This is sort of a remake of one of my first videos I did on my own… and the recipe is still one of my favorites.
This is more a method than a specific recipe, and the way I do just about all my shrimp these days. The short time spent in the brine, as well as the quick cooking method really does add a lot of flavor (or keep a lot of flavor maybe?).
Here’s what you need:
- About of a pound of raw, in the shell shrimp, thawed out.
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- seasonings
Bring the 1 cup of water to a boil and stir in the salt to dissolve, then stir in the ice to cool off the water. Put the shrimp in and let them sit in the brine for about 20-25 minutes.
After about 15minutes, turn your broiler on and put a pan (large cookie sheet or broiler pan) on the rack on the top level just under the broiler.
Drain the shrimp, pat dry with paper towels if you want, then put in a bowl and toss with olive oil to coat.
Add your seasonings to go with what you’re in the mood for. This whole process came from Alton Brown, and he says he uses Old Bay Seasoning. I tend to use a blend of granulated garlic or onion powder and paprika, sometimes with a bit of cayenne pepper in there too. You’ll need about a tablespoon or so total… just sprinkle over the shrimp and toss to coat a bit. Avoid using seasonings with much salt since they should have enough salt from the brine.
A combo that I’ve used a few times is 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder, and 1/2 teaspoon celery seed that’s been crushed or ground up a bit.
Carefully open the oven/broiler, pull out the pan, dump the shrimp on the pan and use a metal tongs or wooden spoon or something to quickly spread in to a single layer on the pan. Slide the pan back in, close the oven and set your timer for 2 minutes. If you are using the really large (10-12 count) shrimp, you might want to go closer to 3 minutes.
Get the shrimp off the pan, they’ll be a nice pinkish color, and serve peel & eat style while still warm or let them cool and peel them to use on salads or whatever else.
I love eating a meal of these when still warm, usually don’t need any sort of cocktail sauce or butter or anything, they’re great as is. Then I peel the left-overs and keep in the fridge and will eat them cold as part of lunch the next day or something.
