The Best Shrimp I Ever Ate

I used to like seafood. Lobster, shrimp, crabs, clams. I ate it all. I celebrated many birthdays at Red Lobster.

When I stopped eating meat in 1996, I lost the taste for seafood. I’ve never acquired it again.

I’ve tried different kinds of seafood a few times a year since I started eating meat again, but I’ve not enjoyed it.

Actually, I’ve enjoyed deep fried shrimp and deep fried clams. But I don’t think they count since they taste less like seafood and more like breading.

On second thought, I really like coconut shrimp, too, but I think that falls under my point above.

Joe likes to make steamed shrimp on New Year’s Eve. I always sample one, but that’s the end of it. They taste fishy and I don’t enjoy them.

I don’t understand why they’re called steamed shrimp, by the way. They’re boiled shrimp.

He’s always used the recipe on the back of the Old Bay box:

Traditional Old Bay Steamed Shrimp Recipe - Peel & Eat Shrimp

These Old Bay steamed shrimp are the perfect peel & eat shrimp recipe for special occasions or everyday dinners. It's okay to substitute seafood seasoning for Old Bay.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Gluten-free, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

• Steamer basket

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs shrimp
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp Old Bay

Instructions

 

• Combine water, vinegar, and Old Bay in a stock pot. Bring to a boil.
• Drop a steamer basket into the stock pot and add the shrimp. Return the liquid to a boil and cook for 2-3 additional minutes.
• Drain, remove shells, and de-vein. Chill if desired.

Notes

You will need a steamer basket to make these steamed shrimp. If you don't have one, you can also drop the shrimp right into the cooking liquid and boil them. The texture will be a bit different, but they will taste pretty similar.

I prefer to eat these shrimp hot, right out of the pan, but a lot of people (including my husband) prefer to eat them chilled as in a shrimp cocktail.

I also like to serve these with cocktail sauce which is made from ketchup and horseradish.

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But, like I said, I don’t enjoy steamed (or boiled) shrimp.

Fortunately for me, Joe is not a great planner. He bought 2 pounds of shrimp this year, but he neglected to check the status of our vinegar. We don’t have any.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at 5:30 pm on New Year’s Eve, there are no stores open that sell white vinegar. Even if there was, the clouds are currently releasing a fine drizzle that’s turning to ice upon contact with the road. Going to buy some was out of the question.

What we do have lots of, thanks to Christmas baking, is butter, and butter makes everything better. I was concerned that the vinegar contributed a necessary acidic zip to the shrimp, so I told Joe to throw in some lemon juice (because we had some of that, too).

I know. Cooking shrimp in butter is not the best way to start my healthier eating plan. Let’s ignore that point for a moment.

I ate 8 of the little shrimpies, and they were very tasty. I approve.

Joe's Rich Buttered Old Bay Shrimp Recipe

This rich butter shrimp recipe uses Old Bay, butter, and lemon juice to prepare the very best shrimp you'll ever eat! Once you've had buttered Old Bay shrimp, you'll never prepare shrimp another way.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Gluten-free, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs shrimp
• 1 stick butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Old Bay (less if you prefer it to be more mild)
• Spicy cocktail sauce for serving

Instructions

 

• Melt the stick of butter in the largest skillet you have. Add the garlic, lemon juice, and Old Bay. Stir it around to combine.
• Add the shrimp and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until pink.
• Peel and devein the shrimp and serve with a dollop of cocktail sauce.

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Photo courtesy of slopjob on Flickr

© 2009 – 2018, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.