Add This Hearty Ingredient For A More Filling Seafood Boil

Featuring shellfish cooked in richly-seasoned (but not necessarily spicy) broth with vegetables, seafood boils are a warm weather tradition throughout the coastal American South, and are done differently depending on your location. In Louisiana, spicy crawfish boils are king, but in South Carolina, a Lowcountry boil traditionally uses shrimp and way less heat. 

However, shellfish isn't necessarily the most filling ingredient. Vegetables like potatoes and corn on the cob are common additions for their ability to absorb flavor and make the meal more filling. However, some seafood boils add another hearty ingredient: hard boiled eggs. 

The high protein content of eggs makes them a particularly filling addition to the pot, and the unique texture of a hard boiled egg is unlike anything else in the mix. Yet, eggs have another benefit, particularly for sensitive palates. The broth for seafood boils can sometimes be quite spicy, but nerve receptors can be protected from capsaicin by eggs' albumin proteins. 

While some cooks boil eggs in the pot right with the seafood, corn, and potatoes, other methods carry less risk of overcooking. Cooking the eggs beforehand leaves time for an ice bath for easy peeling, and other hard-boiled egg hacks (such as adding vinegar or oil to the water) also make the whole process easier. Proceed with the seafood boil as usual and add the peeled eggs to the mix in the final 5 to 8 minutes of cooking. 

If you don't want to use a big stockpot brought to a rolling boil like you would see at a traditional seafood boil, we have some good news: A seafood boil is easy to do in a slow cooker, including with eggs. For best results, boil and peel the eggs separately and add them to the pot toward the end of the cook. 

You can even just skip the seafood altogether, thanks to the Cajun egg boil TikTok trend in which hard boiled eggs are drenched in a sauce made of butter, chicken broth, lemon juice, minced garlic, and seasonings. Perhaps most important among them is Old Bay, which is not actually Cajun but Mid-Atlantic in origin. Nonetheless, it's a common seafood seasoning and a cornerstone of many boil recipes.