We have a small post-retirement place on a lake in Alabama. For some reason I enjoy cooking there more than I do at home, even though the dining space is tiny and the open kitchen is pretty cramped. Maybe it’s the view … who knows.
We recently had some friends over for supper, and I started the menu with a look-see in the freezer. I was thrilled to find a couple of bags of frozen shrimp; from there my menu developed.
But first, a word or two about eating shrimp. Five or six years ago Terry and I went to Apalachicola, Florida, and met some of the local oyster harvesters and shrimpers. We learned how they make their living (with a lot of hard work) and came away with a dedication to eating only shrimp from the U.S.A. If we buy frozen we check out the source. For more information on why you should skip imported shrimp, check out Consumer Reports. In the meantime, just trust me on this one.
So, I had two packages of fresh shrimp I had bought from a trusted source. To freeze, I either use an inexpensive vacuum sealer (best purchase I ever made) or freeze them in zip lock bags in water. Be sure to date the packages.
So, the menu centered on a dish I first encountered after moving to Mississippi — barbecue shrimp. I have tried to make this at home, once, without a recipe, and it was very passable. But I think that using a recipe for the first try will help you improvise later on.
Origins of a classic
The dish was first made at the Creole-Italian eatery, Pascal’s Manale (note the placement of the apostrophe) in New Orleans. In the mid-1950s a regular customer and visitor to New Orleans from Chicago came in and gushed about a dish he had had back home. The chef (not to be outdone) went into the kitchen and created what he thought was a close approximation. The customer declared it even better! And so a classic was made, and it has been on the menu ever since.
The dish has nothing whatsoever to do with Southern barbecue. It is not grilled, not cooked low and slow and has no tomato-based sauce. Rather, it is cooked either in a hot iron skillet or in a hot oven with lots of butter (what’s not to adore?) and black pepper and garlic. From there, the recipes do vary. I like Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce (which is how I like my shrimp and grits); Pascal’s Manale uses olive oil and white wine. More than a few recipes use dried herbs such as thyme and oregano as well as bay leaves. One thing they all have in common is plenty of bread to sop up the butter!
I had already taken the heads off of the shrimp, which I used for stock for shrimp bisque. I left the shells on and simply used scissors to cut down the back and remove the vein (you can leave it in; I’m a vein-less person).
The rest of the meal was steamed fresh corn, little potatoes (six of which came from our container garden) boiled with Old Bay, grilled Conecuh sausage, sliced tomatoes and a delicious Front Porch Salad of corn, cucumbers, red onions and a mayonnaise dressing brought by my guest. I cannot leave out her incredible strawberry pie, oh my. I was the lucky one to find the last crumbled piece in the fridge today. Can’t wait until supper.
POPPY TOOKER’S BARBECUED SHRIMP
Serves 4
1 medium lemon
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 ounce kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
24 colossal shrimp (12-15 per pound) (mine were not this large)
Cover skillet and remove it from heat. Let sit for 15 minutes so that shrimp can absorb the flavors and finish cooking, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Serve.
PASCAL’S MANALE BARBECUE SHRIMP
Makes 2 servings
For shrimp:
1 pound (21-25 count) shrimp, heads removed
5 teaspoons Manale Spice (recipe follows)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
French bread, for serving
For Manale Spice:
4 tablespoons black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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