School me on shrimp, please

[AugustWest]

We're in northeastern Pennsylvania and fresh seafood is easy for us to get - we have it at least once a week and shrimp is always in the rotation. That being said I have no problem with buying shrimp frozen, shell on. Bos'n is a great brand if you can find it where you are. If you can't you can get it from the Webstaurant Store. As far as fresh shrimp goes there are lots of Louisiana places that deliver by FedEx - I have used The Cajun Grocer for example and a few others and all are reliable.

If you're going to invest in delivery you should maybe try crawfish as well, and don't be afraid of head-on shrimp. It's a little gruesome pulling off the heads but when boiled the stock is fabulous for etouffee, creole, etc.

Don't buy the precooked shrimp - they only take a few minutes to cook so it's better to just do it yourself. Boil them in beer with lots of Old Bay, sprinkle them with Old Bay and steam them then onto some ice (or not) and into your belly. Fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, stir-fried - they are so versatile you can find an endless array of recipes. We grill them all the time; I just coat them in olive oil and then Old Bay and perhaps Slap Yo Mama and skewer them and on they go. My daughter prefers them cooked what she calls "leathery" and that's the best way to achieve that texture. Don't be afraid to overcook them slightly (sacrilege I know) - you may find you like them that way.

Anyway, sorry to go on like this but you, you know, asked.

[ecowper]

We buy our shrimp at Costco usually .... blue bags are 2 lbs of frozen, processed, tail-on medium sized shrimp. We have a few different ways to cook them, none really have a recipe, per se .... my wife and I just throw it together, so to speak

Shrimp scampi - lots of butter and olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté on the stove

Grilled shrimp scampi - toss in a bag with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a bit of vinegar. Marinade for 15-20 minutes. Toss them on the grill over direct heat and cook to done

Tequila shrimp - like the grill marinade, but add some tequila to the bag

Skewers - wrap the suckers in prosciutto and then skewer them and grill

[Bkhuna]

Just to make you all jealous, my local fish market in Port Canaveral, FL, has fresh Royal Reds for $2.00/lb.

We might not get much in the way of good BBQ in east central Florida, but we do have the seafood.

[surfdog]

ecowper reminded me of the variations of Camarones Borrachos that I make...
Variations because it depends on my mood, and who I’m cooking for. But they ALL use tequila.

One variation is a sort of spicy margarita marinade...it’s pretty lime forward. A bit like a jalapeño margarita.
The other uses chipotle & garlic as the main flavours (and of course tequila). That can be mildly smoky with a hint of heat, to downright "stoopid" hot depending on the amount of chipotle & adobo...and whether or not I’m trying to punish any tastebuds. LOL

Either way, I do them both on the grill or the flattop depending on the day. I generally buy frozen head-off & deveined. If I think I’ll be pressed for time, am feeling lazy, or my parents will be joining me...then they’re peeled as well. Tail on though.

[Russ89]

So, everyone has some pretty accurate advice, but I'll toss this story out to give you some perspective on what you can do with lesser quality shrimp in a pinch.

I had been overseas for about 8 months at the time this all occurred, but I've since recreated at home a few times with similar results. We had been having a couple rough weeks, and myselfwmyself and a5 other guys from my unit were with a couple other units for security missions for a month. They knew i was from Louisiana, and MREs were were getting old. Considering it was my birthday, they got me a gift of a few cans of shrimp (peeled, cooked, etc) and they were the size of cocktail shrimp. They had fired up the grill, gave me quite the variety of seasonings, and the shrimp and said happy birthday. Took some Italian Seasoning, Dill, and garlic, drizzled some cheap vegetable oil, and cooked over charcoal, medium/high heat in a basket, stirring constantly. Wasn't a shimp left, fed 20 green suiters. Those guys....

Fast forward to what I've done with larger, raw, peeled shrimp: I still use a tad bit of dill, a dab of oregano, and some basil (this is the largest amount of portion), some fresh minced garlic, cayenne, and a little bit of Louisiana Hot Sauce for salt. No need to overdo the seasoning. Drizzle some oil (i use olive oil, but not the extra virgin crap), just enough to almost coat them, then cook them in a basket. Butter works too. I use my gas smoker with hickory, as I haven't upgraded to the pellet grill yet. Serve with Hawaiian rolls or regular bread (we like the dough that comes frozen, follow the directions to cook in the oven). Also does well with croissants.

[EdF]

Hungry!

[grillinglousiana]

I buy fresh shrimp with head on and ship them to my friends in Michigan in the UP...any one can do this ..via TONYS SEAFOOD Baton Rouge Lousiana......also home of Lousiana fish fry products...they ship fed ex next day

[Alabama Smoke]

Good to know about Tony's Seafood in Baton Rouge. Thanks for mentioning that!

[EdF]

Temptation!