Fish Friday Foodies. We join up on the third Friday of the month and share common themed recipes that one of the group members suggests. We take turns with that delight. This month is my month to suggest a topic. On a whim, I decided on our best seafood boils.
I decided on making a boil in the instant pot. I have come to love having these, but don’t always feel like standing over steaming water or doing a bake. Plus, the Instant Pot is pretty fast and one pot easy.
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There have been an abundance of crab houses opening up near me that really has me revved up to want to eat this type of food. I know they are popular in places like Florida, but now they seem to be taking over locally.
Brown Up the Sausage and Onion
Besides shrimp boils, it is popular to get fried seafood there as well. So if you are having a larger dinner or dinner party, consider having some fried foods as well.
For the First Part, Cook the Sausage, Potatoes and Corn
Other dinner options include things like hush puppies or garlic bread, and tossed salad. I like to keep it simple since everyone is going to have messy hands. Be sure to have plenty of napkins!
Part Two: Add the Lobster
Don’t Forget the Crab
And while I had hoped to get some other things into the boil, such as head-on shrimp and crawfish, I had no such luck at the market. Sometimes you don’t know what they will have. Others, you might not like some of the things they have.
Part Three: Adding the Shrimp
Last Ones in are the Clams
So feel free to adjust with alternate seafoods, keeping them in their prospective parts of the cooking, so they cook the proper time. And this pretty much loads the cooker so pay attention to that if you switch things up. Make sure your stuff fits, or plan on doing a separate cook.
And Don’t Forget the Bam Butter
(A local restaurant calls it that, nothing to do with Emeril LaGasse)
Fish Friday Foodies
Our Best Seafood Boils
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- Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Dungeness Crab Boil
- Palatable Pastime: Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil
- Making Miracles: Seafood Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce
- A Day in the Life on the Farm: Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Viet-Cajun Seafood Boil
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Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil
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Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil
Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil
Equipment
- Instant pot
- Instant Pot steamer rack
- Shell crackers and meat picks
Ingredients
Seafood Boil:
- 1 pound large EZ-Peel shrimp
- 3/4 pound snow crab clusters
- 3/4 pound cooked lobster claws
- 6 fresh littleneck clams
- 3/4 pound smoked sausage links (cut into chunks)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 14 ounces lager beer (I used 2 small bottles of Corona)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Cajun spice
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Louisiana pepper sauce
- 5 small red potatoes (halved)
- 2 ears fresh corn on the cob (shucked and cut in half)
Spicy Garlic Butter (Bam! Sauce):
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 lemon (juice of)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Cajun spice
Extras:
- Chopped Italian parsley (for garnish)
- 1 lemon (cut into wedges)
Instructions
Saute the sausage:
- Place the clams in cold salted water to cover and change water a few times to get rid of silt and sand.
- As you handle them they should close. Discard any that are wide open and stay that way or any with a foul odor.
- Place the sausage, onion and oil in the instant pot and saute until brown.
- Remove the sausage and set aside. Don't worry about the chopped onion.
- Add the beer, water, Cajun spice, lemon pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and Louisiana pepper sauce.
- Stir to lift the fond off the bottom of the cooker.
- Add the steamer rack to the cooker.
Pressure Cook Part One:
- Place the sausage chunks on the rack and top with the potatoes and corn.
- Place the lid on the cooker and set the vent to seal. Cook at pressure on Manual/High setting for 4 minutes, then use the quick release.
- When the steam subsides, open the cooker.
Pressure Cook Part Two:
- Top the contents with the lobster claws and crab.
- Place the lid on the cooker and set the vent to seal. Cook at pressure on Manual/High setting for 2 minutes, then use the quick release.
Steam Cook Shellfish:
- When the steam subsides, open the cooker and top the contents with the shrimp and clams.
- Replace the lid leaving the vent open for steam.
- Cook on the steam setting for five minutes.
Prepare the Bam Sauce/Garlic Butter:
- While the shellfish steam, heat the Bam sauce (garlic butter ) in a small skillet.
- After five minutes, open the cooker and check to see that shrimp are opaque and the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open.
- Carefully remove contents to a large bowl or platter.
- Add half cup of the cooking liquid in the bottom of the cooker to your Bam Sauce/Garlic Butter and stir.
- Pour this over your seafood boil. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
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That sounds delicious! Bam butter! Great name.
That is a scrumptious boil and I love that you used the Instant Pot.
Love that you put your IP to use! That bam butter – yumm!! Perfect addition to this seafood stuffed meal.
This was so delicious! I didn’t have any beer on hand, so I subbed chicken stock and we loved!!
I’m sure it would be even better w beer. Thanks for this great recipe!
Bam butter was fantastic! Compliments the flavor of the crab, lobster and shrimp. Overall, it has a great depth of flavor, just enough kick to it but not too overpowering.
Thanks!
This is probably a dumb question but why cooked lobster claws?
Because that is the usual form available to me. Most previously frozen shellfish is precooked. You can certainly use fresh lobster claws that are uncooked, but that being said. The cook times won’t be the same. I only recall seeing fresh lobster either whole or tails. I suspect much of the rest of the lobster gets processed into other things, such as ravioli or lobster cakes before arriving at the market. Maybe it’s more common at the coast, but I live inland. It’s a seafood desert in the interior.
Hey Sue!
First of all, let me start by saying that your Easy Instant Pot Seafood Boil looks absolutely mouthwatering! I can almost taste the flavors just by looking at the pictures. The combination of crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, corn, potatoes, and spicy sausage in that garlic butter beer sauce sounds like a seafood lover’s dream come true. I can understand why you chose this recipe for the Fish Friday Foodies group. It’s the perfect dish to share and enjoy together.
I totally agree with you on the convenience of using an Instant Pot for this kind of recipe. Standing over steaming water can be a hassle, and sometimes you just want a quick and easy solution. The Instant Pot seems like a game-changer when it comes to making delicious seafood boils without all the fuss. I appreciate that you’ve shared your personal experience and preference for using this method. It definitely makes me want to give it a try myself.
By the way, it’s interesting to hear that crab houses are becoming more popular in your area. I’ve always associated seafood boils with coastal regions, but it seems like they’re spreading their delicious influence. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I’m ever in your neck of the woods. And thanks for the tip about adding some fried foods and sides like hush puppies or garlic bread to complement the boil. It’s the perfect way to make it a complete and satisfying meal.
Thanks again for sharing this fantastic recipe, Sue! I’m definitely adding it to my must-try list. Keep up the amazing work, and I look forward to seeing more delicious creations from you in the future.