Take the time to properly butterfly the shrimps before cooking and you’ll get better results. I like medium-sized shrimps but any size will do. The freshest wild shrimps taste the best. If you must use farmed shrimp and/or if the shrimp is not very fresh, add about 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika and, if you like, a shot of sweet Sherry or Vermouth, to the butterflied shrimp and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to enliven the not-so-fresh or freezer burned taste. Take care not to overcook the shrimp or they will become rubbery, not succulent.
One recipe Cheesy Grits (click here).
Shrimp Jambalaya Topping for Grits
Ingredients
2 lbs. peeled, butterflied and deveined shrimp (click here for how-to)
8 oz. (about 2) Andouille sausage links (I like Aidell’s brand)
1 cup diced bell pepper (green, yellow, orange, red or mixed)
1 medium onion cut into ¼ inch dice (regular yellow onion works better than sweet onion)
2 large cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, then finely chopped
4 Roma tomatoes or one 8 oz. can whole tomatoes
Hot pepper sauce (I like Crystal or Shark Brand Thai Sriracha)
Olive Oil
Garlic salt
Black pepper
4 green onions (scallions), sliced into thin 1/8” rings
Quarter bunch of flat leafed parsley or Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Directions
Heat a 12” saucepan on medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add 1 tsp olive oil to heated pan and swirl to coat.
Add the chopped Andouille sausage and sauté until fat is rendered and sausage begins to brown, about 1-2 minutes depending on the fattiness of the sausage.
Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat. Push the sausage to the side of the pan or scoop into a bowl and set aside.
Add chopped peppers and onions, and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. Push mixture to side of pan or scoop into the bowl with the cooked sausages.
Add an additional ½ teaspoon of olive oil to pan and heat until hot but not smoking.
Add chopped garlic and shrimp to pan and stir until shrimp just begins to turn opaque.
Mix shrimp with rest of sausage, onion and pepper mixture in the pan. Season with garlic salt, black pepper and hot sauce to taste.
Saute until shrimp is cooked through, about 30 seconds to a minute.
As soon as shrimp is cooked remove pan from heat and sprinkle mixture with chopped parsley and green onions. Served on top of cheesy grits or rice.
