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By Root 957 0

infused with the briny aroma of the sea. If you don’t have a beach nearby (or enough wood to burn for 3 hours), here’s the backyard method. We use a covered kettle grill as the pit and rehydrated store-bought seaweed in place of fresh seaweed. The ingredients are layered in a large roasting pan, and the pan is put directly on the coals on the bottom of the grill. You could also do this on a gas grill with medium heat under the roasting pan, but we like the charcoal kettle grill because it’s closer to the original method.

TIMING

Soak wood chips: 1 hour

Prep: 30 minutes

Grill: 1 to 1½ hours

GRILL TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Large roasting pan, such as a turkey roaster (heavy-duty if disposable)

• Heat-resistant grill mitts (preferably heatproof silicone)

• Long-handled tongs

• 40-by-15-inch piece of burlap

• 2 cups wood chunks or chips, preferably oak

TIPS

• Look for dried kombu seaweed in an Asian grocery store or large supermarket.

• Soaking mussels in salt water helps to rid them of any lingering sand. Mix ½ cup of salt in about a gallon of water in a large bowl. Add the mussels and let soak for 1 hour. Then scrub the mussels with a stiff brush under running water and yank off the mosslike “beard,” using pliers if necessary.

• For the burlap, an old coffee sack works well. Ask for one at your local coffee shop. Some hardware stores also carry burlap.

* * *

THE GRILL

Gas:

Indirect heat, medium (325° to 350°F)

3- or 4-burner grill-middle burner(s) on medium-low

Charcoal:

Indirect heat, medium ash

Split charcoal bed (about 2 dozen coals per side),

single layer of coals in center

20 replacement coals

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS)

3 ounces dried kombu (kelp) seaweed (see Tips)

3 pounds small red-skinned or white potatoes, scrubbed

1 tablespoon crab boil seasoning, such as Old Bay, or sea salt

2 onions, peeled, leaving the root end intact, and cut lengthwise into eighths

12 ounces cured Portuguese linguiça or Spanish chorizo, sliced ½ inch thick

8 ears fresh corn, shucked and halved crosswise

3 dozen littleneck or small cherrystone clams

3 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see Tips)

1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley

6 live lobsters, 1 to 1½ pounds each

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 lemons, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the grill as directed. Soak the wood chunks or chips in water for 1 hour.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the kombu, letting it soak until softened, about 5 minutes. Reserve the soaking liquid.

3. Put a thick layer of seaweed over the bottom of a large roasting pan such as a turkey roaster (heavy-duty if disposable), reserving some of the seaweed for the top layer. Put the potatoes in a single layer over the seaweed. Sprinkle the potatoes with a little of the crab boil seasoning, then add layers of onions, corn, sausage, clams, and mussels, in that order, sprinkling some crab boil seasoning and a few parsley sprigs over each layer. Pour about 1 cup of the seaweed soaking liquid over all of the ingredients. Arrange the remaining seaweed over the top. Soak the burlap in the remaining soaking liquid until saturated, 5 minutes. Fold the burlap to make a double thickness, then drape it over the seaweed, tucking the edges inside the roasting pan to cover the ingredients.

4. Rake a single layer of hot coals over the center of the grill, leaving the remaining hot coals banked on opposite sides. Put half of the soaked wood chunks or chips over the coals on the sides. When the wood begins to smolder, put the roasting pan over the coals in the middle of the grill, cover the grill, and cook with the vents open until the potatoes are tender and the clams and mussels have opened, 1 to 1½ hours. Test the potatoes by lifting up a corner of the cover, digging down with tongs, and poking the potatoes with a knife or fork. Add the replacement coals and the remaining wood chunks to both sides of the grill when the old ones begin to die out. If your grill has a temperature gauge, it should stay at around 350°F.

5. About 30 minutes