NOLA BBQ shrimp

Supercilious_In_5280

Mother in law came in town to see our munchkin. Good news was she brought some gulf shrimp with her. I first had this at friends restaurant in madisonville when I was doing some training. Sad she told me it burned down. Anyway, always wanted to try this. I used mr. Bs bistro recipe as a guide, but just melted the ingredients together and let the egg do her magic. Wasn't quite as good but we still inhaled it. We nearly took down a whole loaf of French bread with it. Not sure what I'll do different, but doing it again for sure!

NPHuskerFL

Are the shrimp coming back strong now there in the Nola gulf area. I know it got decimated after Katrina and the big Gulf spill.

mcmac

Good question. I am getting pretty nervous about the pacific after the tsunami in Japan a few years ago. They say the radiation should have an adverse affect on our seafood here in short order. I love seafood, but I may avoid it here soon as I can't imagine the us escaping the impact of the tsunami.

I truly hope I'm wrong on this one.

Supercilious_In_5280

Not sure as I'm in CO. My understanding is the tiger shrimp are a bigger threat? But I'd defer to our folks who live in the area...

berndcrisp

After Fukushima incoming Japanese parts were 'geigered' and 14 crates were rejected. Or so they said.

robla103

Katrina did not really hurt the Gulf Seafood, the BP oil spill did worse damage.  Really destroyed the oyster beds. 

But everything is back to normal here in the Gulf. Nice size shrimp, oysters, fish, crawfish, crabs.  I know the sushi places here the fish they get from Japan is thoroughly tested and we never got sick so I think the Pacific seafood will be regularly tested as well.

nolaegghead

Yeah, Katrina destroyed the fleet of fishing/shrimping/oyster boats.  The BP spill contaminated the water and they closed much of the fisheries.  Depending on the area, there are still problems with mutated shrimp or shrimp with oil in it.  Much of this has been glossed over by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board ( http://www.louisianaseafood.com/ ), but there are numerous documentaries and news articles where fishermen are bitching about effects.

We've tested a lot of seafood from the gulf and we're not finding much oil in them...some, but we're finding a lot of metabolites of oil.  It takes a while for the gulf to heal and there's a massive amount of sludge on the sea floor in deep water, the repurcussions of which we just don't know.

KiterTodd

nolaegghead said:

Yeah, Katrina destroyed the fleet of fishing/shrimping/oyster boats.  The BP spill contaminated the water and they closed much of the fisheries.  Depending on the area, there are still problems with mutated shrimp or shrimp with oil in it.  Much of this has been glossed over by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board ( http://www.louisianaseafood.com/ ), but there are numerous documentaries and news articles where fishermen are bitching about effects.

We've tested a lot of seafood from the gulf and we're not finding much oil in them...some, but we're finding a lot of metabolites of oil.  It takes a while for the gulf to heal and there's a massive amount of sludge on the sea floor in deep water, the repurcussions of which we just don't know.

Thanks for this info.  When you say "we've tested," who is "we?"

Anyway, nice to hear the straight scoop.  There is always a disconnect when revenue is in play because they don't want to scare folks away.  We see this down south of us on the North Carolina beaches.  Folks get bit by little bull or sand sharks pretty regularly but it rarely makes the press.  Best way to scare away tourists is to tell them there are sharks in the water (they all picture "Jaws," when it's usually pretty minor).

KiterTodd

So, on the cook, that looks great.  

So you are just kind of simmering the shrimp in that mixture until they're cooked?  Do you get any of the charcoal flavoring from the lump in the sauce?

That looks awesome, either way.  I'll have to make that some time.  Where do I find the "Mr. B" recipe you used as inspiration?  I'm pretty good at winging it, though, and the ingredients you show seem like it'd be good no matter how you proportion it!  (that brown ale looks delicious...I may need a few extra for "the cook")

I'm always looking for new fun recipes to make over a campfire.  Too often folks will just throw a hot dog on a stick and are always amazed what you can do with a cast iron pan or a dutch oven.  This seems like it'd be great on a camping trip as well.  Thanks!

nolaegghead

"We" is the company I work for.  We have a few labs in our network that do biota testing and we performed the majority of environmental and biota tests relating to the Horizon spill. If not the majority, then the majority single lab entity.  If the question is - do I feel Louisiana seafood is safe enough to eat? - my personal answer is yes, and I do eat it regularly.  I am not a toxicologist, but a chemist that has transitioned to database engineering, and I defer to the toxicologists calls on food safety. 

