Setting the Table | No. 11 - Beachside Lowcountry Boil

The newspaper is down on the table. The enamelware tray is full. The lowcountry boil is being dumped right onto the paper and everyone is reaching in at the same time. The beers are cold. The crab dip is already gone.

A lowcountry boil does not need a tablecloth or a centerpiece or a carefully folded napkin. It needs newspaper, cold beer, and good company. This is the most lowkey table in the series and the one that requires the least setup. The food is the whole event.

This is week 11 of Setting the Table. Here is everything on the beachside lowcountry boil table.

The Table

Newspaper or butcher paper covers the whole table, the only tablecloth this meal needs. Pavilion paper plates alongside, the kind worth stocking up on for exactly this kind of night.

The enamelware tray does the real work here, carrying the boil from the kitchen straight to the table. The enamelware pitcher and enamelware tumblers keep the drinks going all night, sturdy enough for outdoors and pretty enough that the table still feels considered.

The Menu

This is a menu built around one big pot, which means almost everything happens before anyone sits down.

Crab dip with crackers or bread to start. Set it out early and it will be gone before the boil even hits the table.

Lowcountry boil — shrimp, crab, corn, potatoes, andouille sausage. This is the whole point of the night. It gets dumped straight onto the paper and everyone digs in at once. There is no plating, no serving order, just the boil and everyone reaching for it.

Crusty baguette alongside, served in this bread basket. Trust me on this one.

Mac and cheese, mostly for the kids, sitting quietly at the end of the table for whoever needs something simpler than shellfish.

Blueberry olive oil cake to finish, made ahead so it is just waiting when everyone is ready for it. Cold beer throughout, the only drink this meal calls for.

The Outfit

A lowcountry boil doesn't ask much of you, and neither should your outfit. This gingham romper or a striped knit set (top and shorts) is exactly right for eating outside with people you love, sand still on your feet or these clogs instead.

Everything from this post is linked in my ShopMy collection.

More at the Table

Every week this year I am setting a new table and sharing the full guide here on the blog. Follow along on Instagram at @shoptrudie and on my Substack, At the Table with Megan, where I write about the table and everything that happens around it.