When I think back on my childhood connection to shrimp, I can't help but remember those Red Lobster Shrimp Scampi commercials with images of shrimp sizzling in bubbling butter. As a kid, we didn't have shrimp very often, and when we did, it was usually breaded and deep fried, as was my father's preference. Since we didn't deep fry at home, The Goose Island Shrimp House over on Division in Chicago was our spot. My dad was for sure missing out, I bet he would have enjoyed this recipe.

I recently had what I would call a shrimp windfall and I wanted to share it with all of you. I decided to use it to make something special, so I looked up recipes for sautéed shrimp and the first thing that came up was this recipe by Island Vibe Cooking. Even though I used this recipe as the inspiration, I put many of my own personal twists on it. When it came to the butter, I decided to use half of what was recommended in the recipe, but it still ended up being very rich. To cut down on the richness, I would use only a third of the butter if I made the recipe again. Additionally, the dish ended up being too salty, this was due to the shrimp being frozen in seawater and needing a rinse before cooking. Overall, I was pleased with the results and I am excited to experiment with the three more pounds of shrimp I have in my freezer. As such, you may see an update at some point!

Basic Instructions

1. Preheat the cast iron and the stainless steel skillets in the oven at high heat (550° F on my oven)
2. Peel and de-vain 1 lb (450g) shrimp leaving the tails on and place in a medium sized bowl tossing with paper towels to remove excess moisture. If the shrimp are salted already it may be necessary to rinse them off to remove excess salt.
3. Measure out 4 tbs (40g) olive oil, 1 tsp (4g) garlic powder, 1/2 tsp (2g) salt , 1 tsp (1.5g) course ground pepper, 1/2 tsp (2g)msg, and 1 - 1/2 tbs (1.5g) dried parsley in individual containers
4. Grate garlic 3 large cloves (15g) of garlic into a small bowl
5. Set ice cubes into a mis bowl (optional)
6. After throughly drying the shrimp coat with olive oil
7. Toss with garlic powder, salt, pepper and msg
8. Pour dried parsley into clean serving bowl
9. Prepare a sheet of aluminum foil with a light coating of cooking spray
10. Turn two burners on high.
11. Remove skillets from oven with high temp gloves and place on the open burners.
12. Empty the contents of the bowl into the cast iron skillet, working quickly try to lay each piece flat.
13. Cover with the aluminum foil sheet
14. Drop the cast iron skillet on top and cook for 3 - 5 minutes minutes.
15. While cooking rub the handle of the skillet with an ice cube to cool it off. (This is optional, but it will make the pan easier to handle once the shrimp is done cooking)
16. Remove the cast iron skillet from the top and scrape the shrimp out of the bottom pan into a bowl
17. Turn off the heat and drop 1/2 stick (56g)of cold/frozen butter into skill hot skillet
18. Add 1 tbs of toasted sesame oil
19. Scrape the bottom of the pan to pull off the fond.
20. Once the butter is melted bring the heat to medium low and add the garlic. Continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to move the garlic around, prevent burning and bring up as much fond as possible.
21. When garlic turns golden (before it darkens) add white wine and scrape further
22. After reducing for about a minute pour over shrimp and toss distributing parsley flakes evenly

Hardware

Considerations

• The full stick of butter suggested in the original recipe was way too much, I used a half of a stick here and still it was too much. Next time I’ll use 1/3rd stick of butter. Also, as an afterthought I added about a tablespoon of sesame oil to the melted butter effectively raising the overall smoke point of the fat. I wanted to avoid having the butter burn.
• My large cast iron was too big to fit inside of the stainless pan, but as luck would have it I have been trying to re-season my baby cast iron and it was sitting in the bottom of the oven. If you look at the edge of the pan you can see the remnants of carbon deposits that I am trying to burn off. I don’t think the bottom of that pan was laying flat on top of the shrimp anyway, so next time I’ll try this with my two large cast irons which I know will touch.
• I have have eaten shrimp shell on before and enjoyed it. The shells are edible when cooked at high heat, that is not the case for this recipe. I left three shrimp with the shells on and they were not great, I do not recommend.
• I don’t think paprika adds much flavor, but it could have added some nice color to this dish, I might use some for the next shot at it.
• I would consider frying the garlic in oil separating and crumbling the fried garlic on the final product see my Rosemary and Garlic Infused Oil recipe for this technique.

Detailed instructions with images

Preheat the skillets in the oven at high temperature

I like to preheat the skillets in the oven, particularly the cast iron. Preheating in the oven creates a more even heating as opposed to doing it over a burner where I will get a ring of hot spots right where the flame is and around the outside of the pan. This might be different if I had an electric burner, and it probably isn’t necessary with the stainless which conducts heat better, but this is my usual practice. It also allows me to bring the pans up to temp while I am preparing the ingredients. <image>

Measure out all of the ingredients

When I’m making a recipe for the first time I always find it helpful to measure everything out in advance and put into little dishes. This helps me visualize the entire recipe process in advance and get an idea of what the overall flavor profile is going to be like. This step isn’t strictly necessary, but I do like to have accurate measurements so when I want to shift the recipe next time I make it I can.

Press the garlic

A garlic press is quicker and easier to clean up, but I prefer the results of the microplane, guess I opted for the garlic press for this recipe either will produce similar results.

Prepare the shrimp

These shrimp came de-vained, but I did have to peel the skins off. This was easily accomplished with my fingertips, but could have been made easier with a paper towel. I put these in a bowl and then I tossed a few paper towels through the bowl to dry off the outside of the shrimp. Drying the outside of the shrimp makes it easier for oil and seasonings to stick. It also allows for a better sear as less water has to evaporate before browning can happen. Once they were all peeled I tossed in the oil prior to adding the seasonings, reserving the dried parsley