Amazingly, it's been almost 7 years since I mentioned this in a thread in here. This is an incredibly good and easy shrimp recipe which I can't recommend highly enough so I'm reposting it. Besides the shrimp, dipping bread in the sauce is tasty, to say the least.

quote:

Besides good boiled shrimp.....the following is one of my favorite shrimp recipes......as well as having the benefit of being extremely quick and easy to prepare.......

Shrimp Boiled in Butter

5 #s shrimp
1 # margarine or butter
3 med onions quartered
1 tablespoon salt (to taste, don't oversalt)
2 tbsp Zatarain's liquid crab boil

Put all of above in pot big enough to hold it.
Turn on medium heat or a bit less. Mix well, that is stir, especially at first until the shrimp helps liquify the mixture. Takes about 15 minutes or less, depending on heat. DO NOT OVERCOOK, when the shrimp turn nice and pink, sample and stop if the largest ones are cooked. If you're cooking for just two, I'd cut the recipe in half or less.

Serve in a bowl, with french bread to dip in the sauce.....

You can make it spicier by adding a bit more crab boil or some cayenne, same with salt, but be judicious, easy to put too much in, and you can't take it out.

I originally got this recipe many years back from Frank Davis' "Seafood Notebook", a great book on cooking fish and shrimp, etc. Highly recommended cookbook. In the original version he had 3 TBSP salt instead of 1 TBSP, made it way too salty IMO.

I've plugged this book before, but for Gulf seafood cooking, you'll be very hard pressed to find a better book than the above, Frank Davis' "Seafood Notebook", often available on Amazon for $.01 plus shipping. Very Highly Recommended.

It is a great recipe.

I don't know. Got to be a trick. Way too easy sounding. I bet I could do this even.

Next time I smoke meat out back, I'm going to get about ten pound of shrimp and give it a go.

I just finished a plate of fried oysters and this makes me hungry enough to want to eat again.

Well maybe not hungry, but still want to eat some because it sounds so good.

Tough for us to get good shrimp consistently here and the bread might be a stretch without a trip to Nashville and then may be difficult.

Oh to be on the gulf coast with a source of fresh shrimp to make this recipe.

Kensco:

Try it, you'll love it. Just don't overcook the shrimp like many Texans do.

TClouis:

"Fresh/flash frozen" shrimp will work fine. I've never cooked it without shells, but I'm sure it would still be great.

If you use peeled shrimp, I might add just a bit of white wine or, gasp, even water to be sure they don't overcook initially.

Again, don't overcook. Overcooking first makes the shrimp tough and then they turn mushy. Think rare.

If the shrimp smell "fishy" or have any off smells, don't buy them.

I dunno about up in the hinterland, but down here in BFE Texas, even Walmarts have French bread. Otherwise use sub sandwich bread or similar. Even lightly toasted table bread would work or beer bread. It ain't the bread mainly, it's the sauce.

In almost everything I cook besides etoufees, etc I prefer larger to smaller shrimp. 30 count would be the smallest I'd like to use for this dish and 16-20 would be even better.

BTW, while not as easy as this dish, a good etoufee, shrimp or crawdads, over rice is to die for IMO.

Alright let's kill this thread right now! I've had enough! I just gained two pounds reading the latest. No more. Hopefully Saeed will ban this thread and send it to wherever he's imprisoned vashper. I demand we stop talking about this recipe entirely. It's over and done, it's history....................................are we talking 36/40 (medium large) sized shrimp?

As above, I like larger shrimp. Personally I would prefer to use no smaller than 30 count and have made it with 12/U when Central Market in Dallas had a sale.

Obviously smaller shrimp will work but one must keep in mind they are slippery with the butter, makes peeling really small ones more difficult in my experience.

The real key to this recipe is the Zatarain's liquid crab boil (readily available in most larger grocery stores, including Walmarts in our area). It makes it spicy, but you have to use it judiciously. If you were serving the ladies bridge club in Plano, I would use a bit less, serving to my tastes, possibly a bit more. Taste as you cook.

I had a good friend who swore smaller shrimp tasted better. We argued that serious topic on many occasions over many beers and a vast quantity of boiled shrimp and I could never taste any significant differences. I know for a fact that I would rather peel and eat larger sized shrimp. Personally, I think the extra effort of peeling all those tiny shrimp hurried his demise.

