New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

By Mark Bittman

Updated June 23, 2023

  • Craig Lee for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(920)
Comments
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Barbecue shrimp is an old New Orleans recipe that has nothing to do with barbecue or with grilling. Its name comes from the spicy, smoky flavor the shrimp derive from being cooked with Worcestershire sauce and lots of black pepper. It is a fine and almost absurdly fast dish — once the shrimp are peeled, you can have it on the table in 10 minutes — with a rich, savory sauce that completely belies the little effort it takes. But as I discovered once I started playing around with it, the key ingredient is neither Worcestershire sauce nor pepper, but rather butter. If you start with about a tablespoon for each serving of shrimp, you can add almost any flavor you like and create a sauce with the same creaminess and rich flavor. But start with Worcestershire sauce and pepper!

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Barbecue That Isn't

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 1 ½ to 2 pounds peeled shrimp

  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire or soy sauce

  • Salt to taste

  • ½ teaspoon or more fresh black pepper

  • Juice of 1 lemon

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

3 grams carbs; 350 milligrams cholesterol; 283 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 678 milligrams sodium; 41 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put butter in skillet, and turn heat to high; when it melts, add garlic, shrimp and Worcestershire or soy sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and shrimp uniformly pink, about 5 minutes. If sauce threatens to dry out, add a tablespoon or two of water.

  2. Step 2

    When shrimp are done, add salt and pepper, then lemon juice. Serve over rice or with bread.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
920 user ratings
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Comments

Usha

Just FYI. In NOLA the shrimp aren’t peeled. Part of the head is snipped off. The fatty part on the top of head stays on. Can’t do this starting with frozen shrimp. Use fresh caught wild. Then lots of butter pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Need good fresh French bread for mopping up sauce

Stephen F

This recipe is really good, either as written or with additional butter and Worcestershire sauce. But unless your shrimp are the size of a standard SUV, cooking them for 5 minutes over high heat is a risky proposition. I get the butter, garlic and Worcestershire going, and then add the shrimp for 3 minutes. If they need more time, they get it (unlikely they will), but you don't run the danger of ending up with leather after 5 minutes.

Bruce J

Do not remove the shells, they add flavor to the sauce and to the shrimp. A bit messy but that's part of the NOLA experience. Also, don't forget a baguette, break off chunks to sop up the sauce.

p

Had high hopes for this dish due to the comments, and was really disappointed. Little to no flavor at all. Seemed too good to be true that such a simple dish could have great flavors, and turns out it was.

LAP3

Very good as written. But I highly recommend going extra on the butter, Worcestershire, garlic, and adding a non-trivial amount of red pepper flakes. It’s fantastic this way.

cwm3rd

Love this, but as others have noted, the shrimp cook in 3-ish minutes, not 5. We serve them over our favorite baked cheese grits for a delicious variation on shrimp and grits.

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