Barbecued Shrimp, New Orleans Style

[Dave the Cook]

Barbecued Shrimp, New Orleans Style

Serves 4 as Appetizeror 2 as Main Dish.

If time allows, brine the shrimp for 30 minutes in one quart of water, 2-1/2 ounces (70 grams) salt and 1 ounce (15 grams) white sugar. Drain and rinse before proceding with recipe.

You can use headless shrimp, but the sauce won't be as rich (like three ounces of butter isn't rich enough), nor quite as interesting, and you'll miss the pleasure of having shrimp fat spurt into your face as you pinch the heads off. Going further, you can use peeled shrimp. Just remove them from the sauce and set them aside before shaking in the butter. Once the sauce is done, dump the shrimp into your serving vessel and pour the sauce over, The sauce will have enough heat to re-warm the shrimp.

Usually, barbecued shrimp are served with French bread or biscuits for mopping up the sauce. Emeril's "New New Orleans Cooking" has a great recipe for rosemary mini-biscuits that works really well. But consider cheese grits as an accompaniment: 5 ounces (140 grams) stone-ground grits, two cups milk, one cup water, one T butter, 1 t salt, a few drops pepper sauce. When the grits are thickened, stir in 1-1/2 ounces really sharp cheddar, grated.

• 1-1/4 lb Unpeeled, head-on shrimp
  
• 6 oz unsalted butter, cut into 48 cubes
  

Seasoning mix

• 1/2 c Worcertershire sauce
  
• 1-1/2 fl oz lemon juice
  
• 4-1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic
  
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
  
• 1/2 tsp granulated onion
  
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
  
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
  

1. Combine seasoning mix.

2. Pour the seasoning mix into a 12-inch saute pan. Heat over medium-high until bubbling.

3. Add shrimp to pan. Toss, turn, stir, whatever, just until shrimp turn pink, about four minutes.

4. Turn the heat to low, and wait a couple of minutes for the pan to cool a bit.

5. Add the butter cubes about six at a time, shaking the pan (not stirring with a spoon; and a whisk will do you no good at all among all those lega and antennae) to incoporate the butter into the sauce. Watch the sauce carefully. If fit appears to be breaking (beads or streaks of fat will appear in the surafce), remove it from the heat and continue shaking. Reduce the burner heat slightly and return the pan when the sauce has recovered.

6. Scoop the shrimp into a serving dish and pour the sauce over. Serve with lots of napkins.

Keywords: Main Dish, Seafood, Intermediate, Shrimp, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Hot and Spicy, American

( RG1069 )