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What is a Low Country Boil?

The United States of America is defined by its great diversity, but more important is its
commitment to recognizing and appreciating that diversity. Such diversity is captured
exceedingly well by the diversity of food consumed in our country. Low country cuisine is but
one of the many spectacular culinary identities of food in the United States.

First, what and where is the low country? While some define the low country as only the coastal
regions of South Carolina, a more generous and I think more appropriate definition embraces the
Atlantic coastal plain of South Carolina and Georgia. The extensive estuary system of this
region yields a multitude of important seafood delicacies including fish, shrimp, crabs, and
oysters.

The popularity of seafood boils in the low country is rooted in the social tradition of the Gullah-
Geechee people. African Americans kept their culinary traditions alive while working on
plantations, including making one pot meals using readily available seafood and vegetables to
serve large gatherings of people, especially during times of celebration.

The meal’s popularity dates to the 1960’s when Robert Gay of Gay Seafood in the Frogmore
area of St. Helena Island near Beaufort, South Carolina needed an efficient way to feed 100
fellow South Carolina Army National Guardsmen. Adapting an old family recipe, he created the
one pot dish he dubbed “Frogmore Stew”. Its popularity soared after Gourmet Magazine
featured a photo Gay’s recipe on its cover in the 1980s. Today, one can purchase shrimp straight
from the dock of Gay Seafood in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Fresh shrimp is the main “star” ingredient, although the flexibility of this dish makes it
acceptable to add other seafood such as stone crab legs, blue crabs or clams. Usually the dish
includes potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, onions and sausages. Some recipes also include chicken. To
achieve the right flavor, one must use only fresh, locally caught seafood. Everyone has their
own mixture of vegetables and secret mix of spices to enhance the flavors and make their own
personal rendition. Usually in preparing the low country boil, the vegetables and sausage are
cooked first and then the seafood is added a bit later.

The name Frogmore Stew comes from the Frogmore community on St. Helena’s island. This
was originally part of Frogmore Plantation, established in the 1700s by William Bull I. The
plantation’s name references England’s Frogmore House, a residence used by royals as a country
retreat since the time of Henry VIII. When the postal service dropped the name Frogmore, the
dish also became known as “Beaufort Stew” or “Low Country Boil.”

While the dish is probably not on the menu of many Michelin five-star restaurants, we think you will enjoy a bit of our food heritage in Savannah, Georgia.