Shrimp Étouffée
This is a fast, delicious étouffée recipe that is easy to adapt to your own taste. Feel free to crank up the heat to your liking, but I find it best to be subtle with the hot sauce and have a bottle on the table for diners who like it spicy. My father learned this recipe from a chef on an oil rig off the Louisiana coast, and I've refined it over the years. It's an amazing go-to recipe when you have frozen shrimp in the freezer and want something fast. It's elegant enough to serve to company, and it always gets raves at a dinner party. Double or triple the recipe for a crowd. Serve with a medium-bodied red wine or good beer, and make sure you have plenty of crusty bread for sopping up the gravy.
This is a fast, delicious étouffée recipe that is easy to adapt to your own taste. Feel free to crank up the heat to your liking, but I find it best to be subtle with the hot sauce and have a bottle on the table for diners who like it spicy. My father learned this recipe from a chef on an oil rig off the Louisiana coast, and I've refined it over the years. It's an amazing go-to recipe when you have frozen shrimp in the freezer and want something fast. It's elegant enough to serve to company, and it always gets raves at a dinner party. Double or triple the recipe for a crowd. Serve with a medium-bodied red wine or good beer, and make sure you have plenty of crusty bread for sopping up the gravy.
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 stick butter
- 1.5 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 cups rice cooked
- 1 can campbell's golden mushroom soup and 1 can of water
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 0.5 pound mushrooms sliced (baby portabello mushrooms are an excellent choice)
- 0.5 cup marsala (marsala is best, but sherry or white wine also works well)
- 1 dash tabasco or other cajun hot sauce to taste
- Carbohydrate 86.8312275 g
- Cholesterol 379.915 mg
- Fat 51.792108125 g
- Fiber 5.15544064587914 g
- Protein 45.02017734375 g
- Saturated Fat 30.36734284375 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (764g)
- Sodium 1150.135859375 mg
- Sugar 81.6757868541209 g
- Trans Fat 5.705596 g
- Calories 1021 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onions and garlic, and sweat until the onions are clear (about 15 minutes).
- Turn the heat up to medium and add the can of Golden Mushroom Soup, a can of water and the sherry. (Note: Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup is NOT the same as Cream of Mushroom Soup. Don't try to substitute, because it will be yucky.) Bring it to a simmer, stirring until it is well combined.
- Add the shrimp and mushrooms and simmer for a few more minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Add kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and a few shakes of hot sauce, to taste.
- To serve, spoon a ladle of étouffée over hot rice in each bowl. Don't forget to put hot sauce at the table for diners who want to kick up the heat.
Scaling for Crowds and Portions
Butter and aromatics form the backbone of this quick seafood preparation, providing the necessary fat to build a flavorful pan sauce without requiring a traditional roux. Doubling or tripling the quantity requires careful attention to pan capacity, because overcrowding a saucepan will cause the vegetables to steam rather than sweat properly over the 15-minute window. Large stockpots distribute heat evenly across wider circumferences, preventing scorching while the onions and garlic soften.Judicious Liquid and Wine Swaps
Marsala wine brings deep caramel notes to the base, but dry sherry or crisp white wine provides adequate acidity if supplies run short. Using a 1:1 substitution ratio ensures the sauce retains its intended consistency when combined with canned mushroom soup and water. Alcohol must reach a simmer to cook off harsh ethanol flavors before the seafood goes into the pot.Evaluating Seafood Doneness
Crustaceans communicate their readiness through distinct physical changes rather than internal temperatures. Watch for the flesh to transition from translucent gray to opaque pink while curling into loose, distinct C-shapes. Pulling the pan off the burner the moment this color shift occurs prevents the protein fibers from tightening into a rubbery texture.