PNWFoodie

How does this compare to Pascal's Manale? I have never been able to come close to duplicating that - but man, do I sure wish I could! (Actually, if I lived in NOLA I'm not sure I'd ever cook at home, come to think about it.)

nolaegghead

mcmac said:

Good question. I am getting pretty nervous about the pacific after the tsunami in Japan a few years ago. They say the radiation should have an adverse affect on our seafood here in short order. I love seafood, but I may avoid it here soon as I can't imagine the us escaping the impact of the tsunami.

I truly hope I'm wrong on this one.

Testing for DDT, PCBs, heavy metals, chlorinated pesticides, organophosphate pesticides and other chemical contaminants is very, very expensive and takes a long time - fresh seafood has a shelf life and the industry resists testing, and only a tiny fraction of imported (and local) food is tested. 

Radiological contamination can be avoided with a very simple, quick and cheap screen with a Geiger counter. 

I would not worry about radiological contamination of seafood.  Do worry about BPA in your baby's pacifier and cadmium in your Chinese goods.  As far as risk management goes, the Fukushima headlines aren't representative of the biggest risk to your health.

nolaegghead

PNWFoodie said:

How does this compare to Pascal's Manale? I have never been able to come close to duplicating that - but man, do I sure wish I could! (Actually, if I lived in NOLA I'm not sure I'd ever cook at home, come to think about it.)

BBQ shrimp is not a technical cook.  You can only screw it up by overcooking if you follow one of the popular NOLA recipes.  Personally, I like the Mr. B's version.  Other than not overcooking, procuring good, fresh jumbo shrimp is the toughest part.

nolan8v

Here is the one that I have been using since 1998:

SOUTHERN-STYLE BARBECUED SHRIMP

 Southern Living Five-Star Recipe Collection (1998)

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

¾ cup lemon juice

¾ cup Worcestershire sauce

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried whole rosemary

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 to 3 teaspoons hot sauce

2 ½ pounds unpeeled large or jumbo fresh shrimp (minus heads)

2 Lemons, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

 

Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well, and set aside. Rinse shrimp; drain. Layer shrimp, lemon slices, and onion slices in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Pour reserved butter mixture over shrimp. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and shells start to pull away, basting occasionally with pan juices. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs, if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

ENJOY

KiterTodd

FYI, I finally Googled the recipe to learn a little more about it.  All look similar, but none have the beer!  I like that addition...

http://www.gonola.com/2012/02/05/gonola-recipes-at-home-mr-bs-barbeque-shrimp.html

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Mr-Bs-Barbecued-Shrimp

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/MR-BS-BBQ-SHRIMP-50007910

500

I saw this on "Best Thing I Ever Ate; BBQ".

http://www.wwltv.com/video/how-its-done/How-Its-Done-Pascals-Manales-BBQ-Shrimp2-214330971.html

buzd504

Manale's invented the dish, but many do it better, IMO.  Mr. B's for one (also, Emeril).  Key is to cooking the shrimp with heads and shells on, or alternatively, cooking down a strong stock with the heads (which is how Emeril does it).

NPHuskerFL

@nolaegghead‌ getting fresh jumbo shrimp here is available at almost every corner. They have monster Atlantic "Mayport" shrimp. Caught fresh in the Mayport Base area. And they are mmmm good. ;-).

nolaegghead

@NPHuskerFL - We're lucky to live near shrimpers - fresh caught, unfrozen shrimp are delicious.  And they generally don't freeze with the heads on, and that's important to BBQ shrimp and making stocks.

NPHuskerFL

@nolaegghead‌ fresh anything whether it be shrimp, fish, pork, beef, deer, corn, blueberries etc etc beat frozen all day everyday.

KiterTodd

Well Supercilious_In_5280, you succeeded in posting something that I had to try sooner rather than later.  I had a dish like this on a beach once, and have never found it since.  I didn't even know it was a NOLA thing!  Here is my take on your dish...









