New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp
We enjoyed this when the power went out last night. We still had gas. French bread, wine, shrimp; need I say more
We enjoyed this when the power went out last night. We still had gas. French bread, wine, shrimp; need I say more
- Carbohydrate 195.268327430325 g
- Cholesterol 281.916990462 mg
- Fat 65.0996133853044 g
- Fiber 8.67983363628892 g
- Protein 56.0913899024205 g
- Saturated Fat 38.5125581123873 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (602g)
- Sodium 2853.3970120718 mg
- Sugar 186.588493794036 g
- Trans Fat 4.97667731930176 g
- Calories 1597 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and shrimp to pan and saute together until the shrimp starts to turn pink. Add remaining ingredients, except for the 3 tbsp of butter. Keep the shrimp moving around in the pan so they cook evenly.
- Allow liquid to reduce by half, then add the remaining butter. Keep stirring the sauce so the butter blends into it evenly.
- Serve immediately with slices of warm, crusty French bread.
Undercooking the garlic while rushing the shrimp leaves a harsh, raw sulfur note that overpowers delicate crustacean flesh. Cooking shrimp requires careful observation of heat and timing rather than relying on kitchen gadgets. When garlic meets medium-high heat with butter, it releases aromatic compounds rapidly, but it burns within seconds if left unattended. Keeping the pan temperature steady prevents the milk solids in the butter from scorching before the flavors integrate.
Assessing doneness visually avoids the rubbery texture caused by overcooking. Raw shrimp are translucent and grey, but they transform into an opaque, bright pink C-shape once the muscle proteins tighten sufficiently. If the shrimp curl into a tight O-shape, they have passed the optimal point and lost their moisture. Watch for this specific opacity shift rather than timing the minutes strictly, because pan thickness and burner output vary wildly across kitchens.
Building the pan sauce relies on rapid reduction to concentrate the clam juice, beer, and Worcestershire base before mounting with cold butter. Swirling the pan vigorously incorporates the remaining three tablespoons of butter at the very end to emulsify the liquids into a glossy coating. Crusty French bread sliced on a bias catches every drop of this potent pan sauce. Leftovers transform easily into a cold seafood salad the next day when tossed with diced celery and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice within a forty-eight-hour storage window.
