During the last, great days of summer, the Gulf Coast shrimp move from the coastal estuaries into deeper water. They've grown, and it's common to find U-12's and U-10's at our local seafood shops. (That means there are Under 12 head-on shrimp in a pound.)
These jumbos are a bit trickier to cook, but well worth the effort - they taste delicious. We marinate them in beer and our GirlsonaGrill Pepper Sauce, then grill them over a hot charcoal fire. We serve them up with our GirlsonaGrill Remoulade Sauce, and "Ooooo, la la!" We think we are really going to miss summer.
2 lb U-10 or U-12 shrimp, cleaned, peeled and de-veined, leaving the tail section of shell on
1 cup beer (we like Abita Amber or Corona)
1/2 cup GOG Pepper Sauce
1 Tbs GOG Cajun Rub
about 20 cherry tomatoes for skewering
skewers, soaked in water for 20 mins.
Put the shrimp in a large Ziploc bag and pour the other ingredients on top. Shake to mix, and let the shrimp soak about 1-2 hours - NOT MORE - the acid in the marinade will start to cook the shrimp!
Start the shrimp directly over a medium fire until they have grill marks, turning once, then move them to a foil tray. Give them a spritz of beer (you will have some left in the bottle from the marinade...yeah, right! What were we thinking?) and let them cook on the cool side of the grill for no longer than 10-15 mins. Rotate the foil tray occasionally - but don't overcook them! They're done when they are opaque, not rubber!
Serve them with a lettuce, tomato and smoked artichoke salad with our fabulous Remoulade Sauce. Don't plan on having leftovers!
Remoulade Sauce (make this a day ahead)
1/2 cup Zatarain's Creole Mustard
1//2 cup Hellmann's Mayonaise
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 rib of celery, chopped fine
2 small green onions, sliced fine
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Crystal Hot Sauce
2 Tbs hot paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp white pepper
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs olive oil
Combine all ingredients and whisk well. Put it in a Ball or Mason Jar and refrigerate overnight. Will keep at least a week in the fridge.
