Southport Magazine

Summer is here and that means lots of visitors and vacationers in our beautiful beach towns!  And THAT means a lot of mouths to feed!  We all know it can be tough to get restaurant reservations for a big group during the summer, but cooking for a crowd can be stressful.  Who wants to spend all day shopping, prepping and cooking a big meal in a hot kitchen, or sweating over a sizzling grill, while everyone else has all the fun?  Perhaps this explains the growing popularity of the “Low Country Boil,” a simple meal cooked all in one pot that turns dinner into an event to remember!

Some say a low country boil is the Carolina’s version of a New England Clambake or a Louisiana Seafood Boil.  It’s a whole meal where all the ingredients are cooked in the same pot, delivering tons of flavor as the juices from shrimp and sausage saturate the corn and potatoes.  It requires minimal effort and the best part?  Clean-up is a breeze!  Tradition has it that when your boil is ready, you simply – yet with great fanfare – dump all the ingredients out on a table, covered with old newspapers, and let people just dig in!  No need for fancy place settings or centerpieces.  This is one meal you serve on paper plates, with plenty of napkins handy.  Set down a few cups of melted butter, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges and you are good to go!

Where it All Began:

The low country boil, sometimes called Frogmore Stew, seems to have originated in South Carolina.  According to the website www.eatstayplaybeaufort.com, the term was coined by a National Guardsman named Richard Gay who was stationed in Beaufort during the 1960s.  Gay had to cook dinner for more than 100 soldiers, so he decided to use an old family recipe.  It was such a big hit that Gay, who happened to be one of the owners of Gay Fish Company on St. Helena’s Island, eventually coined it “Frogmore Stew” after the namesake village he was from.  It grew to be so popular over the years that in the 1980s, Frogmore Stew was featured in Gourmet Magazine and in 2005, the Travel Channel ran an episode that featured Richard’s brother Charles cooking Frogmore Stew.  

Many historians, however, say that the true origins of the LCB go much back further, to the Gullah Geechee people that have lived in the coastal regions of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina for centuries.  When they were brought to this country, the Gullah Geechee brought a distinct style of cooking with them that had French and Spanish influences, with the distinct Creole flavors that we have all come to love.  Because they frequently had to feed large groups in a short amount of time, shrimp boils were a convenient fare that allowed them to dine at communal tables.

Ingredients for a Traditional Low Country Boil

There is nothing complicated about a low country boil and you don’t have to be a gourmet chef to pull one off.  There are just a few things you need to know.  Most importantly, use fresh, local ingredients whenever possible and make sure you keep track of the time!  You’ll need a very large pot and a burner, some old newspapers or a plastic tablecloth, and a reliable timer.  Lots of people have their own versions, and famous southern chefs like Trisha Yearwood and Paula Dean post recipes and tips on their websites.  According to the www.thedailymeal.com, the basic ingredients in a low country boilare simple:  

Broth:  The broth is made from water, seasonings, and lemon.  There is much debate about whether to add beer or wine, onions or apples, Old Bay Seasoning or Zataran’s.  Most people agree on the lemons.  The beauty of a boil is you can throw just about anything in there and it (almost) always comes out great!

Potatoes: Red bliss potatoes are generally preferred, since they have a firmer flesh, meaning they’re less likely to break down and get all mushy.  They are also less starchy than other varieties and absorb more of the flavors from the broth.  

Sausage:  Andouille is the top choice, but other smokey sausages like chorizo or kielbasa also work well. 

Corn on the cob:  As fresh and local as you can get it!  Cobs are cut in half or thirds.

Shrimp:  The star of the show — try to get large, local shrimp.  Fresh is best but frozen will work. Just be sure to leave the shells on.  This is the last ingredient to go in the pot and only needs a few minutes to cook, until they turn pink and “C” shaped.  If you get to an “O” shape, you have overcooked your shrimp.  

From there, you can take it up a notch or two by adding clams, crawfish, or the always popular crab leg clusters.

As for the timing of the cooking, there are a lot of different approaches, but basically you add the potatoes to the broth first and bring your pot to a boil.  After about 10 minutes, you throw in the corn and sausage and continue boiling for another 10 minutes.  Lastly, you add the shrimp for about 3-4 minutes longer.  Or something like that! The whole thing should be done in about 30 minutes.  

There’s really no need to serve anything else with a low country boil, but if you are like me, you need a few sides.  Coleslaw, rice and beans, mac and cheese, or fried okra all go well, or warm bread for soaking up the yummy broth.

Alternative Options

Given the relative ease of preparing a low country boil, it’s a great choice when you’re hosting a big crowd and you don’t want to fuss.  But sometimes, the absolute BEST way to throw a low country boil is to hire someone to do it for you!  Then you can relax and truly enjoy the time with your family and friends.   

This summer, visitors and locals will be able to choose from three companies on Oak Island that offer fully catered low country boils.   Two of them also offer “grab & go” pots that come with all the ingredients you need (except the beer!) to make cooking a boil super simple. The catered services provide not only the food, but also the equipment, paper goods and utensils, setup, and clean up.  These companies guarantee plenty of entertainment too, from the fun presentation of the meal to the enthusiasm of their boil crews.  The only trouble you may have is deciding which company to call!

Cape Fear Boil Company

6402 E. Oak Island Drive

Rated the #1 restaurant in Carolina Beach on Trip Advisor, Cape Fear Boil Co. has been serving low country boils from Emerald Isle to Ocean Isle Beach since 2016.  The new location in Oak Island, which opened in April next to Hippie Chick Granola, eases the company’s travel time for boils in southern Brunswick County.

“We’ve been servicing Oak Island and Brunswick County for years, but having a footprint here makes it more accessible, and eases the logistics of our operations in this area,” owner Ty Graham explained.

