Fresh shrimp, cooked in a spicy Creole tomato sauce and served over a bed of hot steaming rice. Served here with my cucumber and onion salad, sweet tea and hot French bread.
Shrimp Creole
Folks down here make shrimp creole in all sorts of ways - some are very thin and soupy, others are thick and much more dry - but without a doubt all include The Trinity. I think that mine falls right in the middle, a little on the thick side but not dry.True to many of our seafood dishes along the Gulf Coast, this one has a goodly little kick to it, not so much to burn your mouth or take over the flavor of the dish, though you might just clear out your sinuses a bit, so adjust those spicy seasonings down if you want to tone down the heat.
Gulf shrimp are number one for me, living here on the Gulf Coast, but if you're using a packaged, frozen shrimp, I know you've heard me talk about using shrimp from the United States and not from a foreign source. You'll find out where your shrimp are from if you flip over the package and usually way down the back corner somewhere you'll find the words "product of" and the country of origin. If you have only ever eaten imported seafood in my humble opinion, you've never really eaten seafood - I know because I've tasted that stuff. Foreign imported seafood is often not well regulated and chemical laden, but usually cheap though remember, you get what you pay for, so buy American and when you can, try our wild caught Gulf shrimp. I'm pretty partial to it myself.
For this dish you'll want a good size medium shrimp - somewhere around 31-35 count at the largest really - but please for all that is holy, don't use jumbo shrimp in a dish like this. It's not appropriate and doesn't let the flavor of the Creole sauce shine through. Save those colossals and jumbos for some New Orleans style barbecue shrimp or for grilling or stuffing.
Here's how to make my fabulous shrimp creole. I hope that you enjoy it!
First, peel and devein a pound of shrimp. You'll want a medium sized shrimp for this dish - about 30 count to a pound. A shrimp peeler makes an easy job of this if you are using fresh shrimp. Rinse well and pat dry with paper towels to remove most of the moisture. Set aside.

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Recipe: Shrimp Creole
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: About 4 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1 pound of (31-35 count) medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (28-ounce) can of whole tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun or Creole seasoning, or to taste
- Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- Couple dashes of hot sauce, optional, to taste
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- Hot, steamed rice
Peel and devein the shrimp, rinsing well. Pat dry with some paper towels and set aside.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil and butter together over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, green bell pepper and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Whirl the tomatoes through the food processor just until crushed, leaving some texture; add to the veggie mixture. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, garlic and bay leaf and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until reduced and thickened.
To thicken, make a slurry of the flour and water and stir into the tomato mixture. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning and add immediately to the tomato mixture. Add a couple of shakes of the Worcestershire sauce and the hot sauce, and stir together. Cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until shrimp is opaque and cooked through. Stir in the green onion and parsley and keep on low until well incorporated and heated through. Serve over steamed rice with hot French bread and butter and a salad.
Cook's Note: Double the sauce portion if desired for a wetter sauce.
Shrimp Creole Soup: Prepare as above, except before adding shrimp, stir in 3 cups seafood or shrimp stock and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp and proceed with recipe.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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A shrimp peeling tool makes an easy job of peeling and deveining small to medium sized, fresh, raw shrimp, all in one swoop! |
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