Skillet Creole Shrimp

Cajun Seafood

This spicy shrimp Creole is a standby at the Alchemy restaurant in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, where we order it at the bar, sipping gimlets and watching the Red Sox (the only permissible excuse for having a TV on in a proper restaurant).The shrimp has at least three things going for it: its spontaneity, its in-your-face flavors, and a sauce that plays the richness of cream against the heat of Tabasco sauce and with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer serving as backstop

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and gently flattened with the side of a knife
  • 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup mild beer, like Pabst Blue Ribbon
  • 3 tablespoons prepared chili sauce, such as Heinz
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
  • 1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives or scallion greens

Directions

1. Melt half of the butter (1 1/2 tablespoons) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and add the shrimp to the skillet with the shallots. Cook the shrimp, adding more butter as needed, until seared on the outside, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beer and let come to a boil and boil until the beer is reduced to about
1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Stir in the chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and cream and let boil until the sauce is thick and creamy and the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes longer, 6 to 7 minutes in all. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or Tabasco sauce as necessary. Sprinkle the shrimp with chives and enjoy.


Serves 2 as a main course. My version of shrimp Creole is inspired by that of Alchemy chef Craig Decker. You can cook it from start to finish in a single pan in fifteen minutes or less. Round out your meal with a green salad and crusty bread for mopping up the sauce. Decker likes the mild malty flavor of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, but any mild lager will do.

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Submitted 8/8/14.
Source: Man Made Meals: The Essential Cookbook for Guys by Steven Raichlen
Submitted By: b smith

Skillet Creole Shrimp