Shrimp Two Ways

Oh my goodness do I ever love shrimp. They are so very delicious. I am a lucky girl and my mama lives down on the Georgia coast. I get lots of what I think are the best shrimp in the world on a regular basis from mama's friend, Charlie (Charlie is a commercial seafood captain and not only keeps me in the shrimp, but also provides unbelievable whole fish and bags of the amazing clams he cultivates). I keep vacuum sealed bags of the shrimp in my freezer and they can quickly be de-thawed for an easy weeknight dinner (just place them in a colander and run cold water over the shrimp until thawed through). There are two ways I cook shrimp most often and they both involve a good bit of butter, but it is totally worth it. Trust me on this one. I like to serve the shrimp with rice and broccoli or a simple green salad. The scampi style shrimp can also be turned into a pasta dish if you prefer that to rice.

Scampi Style Shrimp

Approximately 1 lb (20-25 count) shrimp, peeled with tail left on, and deveined if necessary
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
small handful of parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
zest of half a lemon
1/2 cup white wine (honestly I use whatever is open in the fridge)
salt to taste
2 tablespoons of butter
* a note on butter - when I am cooking I always use unsalted butter. I prefer to add the salt myself rather than having it built in to the butter.

Heat olive oil in a big skillet that has a top over medium low heat for a couple minutes
you want the oil to get warm, but you are going to add the garlic first and you do not want it to brown
Add in your minced garlic and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, add in pepper flakes, lemon zest, and parsley
Turn the heat up to medium and add in the shrimp, get everything good and coated
Turn the heat up a little more to med high, add the wine and then stick a top on it
Let all that goodness work its magic for about 5-7 minutes then pull the top off
Give everything a good stir, add in the 2 tablespoons of butter and adjust the saltiness
Turn off the heat and at this point either spoon over rice or toss with hot pasta

Shrimp New Orleans BBQ Style (pictured above)

You can make this shrimp either stove top in a skillet or under the broiler in a roasting pan
If making under broiler then just toss everything together in roasting pan and cook at 450 degrees or broil on low until shrimp is cooked through. The sauce will make itself in the pan. Taste and adjust sauce when you take it out of the oven.
If making stove top then follow the steps below
I want to warn you that these measurements are my best approximation. In my experience this is a dish that likes to be fiddled with and adjusted.

Approximately 1 lb (20-25 count) shrimp, peeled with tail left on, and deveined if you like
1/4 cup olive oil (you know the drill...good qual, extra virgin)
4 tablespoons butter divided
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
a couple shakes of hot sauce (I like Crystal brand)
juice and zest of one lemon
Start by heating oil and 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat
Add shrimp, garlic and stir
Add everything else except the last two tablespoons of butter
Give everything another stir so that the shrimp is coated in all the yummy sauce and then let the shrimp cook through, approximately 5-7 minutes, depending on the heat of your burner
When shrimp has cooked through and sauce seems consistent add in last two tablespoons of butter and then spoon over rice. I like to serve this with steamed broccoli because the sauce tastes great on it too!