Jason Janson pulls out what he jokes is a “legit cookbook” to leaf through for a recipe to share. It’s a circa 2008 Webkinz notebook on which eleven smiling animals dance under a rainbow. He’s sure he snagged it from one of his daughters back in the day when there was an immediate need to scratch out a recipe, and the nearest option would have to do. He’s since filled it with recipe after recipe of his own design, deserving much more serious attention than the cover suggests.
“I have no culinary background other than cooking at home and for friends,” he says.
That, however, has proven to be enough to receive dozens of invitations to cook at some of the Upstate’s largest culinary festivals and events.
His introduction was by way of owning and operating a seafood supply company, Broadwater Shrimp Supply Co. & Seafood Market, that he started in 2021 out of the back of his truck. After navigating the highly competitive Charleston shrimping market, his ability to deliver shrimp freshly pulled from South Carolina’s coastal waters quickly fast-tracked him into Greenville’s culinary scene. He initially set up shop with his coolers in front of Revival Butchery, and it didn’t take long for his brand of fresh and briny white shrimp to catch on.
Janson’s customers, some of them restaurant owners and private chefs, soon realized he knew how to cook, too.
“I met some other people interested in what I was doing,” he says. “But I still just wanted to sell shrimp. I didn’t want the private dinners or the attention; I have severe social anxiety. But then, I decided I was just gonna go with it.”
Janson also realized expanding his offerings to include fresh scallops, tuna, salmon, and more was going to be a necessity.
After decades in Charleston, where he worked as a historic restoration painter for twenty-five years, Janson knows his way around fresh seafood, which isn’t unusual for a Lowcountry native. When he and his wife, Cecilia, moved to Greenville and started Broadwater, however, he discovered the lack of fresh seafood and the general know-how to prepare it.
“My biggest challenge was I didn’t think people were going to understand what to do with fish,” he says. “They see a shrimp head and they freak out. My job now is to educate people on what to do. I’m trying to get people to try new things and teach them that it’s not that scary.”
Truly fresh, never frozen, seafood needs very little intervention—salt, pepper, butter, lemon, and a quick sear, he says. He acknowledges his lack of formal kitchen training, but he’s become an adept contender in commercial kitchens these last several months.
“I try to stay in my lane, but with all these private dinners and events, I gotta step up my game,” he says.
As for moving to Greenville and starting a business that relies on products a minimum of three hours away, he has no plans of changing that. “This is my home now, and I never thought I’d like Greenville as much as I do, and I’m absolutely in love with it,” he says.
Broadwater Lowcountry Boil Recipe
From his Webkinz notebook, Janson shares an elevated Lowcountry boil, which he says is a staple at any outdoor gathering in the South and can be enjoyed year-round. This version combines the classic mix of potatoes, corn, and sausage to create a hash served with peel & eat shrimp, providing the perfect mix of all the flavors of a Lowcountry boil in one bite.
Broadwater “Bomb”
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients:
Hash
1 lb loose sausage (visit your local butcher for the best in your area, and use any sausage you like—other than breakfast sausage)
4 whole cobs of corn
1 lb Dutch potatoes
1 ½ cups duck fat
Peel & Eat Shrimp
2 lbs fresh shrimp
4 lemons
1 cup Old Bay Seasoning (don’t hold back on the seasoning, you can’t add too much)
2 of your favorite lagers or pilsners (IPAs, stouts, etc., will make it bitter)
¾ bottle of your favorite Bloody Mary mix
Garnish:
Fresh dill
Fresh parsley
Lemon
Old Bay Seasoning
Sauces:
Your favorite go-to cocktail sauce (We like to use Red Clay’s Cocktail Sauce & Hot Sauce. We also like to make a fun and simple white sauce: combine Yum Yum Sauce and your favorite Alabama white sauce in a 1:1 ratio—trust us, this is a good one!)
Instructions:
1. Begin hash by cooking sausage on a skillet, cast iron or flat top. Sauté until cooked and set aside.
2. Fire-roast corn on a hot grill for about eight minutes, turning every few minutes to achieve a consistent char. Alternatively, cook in the oven on 425°F for about fifteen minutes, until it turns the color of grilled corn. Rotate for a consistent char. Once cooked, let it cool slightly. Then cut the corn off the cob and set aside.
3. Cut potatoes in half and boil until tender. Once tender, drain and let cool. Sauté or fry cooked potatoes in duck fat until crispy and slightly golden brown.
4. Once all hash items are completed, mix the sausage, corn, and potatoes together to create your hash. Next, cook the shrimp.
5. Fill a large pot halfway to three-quarters full of water. Make sure there is enough water to create a good boil for the shrimp. Combine the Old Bay, beer, and Bloody Mary mix with the water and bring to a boil. Let the mix boil a few minutes before adding your shrimp.
6. Add the shrimp and let them boil 60-90 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the broth.
7. Plate the hash on a large platter or cutting board, place the cooked shrimp around the hash, and garnish with fresh dill, parsley and lemon. We like to char the lemon, but it isn’t necessary. Finally, dust it all with some Old Bay.
Photography by Southern Roots Reunion