Mr. Davis went on to the great cooking school in the sky a few years back. All of his books are good, but this is, arguably, the best. At $4, .01 plus shipping, everyone should have at least 2, one to keep and others to give away to friends.

https://www.amazon.com/Frank-D...keywords=frank+davis

I copied, so I could paste off web and have not double checked it in his book, but I'm fairly sure this is correct.......this is a recipe where smaller shrimp work well. If you don't put it in it, keep the hot sauce bottle handy.

New Orleans Cajun Etouffee
1 stick butter
1 c chopped onions
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped bell pepper
2 cups stock (chicken or seafood)
2 tsp lemon
3 cloves garlic
4 tsp tomato sauce
2 lbs peeled shrimp or crawfish tails
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 c chopped parsley
2 tlbs cornstarch in 1 cup water
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 black pepper
salt to taste

Melt butter in skillet, saute onions, celery and bell pepper until they turn clear.

Add stock, tomato sauce, lemon juice, garlic and simmer for about 20 min - 20 minutes

Add the shrimp or crawfish, half the green onions, half the parsley, salt & peppers & let simmer about 15 min. (note by CAT, watch time, this seems way too long a time to me, don't overcook!!)

About 15 min later, turn up the heat and add the cornstarch & water - consistancy should be thick enough to coat a spoon.

Adjust seasoning - a true etoufee is rose colored, not red.

Remove skilled from heat & let it "marry" for about 20 min. Don't skip this step.

Just before serving re-heat.

Serve over rice & garnish with fresh parsley & gr onions.

Great served with buttered french bread.

Source(s):
"In the Kitchen with Frank Davis" (a well known New Orleans Chef)

BTW, has the thread been killed yet?

GG
I would think at least part of the flavor in that butter/sauce would come from the shells.

Well, that's simple enough, don't try it without shells. I probably will.

As a matter of fact, I'm not fond of shelling anything. I love crab but won't eat blues or similar unless some dear soul (my wife) will shell them for me. I will deign to shell and eat crawdads, but only grudgingly so I can suck da heads.

Have to try this one, Gato. And I ordered the book, too. GRACIAS!

I ordered the book too.

Thanks.

Gato, is there any reason this couldn't be prepared in my comal I used for the discada? I believe it could certainly hold the ingredients you mention. I've been planning on preparing this dish since you posted it. My concern is that I would probably have to quadruple that recipe for my group, and maybe overload the comal and my ass.

Kensco:

I don't see any reason at all a comal wouldn't be perfect. As with any shrimp, carefully avoid overcooking. Frankly I would try it in the kitchen first with smaller proportions to get the spices right.

As mentioned above, a HUGE portion of the enjoyment of this dish is dipping French bread in the boil. Superb.

Charlie, I am convinced you get a kickback from my cardiologist when you post stuff like this.

Bill, I am declaring "Dogpile on Gato!" He is absolutely trying to kill us with this recipe. I am going to master this, even if it kills me.

It's been great knowing you guys.

As of this moment, and subject to cooks whims (since she's my wife she can have all the whims she wants), we are scheduling you for above dish, next Friday night. Be aware that you chances of mouth to mouth resuscitation from me are zero, so don't infarct out on me. Dead guests really spoil the dinner's ambience.

PS: If you survive the Shrimp boiled in butter, we are going to fry whole catfish (fiddlers) for you Saturday night, just to make sure your wife becomes a rich widow.

Jesus H. Christ!

To prepare for the cholesterol onslaught, I am going to cease eating immediately ...... hoping to drop ten pounds by next Friday ..... assuming I will gain those ten back, plus.

I don't see any reason that my wife should know anything about this plan. (I'm a little bit nervous that Bill/Oregon/Alamogordo knows about it. That son-of-a-gun is liable to drive all the way there and beat me to it. We should probably code all future messages in Pig Latin to keep him from understanding any uture-fay ands-play.)

I'll bring the wine.

Done-day Eal-day.

Alamagordo is way too close, but he's invited if he wants to drive the 1000 miles or so. He can shoot for you. Can't hurt, might help.

Opps, checking it is only about 750 mi, Waaay too close.

Besides, I'm not sure Bill/alamagordo can get that far from his cardiologist (s).

Oh sh!t! I better check with MY cardiologist.

