Cold Shrimp Hors D'Oeuvre

[Chris Hennes]

I have (perhaps foolishly) agreed to help my sister out with the hors d'oeuvres at her upcoming wedding. It's a small party, and for the most part she's doing various charcuterie elements that are already taken care of. She has requested that I make a cold shrimp item: her fiance has requested that it not be shrimp and cocktail sauce  . I'm looking for some ideas and recipes for easy-to-eat, not-too-messy, cook-ahead, served-cold shrimp dishes. I'll have reasonable kitchen facilities including sous vide equipment, so that's the current plan. I basically need some marinade and/or dry-rub ideas that are family-friendly (e.g. basically no capsaicin involved).

[FauxPas]

How about some version of shrimp lettuce wraps? 

 

This at Simply Recipes could be adapted to use shrimp in place of salmon:

 

 http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/salmon_lettuce_wraps_with_cucumber_jicama_and_ginger/

 

With peanut dipping sauce:

 

http://natashaskitchen.com/2014/01/22/shrimp-lettuce-wraps-with-peanut-dipping-sauce/

 

Or Vietnamese style:

 

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-shrimp-lettuce-wraps-with-spicy-lime-dipping-sauce-10000001203620/

 

Browsing some of these might give you some ideas for your own fave combo of ingredients. 

[merstar]

My friend served this at his wedding - big hit. He served the sauce separately, rather than mixing it in with the shrimp.

SHRIMP IN GREEN MAYO

http://www.recipezaar.com/85788
 

[Lisa Shock]

Mini summer rolls, you just need to cover them well so they don't dry out. Also, instead of a dipping sauce, make a tahini and spice (fresh ginger, garlic, etc.) paste and apply to the inside.

 

Ceviche on skewers. Put shrimp and some raw veg on the skewers and marinate in a tall container. Pull out and place on a platter to serve.

[CatPoet]

My first thought was smoked shrimps  skewers  with dip in a glass.  

[chefmd]

Something more modernist?

http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/shrimp-sheets

[FrogPrincesse]

Marcella Hazan's poached shrimp with olive oil and lemon juice. It looks like nothing but it's really delicious. You could serve it on a little skewer or a small piece of bread.

[Shelby]

Shrimp ceviche in little cups?

[cyalexa]

This is very simple but I get good feedback every time I serve it: 

 

Jalapeno Shrimp

adapted from realsimple.com

1 1/2 pounds large peeled shrimp

jarred pickled jalapeno slices (I like Trappeys brand), cold

1/4 cup of pickling liquid

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

Poach the shrimp. Toss with the cold pickling liquid, lime juice, cilantro, jalepeno slices to taste, and salt. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day ahead.

Edited June 27, 2014 by cyalexa (log)

[MSRadell]

My first thought was smoked shrimps  skewers  with dip in a glass.  

 

I was thinking along the lines of smoking them also. That will give them a unique flavor unlike normal shrimp cocktail.  You could also apply barbecue sauce if you were smoking them .

[Chris Hennes]

I love the idea, but I'm not going to have access to a smoker. Can I cheat and smoke something that then gets added to the marinade (e.g. smoke something at home and then ship it to the wedding location)?

[CatPoet]

Oh we smoke them   at home and bring them as they are to parties, served cold. I did a   stove top smoker  with tea, smoked 10 portions, just used a  dutch oven, tea with sugar and it worked.

We had  a chili sauce with them last time we made them. There is a lot of  easy to build  stove top smokers  tutorial  online.

 

You could marinate them in liquid smoke, I guess.

[Kerry Beal]

Potted Shrimp?

[Kim Shook]

I've been making these cocktail shrimp and olives for over 10 years.  They evaporate at gatherings: http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/APPETIZERS/Cocktail_Shrimp_and_Olives.html

[Mjx]

Tempura, with a couple of thickish sauces that guests can portion out onto themselves, and won't run all over the plate?

[Chris Hennes]

My understanding is that there are no plates involved. It's got to be either a single bite or "shrimp on a stick".

[JohnT]

How many mouths do you need to feed?

[Chris Hennes]

I don't have a firm number but I've been led to believe that we are dealing in single-digit pounds of shrimp.

[Mjx]

Okay. How about something that that starts from the paradigm of Rice Crispie treats, but with smallish shrimp instead of puffed rice?

