You’re going to need the following for the boil. Err on the side of more, unless you have a small group. What follows is for between 12 and 16 people.

• 1/4 – 1/3 lb of shrimp per person
• 3 lbs of Andouille sausage
• 3 lbs of small red potatoes (1 ½” in diameter, or buy larger and cut them)
• Enough ears of corn to feed your crowd. You’re going to cut these into halves or thirds depending upon the size of the ears so plan accordingly
• 3 yellow or white onions
• 4 heads of garlic
• 2 lemons
• 2 bags of Zatarain’s shrimp boil
• Old Bay Seasoning
• “Slap Ya Mama” Cajun Seasoning (Ville Platte, LA)
• A big ass pot
• Newspaper
• Melted butter

For the pot we use a big outdoor turkey fryer with a propane burner. This works well; however you can use whatever pot(s) work for you to handle the quantity you’re preparing.

Prep Work

Photo by Aimee Wenske

Cut the onions into halves or quarters.

Cut the top of the head of garlic (about ½ inch from top), leaving a bit attached so that the piece your slicing “off” remains partially attached.

Cut the lemons in half.

Slice the Andouille into 3” pieces.

Cut the corn into pieces no shorter than 3”; some ears will yield 2 pieces and others will yield 3.

Rinse your shrimp. Note, feel free to devein yours, but it’s not necessary.

Let’s Get Cooking!

Photo by Aimee Wenske

We tend to cook things in batches as they will fit into the pot; meaning that we typically cook the potatoes and corn in a batch, pull those out and then cook the sausage, followed by the shrimp. It is a rather unscientific process.

Bring the water to a boil; use enough water to cover what you’ll be cooking. Add the shrimp boil pouches, onions, garlic, and lemons to the water.

Allow that to boil for 15 minutes. During this time melt your butter; this will be used for dipping. Add touch of Slap Ya Mama or Old Bay to the butter if you like.

Add the potatoes and corn to the pot, and allow them to cook for 10 minutes. Add the Andouille. Cook all of that for 10 minutes, and then add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand for 10 minutes, or until the shrimp is pink.

While the hot mess is resting, put some newspapers out on your table. Put dishes of melted butter out, and get your Slap Ya Mama and Old Bay ready.

We like to serve the boil with crusty bread. If you preheat the oven while the boil is going, you can quickly crisp up the bread right before service. We recommend running the baguettes quickly under the tap just to wet the outside, then throw in the hot oven for 5-10 minutes til the outside is crusty and hot but not burned.

Let’s Eat!

Photo by Aimee Wenske

If you have the turkey fryer with the basket, lift the whole thing out, drain, and dump in a long line down the center of the table. It’s beautiful. Have a friend come behind you and shake on Slap Ya Mama and Old Bay. You can leave these at the table for everyone to season as they like.

Serve up with cold beers, Sazeracs, Hurricanes or whatever else your heart desires. Make sure you eat with your hands; it’s the only way to do it. When you’re finished, scoot your pile of shells aside and let someone else mosey up to the table.

Batched Sazerac

Photo by Aimee Wenske

The Sazerac dates back to the middle decades of the nineteenth century and is one of the oldest, most continually-drunk cocktails in the United States. It hails from New Orleans, and even became the Official Cocktail of that town in 2008. (Not surprisingly, New Orleans was the first American city to seek and obtain such a designation.) Originally the drink was made with Cognac, but by the end of the 1800s, it was primarily a rye whiskey drink. Today in New Orleans you can have it either way, or if you can’t decide, split the difference.

16 oz rye whiskey
1 oz peychaud bitters
3 oz sugar
1 oz Herbsaint

Combine in a pitcher and stir with ice to chill. Strain into another pitcher and keep chilled.

Batched Hurricane

Photo by Aimee Wenske
16 oz rum
2 oz lemon
2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
4 oz passion fruit purée

Combine in a pitcher and stir vigorously with ice to chill and emulsify. Strain into another pitcher or dispenser and keep chilled. Serve in a Hurricane glass! (Available at your local Goodwill for $.99/ea)

Photo by Aimee Wenske

One of our favorite excuses to throw a party is Mardi Gras. Mind you, neither of us has any claim on New Orleans — we’re not from there, our ancestors aren’t from there, and in fact I’ve never even been to the big party. About the only connection we really have to the Crescent City is the annual pilgrimage we make for the Tales of the Cocktail festival. But that doesn’t keep us from throwing a helluva shindig each year on the day before Ash Wednesday.

First you have to gather your friends. If you’re anything like us you will do this at the last moment possible. If you’re better at planning than that you’re awesome. One of the benefits of hosting an annual party is that eventually your friends know they don’t even have to be invited — come Mardi Gras, they know where they need to be.

Photos by Aimee Wenske

The key component to a Tipsy shindig is of course the cocktails, and we offer no shortage of those at our Mardi Gras party. But the real show-stopper is the shrimp boil. A giant family-style feast served on a paper-covered table (or tables). Colossal gulf shrimp, red potatoes, sausage, and corn-on-the-cob are dumped out on the table and served with crusty bread, bowls of drawn butter, canisters of “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning, and hot Boudin.

We like to serve it up with cold beers, Sazeracs, Hurricanes or whatever else your heart desires. Stay tuned for the recipes and how-tos for your own Mardi Gras party.