Foodvana: New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp

[rivka]

(cross-posted to food_porn)

Pascal's Manale is a New Orleans restaurant on the edge of the Garden District, famous above all else for their barbecue shrimp. It's not really barbecue, by either definition I'm familiar with - it's not slow-roasted for many hours over an open pit, and it's not grilled outdoors. It's just shrimp - heads, tails, and all - served in an exquisite garlicky, peppery broth.

Pascal's Manale has never released their recipe for shrimp, but, as it happens, Southern Living magazine thinks they've come up with a pretty good approximation. curiousangel and I tried it tonight.

1 pound unpeeled, large, fresh shrimp or 1.5 pounds shrimp with heads on
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp chili sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning (we used Essence of Emeril)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce (we used Cajun Sunshine)

Spread shrimp in a shallow, aluminum foil-lined broiler pan. Combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts, and pour over shrimp. Cover and chill for two hours, turning shrimp every half hour. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 20 minutes; turn once. Serve in bowls with the sauce ladled over, and with bread. (We used fresh rosemary-olive oil bread.) Serves two. (What can I say? We like shrimp.)

It was insanely good. It's not quite Pascal's, but it was tangy and garlicky and peppery and I licked my fingers dozens of times and then used multiple slices of bread to soak up the sauce. It was beautiful, all rosy orange. It smelled heavenly. Foodvana. And the coolest thing is that it was also insanely easy to make. It took about ten minutes to throw the sauce ingredients together. It took me more time to figure out what "chili sauce" is than it did to make the entire dish.

This would be great for parties, because it's easy and yet impressive. But they'd have to be the kind of casual parties where no one minds having sauce run down their arms right to the elbows.

Mmmmm, barbecue shrimp. My fingers still taste good.

Comments

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

I would recommend a little less lemon, and a little more kick -- perhaps only a quarter lemon, and add a little more red pepper and hot sauce. I'm also curious about what it might taste like with a little cinnamon added to it.

I'd also recommend hot bread if you can manage to get it.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

This is already less lemon than we put in - we used a whole one.

Hot bread would, indeed, have been good. We could have managed to get it by putting the bread in the oven. :-)

[annaoj.livejournal.com]

Oooh, since I didn't get the chance to try this dish while I was in New Orleans, I'll have to try out this recipe soon!

[(Anonymous)]

I've loved this dish since I was 8 or so *G* It helps growing up just a few blocks away *RBEG* I make this but don't use the chile sauce and do use black, white and cayenne along w/ much more garlic. I use a herb spice blend I learned from my Tante Jean in place of the cajun seasoning also. I'd also try using a hot sauce w/a bit of vinegar in it tohelp balance out the richness of the butter. I see it doesn't have bay leaves either, surprising. I bet ya'll did have a good time eating this and sopping up the sauce is mandatory.

Tony

Chef Anthony von Krag ACF retired
Have spices & cast iron cookware, will travel
User of sharp knives, Washer of hands and cutting boards
You want Me!!! To cook *THAT* well done?