I got so excited I forgot my appointment yesterday with my neurologist. Never done that before. Probably not a good sign.

Have y'all tried those Argentine red shrimp HEB has? Very,very tasty.

I sous vide my shrimp in Irish butter to cook them, then finish in the skillet with whatever aromatics/spices/ethnicity I want.

But what a way to go!

Sous vide shrimp? What are you guys smokin' down there?

Seems like that would be a lot of trouble to go to since shrimp normally cook so quickly. Tell me more about your process.

Thanks Gato,I ordered a copy of his book from Amazon.

As stated earlier, some people just fkn hammer their proteins....my wife, bless her heart does so- why I do all the cooking except soups & chili

Those red argentine shrimp are for all intensive purposes prawns. If you sous vide them at 135* you have 30 minutes to really develop your flavors in whatever sauce you make without 1. diluting it with the water the shrimp give off and 2. turning said shrimp into rubber.

Any large/jumbo shrimp in your vacuum bag or ziplok with a good dab of Irish butter <- the basic. Then whatever aromatics/herbs you'll use in your sauce: ginger, garlic, green onions for whatever Chinese sauce: Kung pao, Szechuan, etc: garlic and lemon zest if making scampi with spaghetti, garlic and red pepper for a fra diavolo red sauce; garlic, onion, Fiesta Fajita seasoning if Mexican, etc, etc etc.

Then take em out and coat with sauce......

I don't sous vide boiled shrimp but I need to try from a flavor standpoint.

With boiled and fried shrimp- I use the float method to keep them from getting tough. Again, my wife thinks brown when fried, instead of golden brown.......

With etouffe after I've simmered my roux/veg mix in the stock and it's done I turn off the stove and add the shrimp letting the residual heat cook them (also works well with boiled shrimp if adding the shrimp to your water doesn't stop the boil).

Charlie: I had to look up "fiddler" as applied to catfish. Omigosh those look good! Think I need to grab a fishing rod and head for the Rio Grande.

Ken, we'll need an after-action report on your high-cholesterol weekend.

FMC, Argentine red shrimp cooked sous vide with Irish butter? You are speaking my language -- Kerrygold.

Bill:

It's only 750 miles to the pig out. Unless Kensco kills a pig, an event that occurs just slightly more often than total eclipses, we should be eating around 8 PM. Pleny of time for you to make it. Since we are moving, get directions from Kensco. I will be AFC until tomorrow afternoon and maybe not then.

Bill,if you're heading down to the Rio I suggest you bring something more than just a pole + tackle. You know what I mean.

I'm happy to report that, barring an event on his way home, Kensco survived the chlesterol onslaught and seemed to enjoy it. He even managed to scare a couple of pigs to death, probably by the sonic crack of passing bullets. A good time was had by all, or, at least me.

That shrimp boiled in butter recipe is a keeper. I stood there watching Gato's wife do the buttering and stirring, while one of his dogs watched me, watch Jen. I had the feeling that if I pissed Jen off and she yelled "kill", I was a goner.

As for the recipe, think crawfish boil with shrimp instead of crawfish, and without the boiling oil. Jen used medium heat and kept stirring the butter and shrimp in a large pot until the shrimp turned color. The shrimp were 26-30 size. There were sliced mushrooms in the mix as well. Follow Gato's recipe and you can't go wrong.

The potatoes and corn on the cob are a must. French bread, garlic or not, is essential. I repeat; ESSENTIAL! That mixture in the bottom of the bowl was magic and it cannot be wasted.

I can't remember where I found the mushrooms. I think I was experiencing cholesterol overload about then, but if added to the butter and shrimp from the beginning it has to be like sauteing mushrooms while you are cooking your shrimp. Pure genius.

Let's just say, if Pfizer finds a way of putting this shrimp recipe into a pill, they can forget about Viagra altogether.

I think it is fair to say that Kensco was in no danger of malnutrition, except for his imported RAT eating all his emergency Q reserves. Helluva story if he'll tell it. Really amazing.

Have Oregon friends visiting and may have to ply them with Charlie's boiled in butter crustaceans. That'll teach 'em!
Wonder what else would go well with this on the side.

One of these might go well on the side. Just in case.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...b276&pf_rd_i=3762871

Heh, Gato the recipe was a smash hit with my friends from Oregon. No cardiac events to report yet, 12 hours later.