Cajun Inland Boil with Butter Sauce

Traditional cajun seafood boils always looked so fun and scrumptious, but as someone allergic to shellfish, I’ve never been able to enjoy one. I decided to go down a rabbit hole looking for a suitable, non-seafood recipe, and tried a few, but they weren’t quite satisfying. Then I tried Quin Liburd’s recipe (found here)—omitting the seafood, of course—and spent the next couple of hours licking garlicky butter sauce off my fingers. The recipe below is very inspired by Quin’s, with some personal modifications.

Cajun Inland Boil with Butter Sauce

Ingredients

THE BOIL:

• 3 qts water
• 1 (12 oz) can of beer (Guinness or similar stout recommended)
• 3 TBSP Creole/Cajun Seasoning-I recommend making your own from the linked recipe
• 1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 tsp Maple Pepper
• 1/8-1/4 tsp Hot sauce (to taste)
• 1 med yellow onion, roughly slice into wedges
• 1 1/2 large lemon, cut into wedges (1 lemon for boil, 1/2 lemon for serving)
• 1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced/rounds
• 1 lb chicken sausage, sliced/rounds  or baked ham, 3/4” cubes
• 1 lb baby potatoes (any variety)
• 4-6 ears corn on the cob (cut in 1/2 or 1/3rds)

BUTTER SAUCE:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 8 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or 1.5 TBSP jarlic in a pinch)
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon, freshly squeezed
• 1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 tsp Maple Pepper
• 1 tsp Creole Cajun Seasoning– homemade or store-bought
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
• Hot sauce, couple of drops to taste

Directions

1. Using a large stockpot (8 quarts+), combine the water and beer and bring to a boil qver medium-high heat, 
2. Season the liquid with the Creole Cajun and Old Bay seasonings, plus hot sauce. 
3. Add the onion and lemon wedges into the pot, stir boil well to combine. and continue to boil for 15 minutes.
4. Add both varieties of sausage rounds and baby potatoes into the boil and stir well to fully combine. Cook for 20 minutes. Confirm potatoes are nearly fork-tender.
5. Gently add corn cobs to the pot and stir to combine. Boil another 5-7 minutes. 
6. Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all of the Garlicky Butter Sauce ingredients listed. As the butter melts, stir sauce until well combined, and often as the sauce simmers for 5-7 minutes.

Service

1. Line an extra-large baking sheet with foil, parchment, or newspaper 
2. Using a spider strainer, remove boil contents from pot and place onto the baking sheet, discarding the lemon wedges.
3. Pour the garlic butter sauce over the boil ingredients, and toss to coat well.
4. Serve hot directly from baking sheet, or as individual portions.