BBQ Shrimp New Orleans Style with Roasted Garlic Polenta

I am always in the kitchen making new food. If you are anything like me you get tired of the same things to eat. How many times can you have the same entrée’ on your plate? Today I was in the mood for down home cooking. I took a different approach to the typical shrimp and grits. I turned it up and made Polenta!

For those who don’t know what polenta is it’s cornmeal that is boiled into porridge. Basically it is grits but they are yellow. Before we get into preparation of the polenta let’s talk shrimp! I wanted to do something more interesting that just sautéed shrimp over grits.

So I went to my Cajun roots and made some spicy shrimp to go with the polenta. Now the BBQ Shrimp name is actually hilarious because the ingredients have no culinary nods to the grill or any of those typical grilling seasoning. Let me tell you what you need:

Shrimp 1.5 pounds or 2
2 tsp chopped Fresh Rosemary
half of Lemon Freshly squeezed
2 tsp Old Bay Season
Generous Amount Pepper (To Taste)
2 tsp of Paprika
2 tsp Fresh minced garlic or store brought
1 cup Homemade Shrimp Stock or Buy
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp Canola Oil

How to Make Homemade Shrimp Stock

Take Shrimp Shells and sauté with butter until fragrant. Then add 1 cup of chicken broth or water. Let the liquid reduce for 5-8 minutes and then strain the solids to separate from the liquid.

DO THESE STEPS FIRST:

Prep the shrimp for marination. Peel and devein your shrimp then add then to a bowl with 2 tbsp of canola oil. Also add paprika, old bay season, and the pepper. Mix these well and then place in the fridge for 2 hours for marination. If you are hungry right then you can get away with an hour.

Take a bulb of garlic cut the top off and add a tsp of olive oil on top. Then add salt and pepper and wrap it in foil tightly. Put the garlic bulb in the preheated oven of 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. When you remove the garlic you should be able to squeeze the bulb and the garlic will pour from it. You will use this in your polenta.

Ok let’s start with the polenta. On the stove with a sauce pan add 2 cups water and 1 cup milk. Into the milk and water mixture add salt, pepper, and 1 cup of polenta. With a whisk stir it in. Set your timer for 10 minutes and then whisk it more to avoid lumps in your polenta. You want to cook this a total of 25 minutes. Stirring every ten minutes. When you get to the last 10 minutes squeeze the roasted garlic in. Then taste for seasoning. At this point if it needs more salt or pepper add to taste.

Now that the polenta is completed turn the burner off and sit to the back of the stove. Preheat the biggest skillet you have to make it hot. Once it is hot add the marinated shrimp inside one by one. You will not need oil because the oil is on the shrimp. Sear on one side for one minute and then flip. Once you see that nice brown crust form on the shrimp add 3 knobs of butter, garlic, add the fresh rosemary.

Stir this for an additional minute. Add the shrimp stock and let the shrimp cook inside for another minute. Remove the shrimp and sit to the side.

Add the Worcestershire Sauce and then taste for salt. Reduce the stock for 5-8 minutes or desired thickness. Once it has reduced and at consistency you like re-add the shrimp to warm them through. Turn off the burner, plate up and eat. Enjoy Bareian Friends!

xoxo
Jersey