 

I'm envisioning something intensely shrimpy and savoury, slightly moist, easily cut into cubes, and eatable as finger food, even if there are no plates, but only tiny paper napkin. Contrasting a crisp/firm/puffed texture and a slightly moist binder, just enough to hold together the other element, and perhaps add another layer of flavour. Avoiding a gummy/rubbery texture would be important, but I'm fairly certain this would be doable, especially with the assist of modernist ingredients. And, it would definitely not be your run-of-the-mill shrimp hors d'oeuvre, although the flavours used could be the traditional shrimp cocktail ones, essentially de- and reconstructing it.

 

This might even be a way to present shrimp in a way that is attractive to not only shrimp appreciators, but also the shrimp-averse, if their main issue is related to texture.

 

ETA It might be interesting if the phases were inverted, that is, the solid shrimp were the softer part, and the fluid binder was crunchy, although the only binder I can immediately think of that would set up crunchy is caramelized sugar, and that would not work.

[JohnT]

The link provided by Kim Shook appears to be a very good one that can be done well before the wedding and adapted to your "fit on a stick" thought. However, you can also change it to be marinated in a light lime dressing and then served on small skewers. Although it may not be appropriate to do in bulk, mini bruschetta platters may be a thought. Then also think along the lines of sushi - easy to do in advance.

[Okanagancook]

A leaf of endive with a dabb of flavoured aioli or homemade mayo with a poached shrimp set a top.

[Lisa Shock]

An old, old, classic: shrimp in aspic. Use bite sized molds, silicon should work just fine. The aspic itself could be flavored dozens of ways: cocktail sauce, green curry, shrimp stock/old bay/lemon, ginger soy, etc. The nice thing here is that they could be made 2 days in advance, and are simple to unmold onto a platter.

 

Sushi is ok, but, I did not suggest it because it tends to dry out.

[Kerry Beal]

An old, old, classic: shrimp in aspic. Use bite sized molds, silicon should work just fine. The aspic itself could be flavored dozens of ways: cocktail sauce, green curry, shrimp stock/old bay/lemon, ginger soy, etc. The nice thing here is that they could be made 2 days in advance, and are simple to unmold onto a platter.

 

Sushi is ok, but, I did not suggest it because it tends to dry out.

Riffing off this - agar agar jellies a la Paco Torreblanca flavoured with classic cocktail sauce ingredients that have had the colour and substance removed.  I guess that would be tomato and horseradish water.  There could be pepper bits in there for interest.

 

Not the best picture, but the best I could find online.  Wait here's a better one, even has the shrimp in it.  

[Smithy]

Okay. How about something that that starts from the paradigm of Rice Crispie treats, but with smallish shrimp instead of puffed rice?

 

I'm envisioning something intensely shrimpy and savoury, slightly moist, easily cut into cubes, and eatable as finger food, even if there are no plates, but only tiny paper napkin. Contrasting a crisp/firm/puffed texture and a slightly moist binder, just enough to hold together the other element, and perhaps add another layer of flavour. Avoiding a gummy/rubbery texture would be important, but I'm fairly certain this would be doable, especially with the assist of modernist ingredients. And, it would definitely not be your run-of-the-mill shrimp hors d'oeuvre, although the flavours used could be the traditional shrimp cocktail ones, essentially de- and reconstructing it.

 

This might even be a way to present shrimp in a way that is attractive to not only shrimp appreciators, but also the shrimp-averse, if their main issue is related to texture.

 

ETA It might be interesting if the phases were inverted, that is, the solid shrimp were the softer part, and the fluid binder was crunchy, although the only binder I can immediately think of that would set up crunchy is caramelized sugar, and that would not work.

 

Is there some sort of modernist puff pastry that could be used to get that outer crunch?  Perhaps the assembly could be cut and placed onto diamonds of flat savory flaky pastry, or into edible cups: baked tartlet shells, mini-phyllo cups, or tortilla cups, depending on the flavors used in the foam. That would make it finger food.

 

Riffing off this - agar agar jellies a la Paco Torreblanca flavoured with classic cocktail sauce ingredients that have had the colour and substance removed.  I guess that would be tomato and horseradish water.  There could be pepper bits in there for interest.

 

Not the best picture, but the best I could find online.  Wait here's a better one, even has the shrimp in it.  

 

I had been thinking along the lines of curry puff flavors (Kim has me going on curried shrimp), or ceviche flavors, until I looked at that second link.  That's a beautiful gel, and the ginger-citrus flavors sound excellent.

[huiray]

Kueh Pie Tee.

 

Alternate spellings include Kuih Paiti.  One can omit the chili (not much to begin with) in the traditional recipe. Other recipes have no chili at all.  Final assembly in the kitchen at the reception.