Recipe

New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients

3 pounds medium to large shrimp in the shell (preferably head-on), washed well (or 1 ½ pounds deheaded shrimp still in their shell) *See note below
2 sticks of butter or margarine
½ cup olive oil
1 cup minced onion
½ cup minced celery
½ cup minced bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 lemon, plus ½ lemon thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 ½ tablespoons Emeril’s Original Essence or other Creole seasoning
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced parsley, for garnishing
Warm crusty bread for serving, such as French or Italian loaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pat the shrimp dry and place them in a large ovenproof baking dish while you prepare the sauce.

Combine the butter, olive oil, onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened but do not allow to color, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce, Creole seasoning, black pepper, salt and bay leaves and stir to combine. Pour the hot seasoned butter mixture over the shrimp and stir in the lemon slices. Transfer to the oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 14 to 18 minutes. (The shrimp should just be starting to pull away from their shells.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Serve warm, with lots of fresh French or Italian bread for dipping in the butter sauce. Bibs are encouraged!