New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp

Even though I’ve lived in Louisiana my whole life I’ve only had New Orleans style Barbecue shrimp once as far as I can remember, and it was within the past year. It wasn’t great, but when I saw this recipe I got excited because it was my favorite kind of recipe. One that has lots of stuff in it, but it’s easy to make. I had most of the ingredients sitting in my kitchen already including some frozen Louisiana Gulf Shrimp. They had once been fresh enough to be from the “Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival” (which is a real thing). Ironic festivals aside for a while the only thing I knew to do with shrimp was fry them, and for lack of a healthier option I let these shrimp sit in my freezer quite a bit longer than I should have. I used 1lb. of shrimp even though the recipe calls for 2 lbs., because of this I tried to cook down the sauce at the end. This last part was a mistake, because it resulted in the shrimp being overcooked a bit. I think it also made the sauce more likely to break. The next time I make it I’ll still use half the shrimp called for, because hey more sauce, I’ll just be more mindful of not overcooking the shrimp. Also, I think I might add some zest to add a bit more lemon flavor to the party.

ingredients

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ancho chili pepper powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 pounds extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice, from one lemon

3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

Mix the paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Add the shrimp to the spices and toss to coat evenly. Set aside. Melt the butter over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet. Add the garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for one minute. Do not brown. Add the shrimp and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are almost cooked but still opaque in spots, 3-4 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons water and cook until shrimp are done, 1-2 minutes more. Scatter scallions over top and serve.

I chose to ignore the scallions part. I paired it with a yummy corn with pepers and onions thing I did the day before, and some left over three bean salad Myron made earlier in the week which makes for a plate of delicious piles of food.