Cast Iron Jumbo Shrimp Food

SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.
• While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.
• Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

SHRIMP WITH GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with 1/4 inch olive oil. Add the garlic and crushed chiles to the oil and cook until the garlic starts to sizzle and is very aromatic, then add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp turns pink, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice, then add the anise liqueur and carefully ignite. Cook until the flame subsides. Season with salt and serve with crusty bread to sop up the delicious olive oil!

SHRIMP SCAMPI

Steps:

• Put the shrimp on a large disposable pie pan or paper plate and pat them completely dry with a paper towel. Arrange the shrimp so they lay flat and are evenly spaced.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet. When the foaming subsides, raise the heat to high and invert the plate of shrimp over the skillet so the shrimp fall into the pan all at once. Cook the shrimp, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
• Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the vermouth and lemon juice. Boil the liquid until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir the lemon zest and parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the shrimp, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
• Divide the shrimp among plates or arrange on a platter and serve.

BACON-WRAPPED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• If your shrimp are not deveined when you buy them, use kitchen shears to cut down the back of the shrimp (the top or longer side) and remove the shell. You can leave the tail on or off, your preference (I remove it). With a pairing knife, slice into the shrimp along the backside and remove the vein if you see one.
• Also do not forget to remove the second vein along the bottom of the shrimp! You won't have to make a very deep cut there, just a slight score and you can scrape that smaller vein out. Note that if your shrimp did come deveined from the market, it will still have this smaller vein everytime so do remove it. Then rinse the shrimp under cold running water and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Lay a slice of bacon out on your cutting board and start wrapping the tail end of the shrimp at the small end of the bacon. As you tightly wrap, overlap each layer of the bacon until you get to the end. If you get to the end of the shrimp when you're halfway through the bacon, you're wrapping it too wide, try again.
• I like to sprinkle a tiny bit of kosher salt on each side, but that is my preference.
• Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. If you use a cast iron skillet, you won't need any oil as the shrimp will not stick, otherwise add just enough to coat the bottom. Sear the shrimp on each side for maybe 30 seconds and then finish them in the oven for about 6-8 minutes.
• Eat them with a knife and fork and enjoy!