Boiling Crab Sauce Recipe; The Whole Sha-Bang Copycat (2024)

If you like spicy shrimp and seafood boil, then you will definitely want to make this copycat Boiling Crab sauce recipe, better known as the whole sha-bang. This spicy-sweet buttery sauce is the perfect cajun seasoning for all your favorite seafood.

Sauce up your favorite seafood with a hint of old bay seasoning, cayenne pepper, lemon, and garlic, all wrapped up with a spicy, medium heat.

❤️ Boiling Crab Sauce Recipe

• This sauce is perfect for all types of seafood, veggies, and sausage.
• When you make your sauce, you can turn the heat up or down depending on your preference. If you like a really spicy sauce, add more cayenne pepper.
• The best part is that you can easily create a one-pot meal using this seafood boil recipe. Perfect for a family dinner or a big party.

🛒 Ingredient notes

This sauce is quick and easy to make before you start cooking your seafood.

• Butter: This is a proper butter sauce, so use real butter, not margarine or a butter substitute.
• Lemon juice:Pick a large fresh lemon to juice, not the green bottled kind.
• Garlic: Don’t use already minced garlic. Get fresh garlic cloves and mince them yourself.
• Old Bay Seasoning:There are copycat brands out there, but it’s best to be brand-specific on this one.
• Hot sauce:Use your favorite brand like Texas Pete, Franks, or Louisiana hot sauce.
• Cajun seasoning: My favorite is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole for this recipe.

See the recipe card for a complete list and quantities.

🔪 Step by step instructions

In a medium saucepan, add two sticks of butter. Melt butter over medium-low heat.

1. Add freshly minced garlic to the melted butter and simmer for 3 minutes. Be sure to stir the butter mixture continually. If it begins to boil, turn your heat down some. You want the mixture to simmer lightly.

2. Next, add Cajon seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, smoked paprika, lemon pepper seasoning, sugar, onion powder, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, hot sauce, and water.

Simmer the seafood boil sauce over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every so often, so it does not burn or stick to the bottom of your pan.

3.-5. Add 3 – 4 pounds of steamed or boiled seafood into a large bowl. Add the sauce and toss to coat everything well. You could also use a large food-grade bag to sauce the seafood in if you prefer.

⭐ Hint: Don’t use all the sauce to coat your seafood and vegetables. Pour some into small individual bowls as a dipping sauce.

Day Before Preparation Tips

To prepare this recipe with some of the steps done ahead of time, you can focus on prepping the sauce and other components the day before. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Mince Garlic: Peel and mince the 8 large cloves of garlic. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
2. Prepare Cajun Butter Sauce: You can prepare the Cajun butter sauce entirely the day before. Follow steps 1 to 4 in the instructions, then let the sauce cool down to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Store the sauce in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Prepare Seafood: If your seafood needs to be cleaned or prepped (such as deveining shrimp or scrubbing mussels), you can do this the day before. Store the cleaned seafood in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Variation Ideas

Sometimes we do not follow an exact recipe when adding ingredients to our large stockpot. Some years we change it up by adding some of these ideas.

• whole peeled onions
• whole artichokes
• lime halves
• asparagus: I place a pound or so in a veggie mesh cooking bag

Questions and Tips

Here are a few more questions and answers to help you whip up a great seafood dinner.

What do you put on the table for a seafood boil?

For easy cleanup, place a plastic disposable tablecloth on the table. Next, line the table with several layers of newspaper. Toss your seafood boil right on the newspaper to serve.

How long should I boil the crab?

Small crabs need to be cooked in boiling water for 8 – 10 minutes. Large crabs weighing around 2 pounds should be boiled for 15 to 20 minutes.

What is Bloves sauce made of?

Bloves sauce has fresh onions, garlic, butter, and a variety of spices such as garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, chili powder, and cajun seasoning mixes. It’s very simular to this boiling crab sauce.

Do you have a question about this recipe❓ I will answer in the comment form below👇🏼 the recipe card. Did you make this recipe? If so, could you be a gem and leave a comment and rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below? This helps others find yummy 😋 recipes to make for their family and friends.

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