A few years ago, I remember eating barbecue shrimp as a band played and a pianist worked the keyboard of an old, upright piano in the corner of a house-turned restaurant. I vaguely remember the festive music, but definitely can’t forget the shells-on shrimp appetizer. Because I always ate this dish at that restaurant, I associate these spicy, buttery shrimp with happy music and hard-working musicians.
This recipe for barbecue shrimp is not cooked on a grill or brushed with a sweet barbecue sauce. Instead, it is a New Orleans-style barbecue recipe with butter, seasonings, and spices. Traditionally, this dish was made with a lot of butter, but many health-conscious recipes omit more than half of the butter, as does this one.
This recipe also removes the shells from the shrimp before cooking. The shells will create a very flavorful dish, but there is the inconvenience of peeling shells from sauce-covered shrimp. I removed the shells in this recipe just to make it easier to eat.
Perhaps the best thing about this dish, other than its delicious taste, is that it is unexpectedly easy to prepare. It is a one-pan recipe that cooks very quickly so any accompanying side dishes need to be prepared first.
You can serve it as an appetizer or as a main dish served with rice. Either way, be sure to have plenty of sliced French bread for soaking up the sauce!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 pounds of large or jumbo raw shrimp (or frozen shrimp)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 4 teaspoons minced garlic from a jar)
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (Old Bay used)
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, dried
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (Texas Pete used)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced (only use green part)
- 1 baguette French bread, sliced
Ingredients
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- Remove the shells and tails from the shrimp. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the butter, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, Creole seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, pepper, and hot sauce. On medium-low heat, melt the butter and stir all the ingredients together to make the sauce. Bring to a boil.
- Add the shrimp and spread out so they are in one layer if possible. Cook for one minute and turn them over and cook for one more minute.
- Add the wine and place the sliced lemons on top of the shrimp. Cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the shrimp are cooked.
- Place the shrimp and some sauce in bowls and garnish with green onion, Serve with French bread for dipping in the sauce. This dish also goes well with rice.
For aesthetics, you can leave on the shrimp tails if you like the look or want to serve this as an appetizer instead of the main meal.
The recipe directions are the same for cooking with the shells left on versus removing them; just make sure the shrimp are fully cooked before serving.
If fresh shrimp is not available, use frozen bagged shrimp that has the shells cut for easy removal.
Shrimp thaws very quickly in warm water and will be ready to peel by the time you put together the sauce.
A light-colored beer can be substituted in place of the wine in this recipe. If you do not want to use alcohol, substitute chicken stock.