Simple Shrimp Feast

Have you ever looked at the whole shrimp in the seafood counter display and wondered what to do with it?  It’s much, much, much cheaper per pound than shelled shrimp but those little creatures can be intimidating!  We used to actually catch our own shrimp when I was a kid (with shrimp nets made of burlap sewed around an old bicycle wheel rims attached to some rope with fish heads for bait that the fishmonger at the wharf would give us for free; ah those were the days!) and I always looked forward to the feast of shrimp we would have that night.

Cooking whole shrimp is the easy part.  And this recipe would absolutely work with any raw shrimp you would prefer to cook with, whether in the shell or peeled and deveined.  Eating whole shrimp is the fun part (notice I did not say hard part).  To eat them, you break off the head (and if you’re into it like I am you suck out the juices from the head), then peel the shrimp by prying the shell off from the leg side toward the back and down to the tail.  Shrimp cooked in the shell are so much more flavorful than peeled shrimp and even though they require more effort to eat, it is absolutely worth it (plus it’s cheaper!).  Just make sure you have lots of napkins handy.

We eat these shrimp just as they are, with some vegetables on the side (cauliflower rice and minted zucchini are particularly good accompaniments; and the juices from the pot are awesome to dip some Paleo bread into).  They are also amazingly good on salads (let them cool, then peel the whole lot); my husband’s favorite is to have these on Caesar salad.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!  This recipe is for 4 pounds of whole shrimp, which is enough for about 4 servings.  If you would prefer to use thawed frozen shrimp, whether in the shell or peeled, I think 2-2.5 pounds would be roughly equivalent.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs fresh whole shrimp (or substitute 2.5 lbs of your favorite Frozen Shrimp, thawed)
• 2 Tbsp tallow (or substitute unsalted butter)
• 5 large cloves of Fresh Garlic , roughly chopped
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1.    Rinse shrimp in cold water and let drain.
2.    Heat a large pot over medium high heat.  Once hot, add tallow and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3.    Add shrimp and wine to pot.  Turn heat up to high and cover with a lid.
4.    Stir every 1-2 minutes until shrimp are pink and completely opaque, about 5-6 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp.
5.    Toss with chopped parsley and enjoy!