Raw shrimps briefly cooked in garlic flavored butter. Some lemon juice and fresh herbs and there you have it. Super easy and extremely flavorful, this recipe can also be done with a plancha or with a griddle.
Sea food lovers, this recipe is for you. In France it’s among the easy recipes we like to prepare with np fuss, suc as mackerel filled with mustard that we grill on the barbecue or salmon rillettes to serve as a spread with a glass of white wine or fancy kir royal at l’apéro.
In this post
How to choose your shrimp
Prioritize the freshness and the quality of the shrimp. They should be firm, have no brown spots or a weird smell to them.
It is recommended to buy your shrimps whole with the head and shell and to eat them within the next 24 to 28 hours after being bought. Otherwise, I highly recommend freezing them when you get home until you wish to use them.
How to prepare your shrimp
Firstly, vigorously clean your shrimp and dry them out with an absorbent paper.
To peel them, remove the head by cutting it at the base, between the head and the meat.
Then peel them by removing the shell, do so by spreading it away from the meat between the legs. You can either fully remove the shell from the shrimp, or you can leave the tail attached at the end of the shrimp. The latter option is nicer when it comes to presentation, as well as easier to eat if presented as a snacking option at a buffet or as an appetizer as you can grab it by the tail.
For an easier and quicker preparation as well as tasting, don’t hesitate to remove it all, the shell and the tail.
Then you must also devein the shrimp, remove the small black line. This tube corresponds to the intestine. You can find it along the full length of the shrimp near the legs.
Create a small incision along the length of the shrimp between the legs using a knife, simply go under the black tube and delicately pull it away to remove it.
This step is not obligatory but some say it may lead to some bitterness to the dish if you leave it. Personally, even if it is slightly time consuming, I tend to always remove it.
Rinse and sponge your shrimps one last time to remove all leftover organs and dirt that may still be there.
Don’t throw away the shrimp heads, you can use that to make a delicious shellfish aroma. You can freeze them and use them later when needed for your shellfish aroma. The shrimp shells have no gustatif benefits, you can throw it away.
How to cook raw shrimp
Even though in this recipe we will be using a pan or a griddle (plancha), I wanted to show you the various cooking methods when it comes to shrimp.
Cooking shrimps with a griddle or in a pan
Cooking shrimp with a pan is the quickest and easiest method. To do so, you simply need to heat some fat (olive oil, butter, coconut oil etc…) in a pan at medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add your peeled shrimps and simmer for about 2-3 minutes on each side until pink and opaque.
Use the same technique when using a plancha or a griddle.
Boiling shrimps
Heat up a large quantity of water. Once the water has reached a boil, plunge your shrimps in the water and let them cook for about 2-4 minutes depending on their size. You should see the shrimp quickly change color. The original slightly gray color of your shrimp should turn pink, and the slightly translucent effect your shrimp had should become fully opaque.
Once this happens you know your shrimps are cooked and ready.
Steaming shrimps
Cooking your shrimp by steaming them is the healthiest way to cook them whilst still maintaining their natural flavor. To do so, fill a large pan or a steam cooker with water and bring to a boil. Place your shrimps into a steam basket and place it above the water, making sure that your shrimp do not come into contact with the water. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until they become pink and opaque.
Cooking shrimps on the BBQ
Cover your shrimps with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place your shrimp on the grill. Sear for a few minutes on each side until they change color and are fully cooked.
Another option is to marinate your shrimp before cooking it. Marinate it by for example mixing olive oil and lemon zest (not too much lemon juice as it would cook them), or adding some fresh ginger, minced garlic, herbs and or spices, soy sauce and so on, there are many more marinade possibilities you can choose from.
Information about the recipe
- Firstly, make sure to follow my advice given earlier on how to wash, peel and devein your shrimps. For this recipe I removed the head, the shell but kept the tail as it is prettier when it comes to presentation. You can however choose to remove them. Dry them well
- Start by melting some butter with oil whilst you mince garlic. In this recipe you will be using a lot of garlic, but do not worry, your shrimps will be flavorful but not strong.
- Then start to slowly simmer your garlic in the butter and oil mixture. This will perfume the fat used to cook the shrimp.
- You can then add your shrimp, let simmer for about 2-3 minutes, not more than 5 minutes on each side, use a medium heat to cook the shrimp until the are no longer translucent and gray but opaque and pink
- Once cooked you can add your lemon juice, mix, and now your shrimps are ready.
- You can then cover with freshly chopped herbs, coriander, parsley, or chives. Serve immediately.
An adaptation could be to add cream or coconut milk to make into a deliciously creamy sauce.
Serve with rice, pasta or with sole veggies to make a complete meal.
For this recipe I bought rather large shrimps. I had about 32 shrimps for 1,2 kilos. It was the perfect quantity for 4 people, it was about 8 big shrimps per person.
To make this recipe even more French, add cream in the sauce!
If you have any shrimp leftovers, you can use them to make skewers with some mango bite or some litchi which offer a nice contrast. You can also lay them out on an avocado toast perfect for a brunch or an on the go breakfast.
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Instructions
Prepare the shrimp
- Peel the shrimp by removing the head and the shell. You can either keep or remove the tail
- With the help of a knife, make a small incision alongside the shrimp, remove the black tube
- Rinse them again and pat them dry with a absorbant paper
Prepare pan
- Peel and mince a garlic
- Heat some butter and olive oil in a pan
- Add the garlic and let simmer for 5-10 minutes on medium heat. The aim is not to overcook it but to let it flavor the grease
Cook the shrimp
- Place the shrimp in the pan nice and flat, cook them for about 2-3 minutes, flip them over and repeat. You will know they are cooked when they turn opaque and pink
- Remove shrimps and dress them in a plate. Pour the juice of 1 lemon in the pan with the remaining garlic flavored butter. Combine.
Serve
- Pour the sauce over the shrimps. You can sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately