ascell

My family is visiting in July for our annual camping trip to Grayton beach and we have noticed how big boiled shrimp is in the area. I would like to try to this on my own at our campground. Does anyone have a good recipe for a shrimp boil they could share? I am a newbie to cooking shrimp on my own.

Beach Runner

"Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's, uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."

Go to Goatfeathers and get them to boil it for you with Old Bay seasoning.

Or try the classic Low Country Boil Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network.

I personally prefer my recipe below.




This recipe of mine was chosen to be in the Neiman Marcus cookbook, Pure and Simple. We adore this recipe, and it’s incredibly easy.

2 sticks salted butter
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 bay leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon paprika
2 pounds shrimp in shell

Melt butter in a Dutch oven. Except for the shrimp, add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce heat to low; simmer 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove Dutch oven from heat. Let sauce stand, uncovered, at least 30 minutes. About 20 minutes before serving, add unpeeled shrimp, and cook over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes until shrimp turn pink. Bake 10 minutes in a preheated 450 degree oven. Ladle shrimp and sauce into bowls and serve with plenty of crusty French bread for dipping into the sauce. Serves 6.

BTW if you are at a campground, you could just cook it a little longer instead of baking it.

Bon appétit!

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Johnrudy

When I saw this post yesterday, I thought about you and your wonderful N.O. BBQ Shrimp recipe. I am going to try it very soon. Especially since my son has finally graduated beyond the basic fried shrimp.

It sounds heavenly.
.

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DD

BR's recipe rocks. I need to make it again...soon.

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I love Jesus, but I drink a little. ~Gladys




DD, I toad you it was pucking hot.~~Kitty

ShallowsNole

BR's recipe is awesome. However, depending on how literally you define "camping" in re RV or camper vs. tent, it may not be doable in a camper. In that case, head for Publix and buy a bunch of beer (cheap stuff, stuff you wouldn't normally drink is fine) and Old Bay Seasoning + a box of Zatarain's Crab Boil from the spice aisle. It may also be in the seafood department. A word of wisdom here - while Publix's shrimp are ok for most uses, I would strongly recommend going to either Goatfeathers or Shrimpers for fresh shrimp (better yet, if the shrimpboat is at the 331 causeway, buy them there. The heads will be on, but some folks like 'em that way). Boil your beer, add a LIBERAL amt of Old Bay (the box should give you some guidance) and the UNOPENED bag of crab boil. Open a window for ventilation so you don't choke to death. When boiling rapidly, drop in your shrimp, watch to make sure it doesn't foam up, boil 3 minutes, turn off the stove (or remove from heat), cover, and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Drain, and Yum...

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aggieb

sounds good and simple enough for me.

SneakyPete

We like a "modified" BBQ shrimp recipe - less oil. Get a disposable 9 x 13 (or so) aluminum foil pan and some aluminum foil. Two pounds of large shrimp. Shells on. Head on if you don't mind the eyes staring at you. I don't :)

Start your grill and let the coals burn down to a slow heat (no flame just hot coals).

With tongs, put your foil pan onto the coals, add:

1 stick of butter
3 cloves of garlic, diced
3 Tbsp Old Bay
1 tsp Thyme
Juice of one lemon
many dashes of hot sauce
lots of black pepper

Once the butter is melted, add your shrimp, toss in the butter mixture. It may not look like enough sauce, but the shrimp will release some juice and you'll end up with plenty of sauce for bread dipping. Put the foil on tightly. Heat over the medium-heat coals for about 20 minutes. At that time, open the foil. Unless your fire has been really dead, it should be ready. Serve in the pan with extra lemon wedges, hunks of French bread for dipping (some good olive oil on the side for extra extra dipping -- don't waste the good oil in the shrimp cooking; good olive oil gets lost when heated and mixed with a lot of flavored ingredients). If you've got a side burner on your grill, go for some Fontina cheese grits and a purchased cole slaw (too much chopping for a campsite).

scooterbug44

I would highly recommend going to Shrimpers and having them steam the shrimp for you w/ your choice of seasoning.

You'll get great fresh shrimp cooked to perfection and won't have the cooking mess to deal with on your vacation.

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ascell

This is perfect. Thank you. The other ideas sound good as well, but this is simple and sound great.

Beach Runner

Actually we have cut back on the fat since my recipe was published. I am experimenting with different combinations of butter and/or olive oil.

I like the heads on because that's how they serve them at Pascal's Manale in NOLA. Of course, you'd probably need more than two pounds of shrimp.

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ascell

Do the shrimp need deviening?

Johnrudy

I would but according to Alton Brown (Good Eats), he says it is not necessary since it all gets cooked. So I guess it's your call.

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Beach Runner

I am pretty OCD about deveining when I cook. But you know there's no way to devote enough labor at a restaurant for doing this when it takes us 30 minutes to devein two pounds. Just not cost effective. Right?

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ascell

I bought frozen/shelled shrimp last night. I know it doesnt compare to fresh, but it was the best I could do at the time. I shelled them and deveined half of them. I then skewered them all and put them on the grill for 2 minutes each side. Half cooked with bbq sauce and the other half left plain. Both were great and the deveining did not seem to matter. I will be trying a boil next. Thanks to all for the feeds.

SneakyPete

BeachRunner...we've had goog success in just using the butter and drizzling with a bit of really good olive oil at the end. Yeah, the older recipes really go to town on the oil! Post back when you have your recipe perfected!

As for deveining, I always devein very large shrimp , just because it's fairly easy to do and usually a larger shrimp means a larger vein and it LOOKS bad. That said, I grew up around here, eating off the shrimp and fish boats and we never deveined our shrimp. However, some hauls of shrimp have a sandy vein that really ruins the shrimp experience -- kind of like how some bags of mussels are sandy and some are not. Maybe someone with more knowledge of local shrimp beds can give us some insight as to where or when the shrimp are most likely to have a sandy vein. I'm sure there's some sort of science to it. I'd really love to know...