rcj (02/06/83)
SHRIMP (boiled) RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
5 -10 lbs. FRESH UNPEELED shrimp (preferrably heads on and 35-50 count)
4 - 6 stalks of celery
3 - 4 fresh lemons
1 bag or small bottle crab boil (preferrably Zataran's)
1 tablespoon salt
new potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, or anything else (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Fill a large pot (really large, like about 10-15 quart) about 1/2 to 2/3
full. Add salt, bring to a vigorous boil. Add celery (whole or in fairly
large pieces), lemons (halved or quartered), crab boil, and potatoes
and/or corn and/or any other veggie you want to taste great. Boil for
about 5 minutes. Add washed shrimp (UNPEELED!!), boil vigorously without
cover for 20 minutes. Drain and eat it all (lemons and celery, too).
EXPLANATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS:
Shrimp spoil VERY quickly, if you are not going to use all you have bought,
FREEZE (not refrigerate) it immediately. The count mentioned above refers
to the number of shrimp necessary to weigh one pound (raw). As a rule of
thumb, larger shrimp are more enjoyable to eat because peeling one shrimp
gives you more meat. Really big shrimp (they're called jumbos, about
6-18 inches) might be tough and probably deserve broiling in lemon juice
and butter anyway. Try leaving the heads on the shrimp when cooking, it
really adds to the final flavor. A rule of thumb to use when comparing
the price of headed vs. beheaded shrimp: The head of a shrimp accounts
for approximately 40% of its total weight, and the effort required to
behead them yourself is minimal at most.
Crab boil is strong stuff, turn your kitchen fan on!! If you want the
shrimp a little less spicy (crab boil is not spicy HOT, but it is spicy),
you might want to halve the amount used (although I've never met anyone
who did that). I prefer to use the bags of crab boil rather than the
bottled liquid, for no particular reason.
Corn and potatoes are heaven on earth if cooked with the shrimp; try
other things as well if you like them and let me know how they turn out.
Eat the shrimp warm, fresh out of the pot. I converted a boiled shrimp
hater into a 7-lbs.-at-one-sitting-by-himself lover by having him eat
them hot rather than iced.
For a good sauce, try mixing together:
ketchup, mayonaise, lemon juice, Tabasco (tm) sauce, horseradish, garlic,
and Worcestershire sauce. About half and half with the ketchup and
mayonaise, the rest to taste (go easy on the Tabasco and horseradish!!).
Last hint (I promise): If you like lobster and this recipe, cook a
lobster the same way; make sure you cook it for EXACTLY 20 mins., though.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but I miss Biloxi shrimp -- Happy eating,
The MAD Programmer
alias: Curtis Jackson ...!floyd!burl!rcj
...!sb1!burl!rcj
...!mhuxv!burl!rcj