Louisiana Real and Rustic Series – New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp
This recipe comes with an immediate disclaimer, this is in no way, means, shape or form a barbecue recipe. It’s a total misnomer, so don’t label this as click bait! What this is qualifies it as one of the most iconic and beloved New Orleans seafood dishes regardless of its name. A little history will somewhat explain.
Legend has it that BBQ shrimp was invented back in the 1950s at the now legendary New Orleans Italian restaurant called Pascal’s Manale. As the story goes, a long-time customer, who’d returned from a trip to Chicago, described a shrimp dish something like this to the chef at the time. The chef then created what he thought the man described and served it to him. The response was, “This is nothing like what I tasted in Chicago, but it’s actually better!”
Ever since whatever it was has become one of the most iconic dishes of the city, even copied worldwide. And the funny thing is it had little to do with whatever it was the guest had in Chicago, much less any tie to barbecue. Manale’s current long-time chef was recently asked why it’s still called barbecue? His response was “since it comes out sort of brown looking, at first glance one might mistake it for being barbecued!”
Some versions of this recipe treat this more in a classic French manner, reducing the sauce with the addition of heavy cream. The version I present is more straight forward and simplified but be forewarned, with the heavy use of lots of Worcestershire sauce and butter, this dish is one rich and satisfying Louisiana Real and Rustic classic.
So, get out your bibs and lots of napkins! Let’s make some NO Style BBQ Shrimp!
New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Louisiana Creole
Makes. 4-6 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep, 20-25 minutes cooking time
Ingredients
2 pounds medium to large shrimp in the shell (preferably head-on)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup minced celery
1/3 cup minced bell pepper
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1/2 lemon thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce to taste
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony C's), divided
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon parsley, for garnishing
Crusty bread for service
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Thoroughly wash the shrimp and allow to drain. Although I didn’t have any head-on shrimp for this recipe, I do encourage their use in the dish if you can source them. The additional fat and flavor add to the richness of the end result.
Pat the shrimp dry and place them in a large ovenproof baking dish. Season with 1/2 the Cajun seasoning. Return to the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce.
Melt the butter in a skillet then add the oil, onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Next add the Worcestershire sauce, the wine, lemon juice, hot sauce, the other 1/2 of the Cajun seasoning, black pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Pour the hot seasoned butter mixture over the shrimp and arrange the lemon slices on top.
Place the dish in the oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. The shrimp should turn a bright pink color and just be starting to pull away from their shells.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Garnish with the parsley. Serve warm, with lots of fresh crusty bread for dipping in the butter sauce.
Get ready to dig in and enjoy this rich dish. Consider this a finger food as you de-shell the shrimp and mop up the sauce with your crusty bread. Enjoy this New Orleans classic!!
Enjoy Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking, you will fall in love with it.
In the words of the late Justin Wilson……
In case you missed any recipes in this series, check out these other Louisiana Real and Rustic dishes;
Seafood Courtboullion
Boudin Stuffed Quail
Shrimp & Oyster Stuffed Whole Flounder
Red Beans & Rice
Cajun Side Dishes
Popeye's Chicken & Waffles
Dirty Rice
Shrimp Sauce Piquant
Crawfish Etouffee (Creole)
Legend has it that BBQ shrimp was invented back in the 1950s at the now legendary New Orleans Italian restaurant called Pascal’s Manale. As the story goes, a long-time customer, who’d returned from a trip to Chicago, described a shrimp dish something like this to the chef at the time. The chef then created what he thought the man described and served it to him. The response was, “This is nothing like what I tasted in Chicago, but it’s actually better!”
Ever since whatever it was has become one of the most iconic dishes of the city, even copied worldwide. And the funny thing is it had little to do with whatever it was the guest had in Chicago, much less any tie to barbecue. Manale’s current long-time chef was recently asked why it’s still called barbecue? His response was “since it comes out sort of brown looking, at first glance one might mistake it for being barbecued!”
Some versions of this recipe treat this more in a classic French manner, reducing the sauce with the addition of heavy cream. The version I present is more straight forward and simplified but be forewarned, with the heavy use of lots of Worcestershire sauce and butter, this dish is one rich and satisfying Louisiana Real and Rustic classic.
So, get out your bibs and lots of napkins! Let’s make some NO Style BBQ Shrimp!
New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Louisiana Creole
Makes. 4-6 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep, 20-25 minutes cooking time
Ingredients
2 pounds medium to large shrimp in the shell (preferably head-on)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup minced celery
1/3 cup minced bell pepper
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1/2 lemon thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce to taste
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony C's), divided
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon parsley, for garnishing
Crusty bread for service
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Thoroughly wash the shrimp and allow to drain. Although I didn’t have any head-on shrimp for this recipe, I do encourage their use in the dish if you can source them. The additional fat and flavor add to the richness of the end result.
Pat the shrimp dry and place them in a large ovenproof baking dish. Season with 1/2 the Cajun seasoning. Return to the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce.
Melt the butter in a skillet then add the oil, onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Next add the Worcestershire sauce, the wine, lemon juice, hot sauce, the other 1/2 of the Cajun seasoning, black pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Pour the hot seasoned butter mixture over the shrimp and arrange the lemon slices on top.
Place the dish in the oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. The shrimp should turn a bright pink color and just be starting to pull away from their shells.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Garnish with the parsley. Serve warm, with lots of fresh crusty bread for dipping in the butter sauce.
Get ready to dig in and enjoy this rich dish. Consider this a finger food as you de-shell the shrimp and mop up the sauce with your crusty bread. Enjoy this New Orleans classic!!
Enjoy Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking, you will fall in love with it.
In the words of the late Justin Wilson……
In case you missed any recipes in this series, check out these other Louisiana Real and Rustic dishes;
Seafood Courtboullion
Boudin Stuffed Quail
Shrimp & Oyster Stuffed Whole Flounder
Red Beans & Rice
Cajun Side Dishes
Popeye's Chicken & Waffles
Dirty Rice
Shrimp Sauce Piquant
Crawfish Etouffee (Creole)
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