It is the last day of holidays for my kids and time to go back to university. These few weeks flew by really fast, but at the same time it was lots of fun. Family gatherings, dinners, movies, discussions and debates, we had it all. I was cooking a lot during this time, it was my pleasure to make them as comfortable as I can.
For today I choose to make a grilled shrimp. I knew this will be a sure winner in despite of their lack of affinity for shrimps in general. Few hours later we took them both to a train station and one of the first text messages we received after train left was “I want more of that shrimp…”, that pretty much sums it up.
Grilled shrimp is rather simple to make and can be served as appetizer on its own, or added to other warm dishes and salads. It has a fantastic grilled flavor that is impossible to ignore, as I proved it earlier today. The shrimp is brined for short time and then roasted on a blazingly hot cast iron pan. At such high heat takes only a minute to cook a batch of three shrimps. After sprinkling with fresh lemon juice they are served warm as appetizer. Optionally they can be refrigerated and then later added to other warm dishes. They do not need to be reheated, the heat of dish is good enough to bring them back to life.
The cooking process creates lots of smoke and that is what provides shrimps with a nice grilling aroma. They are very tasty and the flavor tends to linger in the mouth for a few hours after the meal. That is an added bonus.
The recipe is from French bistro in New Orleans, adapted from chef Greg Easter.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 200 g frozen raw shrimp large, shell on
- 400 ml water
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- lemon juice for sprinkling
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 Knorr shrimp boullion cube or substitute with 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/5 tsp sea salt
Ingredients
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- Warm up water in a medium size bowl to about 50 ºC (120 ºF). Stir in and dissolve salt and garlic powder, add a bay leaf.
- Add frozen raw shrimps to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Devein and peel the shrimps, put them back in the brine for 2-3 minutes.
- Put the shrimps on a kitchen towel and dry them out, add freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat up cast iron skillet to about 300 ºC (570 ºF).
- Add little vegetable oil to the skillet and fry the first batch of no more than 3 shrimps. Fry the shrimps on one side for about 35 seconds, turn them over to the other side for additional 20 seconds, stand them up for the last 15 seconds and then transfer to a bowl. Repeat the process until all the shrimps are cooked.
- Sprinkle with little lemon juice and serve warm.
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