Mr. B's Bistro Barbecue Shrimp

In honor of The Wife and my upcoming trip to New Orleans, I wanted to set the mood with a little local fare. We're going for my work, and will be having dinner one evening at Ralph's on the Park. The signature restaurant of Ralph Brennan.

Owen Brennan was the patriarch of the Brennan family and put New Orleans and creole/cajun cuisine on the map. Emeril learned to cook in his kitchen at the Commander's Palace. Now the family name is carried on by three cousins - Ralph, Dickie and Cindy Brennan, each with a handful of restaurants. So I thought it only fitting to try out a Brennan recipe.

I went with the recipe for BBQ Shrimp from Mr. B's Bistro. BBQ Shrimp in New Orleans isn't barbecue as we tend to think of it in the Capital of the Confederacy, but rather, a generic term for sauteed shrimp - and this is the perfect recipe!

A lot of New Orleans cooking requires a ton of ingredients and time to let flavors develop - not this recipe. It's surprisingly quick, and packed with flavor and spice. The two kinds of black pepper really come through, and the lemon provides just the right amount of background "tang".

Now, be forewarned, this is not a healthy recipe by any stretch of the imagination, but please believe me when I tell you it is so worth it. If you're going to have a cheat night - or a "calories don't count tonight" night, use this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

I was impressed with how perfect it came together making it for the first time. I think that's the true telling of a great recipe. This is elegantly simple, but a surprisingly complex taste. 

Ingredients:

1 lb Shrimp, deveined but shell on

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

Juice of 1/2 of a large lemon - or one small lemon

2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp cracked black pepper

2 tsp creole seasoning

1 tsp minced garlic

3 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Crusty French Bread

Directions:

In a cold heavy pan or dutch oven, combine the shrimp, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, peppers, creole seasoning and garlic all together. Bring the pan to medium to medium high and continually stir with a wooden spoon, until shrimp turn pink - only about 2-4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low, and add butter - just a few cubes at a time, stirring constantly. Only add more butter when all of the butter in the pan has melted. This will create an amazingly velvety emulsion.

When you've added all of the butter, remove from heat and place shrimp in a bowl and pour sauce over top of this.

Serve with a side of crusty, warm bread. Do not make the bread optional. When you taste the sauce, you'll wish you had more.

Enjoy!