And, it was great!  That sauce was awesome.  Even though I paid attention to not overcooking the shrimp, I did overcook them a bit and some of the peels stuck a little.  But it was otherwise awesome!  I made it with heads-on for the full experience but for simplicity next time I'll probably get fresh shrimp, with the heads-off and accept the fact that the stock might be a little weaker.  (although, with all that good stuff in it it'd be good even if I were cooking a boneless chicken breast!).

Thanks for the inspiration.  Can't wait to make it for a crowd some time.

PNWFoodie

Thanks for all the posts on this, and the inspiration. Even though I don't really eat shrimp that much anymore (hard on the tummy since having surgery a few years ago), I still can't shake the memory of how delicious and what a revelation it was the first time I was in NOLA and had BBQ shrimp. It's one of my top five food memories. May have to see if I can build up a tolerance for the little critters again.

NDG

WOW this looks great - never heard of it before.  A trip to NOLA for the food is on my short list, but I might have to take a try at home first.

@PNWFoodie . . . lets hear your other top 5 food memories!  

I love a good list and amazing food memories are so distinct. . . . maybe I should start a new post with this same question?

buzd504

KiterTodd said:

And, it was great!  That sauce was awesome.  Even though I paid attention to not overcooking the shrimp, I did overcook them a bit and some of the peels stuck a little.  But it was otherwise awesome!  I made it with heads-on for the full experience but for simplicity next time I'll probably get fresh shrimp, with the heads-off and accept the fact that the stock might be a little weaker.  (although, with all that good stuff in it it'd be good even if I were cooking a boneless chicken breast!).

Thanks for the inspiration.  Can't wait to make it for a crowd some time.

Noooo!!!  Leave the heads on.  How does getting them removed make it easier?  It makes a huge difference.

Otherwise, that looks great!!  Love the bread!

500

No first hand experience doing this, but I've read you could pull the heads, peel them, and cook the shells and heads in the sauce, then strain them out before adding the clean shrimp, in order to get the shrimp love in the sauce.

KiterTodd

buzd504 said:

Noooo!!!  Leave the heads on.  How does getting them removed make it easier?  It makes a huge difference.

Otherwise, that looks great!!  Love the bread!

Oh, I should say.... "EASIER to get my wife to eat it." 

500 said:

No first hand experience doing this, but I've read you could pull the heads, peel them, and cook the shells and heads in the sauce, then strain them out before adding the clean shrimp, in order to get the shrimp love in the sauce.

That's a good idea.  Goes along with the video posted earlier in this thread (and what someone says Emeril does) where he adds seafood stock.


If in it's purest form, though, we need the heads...so be it!  I'll just reserve that option if I can't find whole fresh shrimp.

buzd504

500 said:

No first hand experience doing this, but I've read you could pull the heads, peel them, and cook the shells and heads in the sauce, then strain them out before adding the clean shrimp, in order to get the shrimp love in the sauce.

Yes.  This works.

nolaegghead

I second that.  Better presentation when they're whole shrimp though.

nolan8v

KiterTodd,

Looks delicious. Post your recipe, if time permits. 

KiterTodd

nolan8v, I looked at the 3 recipes that I linked above (2 are exactly the same), the Manale's video, and the OP's ingredients picture and just kind of went from there.   All the recipes seem pretty much the same except I used beer instead of stock.

So... mixed the shrimp with olive oil, a bit of butter, garlic, the dry seasonings (lots), lemon juice, a few dashes of hot sauce, whatsthishere sauce and dumped into the heated pan.  As soon as that started to cook I tossed in the beer.  Mixed the shrimp just enough to flip it.  Let the mixture reduce a bit and then put the rest of 1 cold stick of butter in at the end to make a smooth sauce.  Put the shrimp in the plate, spooned some sauce on the top, dipped bread and enjoyed!   
:-bd
I also did a taste test along the way and added some sea salt.  I suspect my Penzey's Cajun seasoning was lower salt than most.  I'm looking forward to making this again.  It'd be a great appetizer to share.  (note, since I had a small pan and only 9 shrimp, I only used 1 stick of butter...not the two shown).

NDG

I got some Frozen Farm Raised White Shrimp (deveined, tails on) in a bowl of water thawing out in my fridge.  Obviously my seafood is not the best here . . . but  I am very anxious to try this recipe out.   

Think I will get decent results or should I just wait until I can find Fresh Gulf shrimp and do this the right way?