Hot Shrimp in Shell
This is an amazingly simple, but incredibly delicious and flavorful main dish.
Equipment
- 11 x 7, or 13 x 9 inch (large) Glass or Stoneware Bakeware, 2-Quart Oblong Baking/Serving Dish or a Stainless Steel Bake & Roast Pan
- Soup Ladle
- Conventional oven
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 4 to 5 pounds Colossal Shrimp or Prawns (frozen, raw, and tail on)
- 4 T Ground Red Pepper
- 4 T Black Pepper
- 2 t Crushed Red Pepper
- 2 t Dried Thyme
- 2 t Dried Rosemary
- 1/2 t Dried Oregano
- 1 pound Butter (Unsalted)
- 6 t Minced Garlic (use fresh garlic for best results)
- 4 t Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Bottle Dark Beer (Doppelbock, Guinness, the darker the better)
- 1 Stock
For the Salad
- Spring Mix or Baby Arugula
- Cucumber (English Cucumber preferred, as they are less bitter and have minimal seeds)
- Onions (red onions are preferred, but green onions can be substituted)
- Sliced or whole Kalamata olives
- Halved cherry tomatoes
- A dash of each thyme, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper
- Toss your salad well.
- Serve with a simple dressing of olive oil and reduced balsamic.
For the Bread
- 2 French Banquettes
Instructions
- Melt butter and add all ingredients (except for your crustaceans) in a small saucepan over low heat. Alternately melt butter in a small microwave safe dish in microwave.
- Place 4 to 5 pounds of shrimp in a glass, stoneware or stainless steel baking or roasting pan/serving dish
- Pour melted butter mixture over unshelled shrimp
- Spread shrimp into an even layer (no overlapping) for even cooking
- Bake at 375 degrees, between 5-8 minutes (depending on size)
- Stir as needed until shrimp are pink
- Serve in dish and ladle out shrimp onto plates
- Peel and eat!
- Soak up pan juices with bread!
Notes
Shrimp or Prawns
Shrimp come from both fresh and salt water and can live in both cold and warm waters. Shrimp from cold waters, will be smaller in size. There are more salt-water than fresh-water species of shrimp. There are over 300 hundred species of shrimp worldwide, but only a few species make it to the fish section in the supermarket.
Prawns come from fresh water, and are much larger and meatier than shrimp. Their meat is much sweeter than those of shrimp. For this dish, I would suggest either colossal shrimp, or prawns, in other words, the bigger the better.
Shrimp and prawns are high in several vitamins and minerals, and are a rich source of protein. In addition, crustaceans have omega-3 fatty acids and the antioxidant astaxanthin.
1) Defrost slowly in the fridge for about 24 hours per pound. Do not defrost in a warm place or microwave. Doing so will impact the quality, nutrients, texture and weight of your crustacean.
2) Defrost quickly in a colander in the sink under cold running water.
Shrimp should smell of saltwater only and, when thawed, should be firm and fill the shell fully.
Fresh versus Frozen
Make sure your product is frozen, raw and tail on. Frozen, shrimp in the shell always give you better flavor and texture than peeled and deveined. I would not advise buying thawed shrimp or prawns for heath concerns. Most raw shrimp in the fresh fish section of your market have been previously frozen and thawed, and their shelf life is pretty short. There are two ways to safely thaw shrimp/prawns:1) Defrost slowly in the fridge for about 24 hours per pound. Do not defrost in a warm place or microwave. Doing so will impact the quality, nutrients, texture and weight of your crustacean.
2) Defrost quickly in a colander in the sink under cold running water.
Shrimp should smell of saltwater only and, when thawed, should be firm and fill the shell fully.
Sizes
Shrimp are typically available in several sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large, jumbo, and colossal. After that its prawns! I usually go by the count numbers on a bag (such as 21/25). It tells you the average number of shrimp in a one-pound bag. 21/25 means you'll get 21 to 25 shrimp. The smaller the number, the larger the shrimp.
In general, plan on buying about 1/2 pound of shrimp per person for a main-course serving. For four people, a four to five pound bag is perfect!