Ty operates the business with the help of his girlfriend Rachel Puigdollers.

“This is a family-run business, and it wouldn’t be a business without her,” Ty said emphatically.  

Rachel holds several titles in the company, including in-house graphic artist; she paints all of the eye-catching boards and signage.  Her Uncle Marcus makes the amazing key lime pie CFBC offers for dessert, along with rum cake sourced from Cape Fear Rum Cake on Front Street in Wilmington.

A team of 15 employees, most of whom have been with CFBC for many years, enables them to do up to ten boils a day in peak season.  The company hosted approximately 600-700 catered events in 2022, with an equal amount of business generated from the take-out pots. 

Ty, who majored in marine biology at UNCW (and has found more than one Megaladon tooth while diving along the coast) knows a thing or two about fish and attributes the success of a good boil to the quality of the ingredients. 

“Good, fresh, local ingredients are key.  We believe in supporting our local guys,” said Ty, who has strong, longstanding relationships with seafood suppliers in the Wilmington area, and will now be able to add local vendors like Haag & Sons, Pelican Seafood and Potters Seafood in Southport. 

Cape Fear Boil makes their own blend of spices to achieve that Cajun flavor, and yes, they use beer in their broth.

Asked why this business is so successful, Ty said it’s simple.

“It’s a tradition for a lot of vacationers.  People here tend to rent the same place from year to year, and they like to have the tradition of a low country boil on their vacation too.  It’s easy and fun – our staff can be very entertaining!”

For more info go to: www.capefearboilcompany.com or call 910-250-1069

Outer Banks Boil Company

5003 E. Oak Island Drive

Outer Banks Boil Company, also a top-rated restaurant on Trip Advisor in several OBX locations, is the newest tenant in the Publix plaza and expects to open for boils by June.  Owner Matt Khouri has been operating his business since 2012 – he actually began catering boils from his apartment!  OBBC now has shops in Corolla, Kitty Hawk, Cape Hatteras, and Ocean City, Maryland.  The OKI store stretches the company’s reach in NC to the southern border and comes at an opportune time as the population in Brunswick County continues to grow.  Two other new stores will open this year in Emerald Isle and St. Augustine, Florida.  The business also has five franchised locations along the east coast.   

The Oak Island business will be managed by Josh Olvey, who has been with OBBC since 2020 when he was introduced to Khouri by a mutual friend.  Josh spent a year working alongside Matt at the Kitty Hawk location, which convinced him that this job was not really work, it was fun!  The idea of hosting low country boils at people’s beach homes appealed to his gregarious personality and with the support of his wife, Ashley, a registered labor and delivery nurse, he embarked on the adventure.

Despite the growth of the business, Josh says OBBC maintains a tight-knit, dedicated staff.

“I love the culture that Matt has cultivated.  It’s all about family, community, and service. (Check out the company’s non-profit called EPIC, an acronym for Emitting Positive Impact Collectively.) It’s a special system and the feeling trickles down from the owners to the managers to the staff.”

Owner Khouri explained further,  “We have a system called Boil University which is an amalgamation of an informal training program and a philosophy.  It allows us to share the way we do business with all of our store managers and employees, to ensure that everyone shares the same high level of enthusiasm for what we do.  We truly believe in our motto: “We don’t make meals, we make memories.”” 

As Josh and Ashely’s family began to expand, with daughter Boston, aged 11, and son Bowen, aged 2, the young couple began to think about making a lifestyle change that would address their needs.  The move to Oak Island presented a better fit for the Olvey family, as well as an opportunity for OBBC to expand its business in a rapidly growing market. 

“We love the family environment on Oak Island,” Josh said, “And this town is poppin’!”  

For more info go to:  www.oakisland.outerbanksboilcompany.com or call 910-466-6888

Quicksand Concierge

8800a E. Oak Island Drive

Owners Chasey and Matt Bynum started their beach concierge service in 2021 and have been bursting at the seams since day one.  While the company’s primary business is the delivery, set-up, and removal of beach chairs, umbrellas, and canopies, they also provide beach bonfire packages and added a catered meal service to their lineup last year.  

“We were brainstorming ways to fill the gap during turtle nesting season when beach bonfires are not allowed,” Chasey said.  

During the months of May through October, the couple started offering “driveway bonfires” utilizing gas fire pits.  Customers loved it and many expressed their desire to stay in, rather than try to find a place to eat out.  The decision to start catering dinner parties evolved from there.  Chasey’s parents ran a seafood restaurant for 30 years, and while she says she never wanted to be in that business, catering meals in people’s homes is a lot of fun! 

“Considering how difficult it can be for large groups vacationing together to get restaurant reservations in the summer, the idea to cater simple dinners was a natural fit.  We offer things like burgers and surf & turf, but the low country boil is by far the most popular choice,” Chasey noted. “People tend to want seafood at the beach, and they love the novelty of dumping all the food on the table.”

Quicksand Concierge employs trained chef Trevor Dye, a graduate of the culinary program at Johnson & Wales.  Chef Dye is able to customize his boils to meet customers’ tastes and dietary preferences, and he definitely brings a certain flair to the event.

For more info go to:  www.quicksandbeachconcierge.com or call 910-800-9396

So, whether you decide to do it all yourself, purchase a “grab and go” steam pot, or hire a company to cater your low country boil, you really can’t go wrong.  Its cost effective, easy, and requires very little prep or clean up.  And it is always fun!  

As Oak Island resident Marcie Quealy said, “We make it a point to do one whenever we can with friends, or family, or both and it’s always a hit!”   

A low country boil isn’t so much about the food as it is about the time spent enjoying a communal meal  and the memories you create!