Tuesday, January 31, 2012

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp



Tonight, it was just the two little ones and myself at the house. Everyone else was scattered.  It could be awfully tempting to run down to the closest fast food place and pick up kids meals... but I would rather not.  This recipe for BBQ shrimp makes us feel like we are down at my parents fishing camp in Cocodrie, LA, where we sit out on the porch and watch the shrimp boats heading out into the gulf as the sun sets over the marshy bayou.  In the mornings, after trolling all night, they head back up the bayou with their catch and sell the freshest gulf shrimp you can possibly get. So... when we make these shrimp, it transports us to one of our favorite places. And we talk about "Papa's Shrimp." 

In addition to all that nostalgia, you can make these BBQ shrimp in the time it would take to get in the car, pick up takeout, and get back home.  They are super easy and fast... and absolutely delicious. These are great for sitting around the coffee table watching a big game.... just make sure you have plenty of crusty French bread on hand.  You'll need it to dip in this fabulous sauce!

We happen to have a 75 degree day here (on the last day of January!), so the three of us ate out on the back porch and enjoyed the beautiful evening. That beats greasy fast food ANY DAY!!

Let's just start off by saying that the title "BBQ Shrimp" is a bit of a misnomer, because there is not bar-b-que sauce anywhere in the recipe, and these are not put on a grill of any sort.  I have no idea where the BBQ Shrimp title came from originally, but folks down here in the deep South know what you mean when you say it.  Rather, the shrimp are simmered in a succulent sauce, then allowed to sit and soak up the flavor for a while.  
                                                           Click for Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
  • 2 -3 pounds of shrimp 
  • 1 stick butter
  • ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 – 5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 5 - 6 green onions
  • Optional - creole seasoning and/or red pepper flakes
     You probably have all that stuff on hand already!

Step-by-Step:
The basic idea is to throw everything together for the sauce, then add the shrimp last.
Add one stick of butter to a heavy saucepan.
Add 4 - 5 chopped garlic cloves.
Add 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce.
Add 1/2 cup white wine.
Add 5 or 6 chopped green onions.
Let all the sauce start boiling, then add the shrimp.  These have been cleaned and deveined, and the heads have been removed.  I just happened to have these in the freezer.  However, if you have head-on shrimp, add those.  The heads/shells will actually give you a richer depth of flavor to the sauce. (Although that's less kid friendly.)
I only used 1 pound of shrimp tonight, because everyone else was gone, but this sauce recipe can easily accommodate 2 -3 pounds of shrimp.
Add the juice of one lemon.
Throw the lemon in for extra flavor.
Add creole seasoning if you wish (This is Tony Chachere's). After cooking the shrimp for ONLY 3 minutes, I turned off the heat.  They will continue to cook in the "gravy" and you do NOT want them to be overcooked and rubbery. You can see that from one photo (above) to the next (below), they have gone from still transparent looking (not cooked) to pink (cooked).  That's how quickly they cook.  - Faster than waiting for the order of fries to come out of the grease at that other place.
Now.. allow them to sit in this "BBQ" sauce for 5 - 10 minutes.  They will soak up the seasoning and all that great flavor in that time.  While waiting, throw a loaf of French bread in the oven to get all hot and crispy.  As my family will tell you, this is an important part of the recipe.



You get a rich, lemony, buttery, spicy, deeply complex sauce bathing the tender little shrimp in goodness... followed by a big chunk of bread dunked in there!

Shrimp on little flat bread "toasts"
Now, for all of about 10 minutes work, we enjoyed a wonderful meal together that you would have a hard time going out and finding - and certainly not for this price! Aside from the shrimp, everything else is probably standard pantry items for most of you. And other thing, don't hesitate to buy a pack of frozen shrimp from your grocer.  The shrimp are frozen almost immediately after being caught; and they are super convenient.

Lagniappe photos:


As told by the legendary New Orleans Brennan's restaurant... "Like proper barbecue, it’s a spicy, succulent mess of a dish that is best eaten with your hands along with good company and cold beverages."  Yep. That sums it up rather nicely.  I had great company tonight!

Order the Menu Musings Cookbook!

Method:
The basic idea is to throw everything together for the sauce, then add the shrimp last.  So to a heavy saucepan, add the following together:  one stick of butter, 4 - 5 chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup white wine, 5 or 6 chopped green onions.

Let all the sauce start boiling, then add the shrimp.  These have been cleaned and deveined, and the heads have been removed.  I just happened to have these in the freezer.  However, if you have head-on shrimp, add those.  Add the juice of one lemon.  Throw the lemon in for extra flavor.  Add creole seasoning if you wish.

After cooking the shrimp for ONLY 3 minutes, I turned off the heat.  They will continue to cook in the "gravy" and you do NOT want them to be overcooked and rubbery. They will have gone from still transparent looking (not cooked) to pink (cooked).  That's how quickly they cook.  Now.. allow them to sit in this "BBQ" sauce for 5 - 10 minutes.  They will soak up the seasoning and all that great flavor in that time.  While waiting, throw a loaf of French bread in the oven to get all hot and crispy.  As my family will tell you, this is an important part of the recipe.



7 comments:

  1. These look amazing! I was just in New Orleans and had amazing BBQ shrimp, I so need to try these out at home! :)

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  2. I'm from new orleans my family like to keep the shrimp whole in shell with our bbq shrimp look good tho

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    Replies
    1. I agree... but when I made these, this was all I had access to. Either way, they are delicious!

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  3. Hmmmm I will have try this. It's my favorite dish at Deanie's in Bucktown.

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  4. Oh wow yummy looking! I have a bag of shrimp gonna try this soon!

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  5. I paired this with a hunk of sharp cheddar, a loaf of crusty boule, and a bottle of wine, absolute perfection! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

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  6. Excellent sounding recipe that I will make for sure. Really love the little pots your served it in as well.

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