Texas BBQ Shrimp & Creamy Jalapeño Grits
Makes 4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup smoked onions, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, divided
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup Shiner Bock beer
- 1 cup shrimp or seafood stock
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream, plus more if needed
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 pounds colossal fresh Gulf shrimp, head-on, tails and shell removed
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Creamy Jalapeño Grits (recipe follows)
- 4 lemons, cut in half, for serving
- Garnish: green onions or fresh parsley
Creamy Jalapeño Grits
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1½ cups water
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- 1 cup stone-ground grits, soaked in 2 cups water for 8 hours and strained
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, sweat smoked onions, garlic, rosemary, black pepper, and red pepper in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, about 2 minutes.
- Add Worcestershire, beer, and shrimp stock; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until thick and sticky, about 15 minutes.
- Add cream, and slowly whisk in 1 cup and 14 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Keep some extra cold cream nearby if the sauce starts to look greasy, it’s too hot or needs hydration and needs a splash of cream. If the sauce is looking stiff, you’re probably adding butter too quickly and it’s too cold. Slow down and let sauce warm up a little. Keep TX BBQ Butter warm until serving.
- In a large pan, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large cast-iron pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Season shrimp with salt and black pepper, and cook in batches until pink and firm. 7. Serve shrimp over Creamy Jalapeño Grits and top with mushrooms and TX BBQ Butter; serve with lemon and garnish with green onions or parsley, if desired.
Creamy Jalapeño Grits
- In a large pot, bring milk, water and jalapeño to a boil over high heat.
- Slowly whisk in grits, and bring back to a boil while whisking constantly.
- Reduce heat to low, and cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until grits are thick and tender. Add salt, cream cheese, and butter to finish grits. Keep warm until serving.
Notes
Note: Smoked onions aren’t essential in this recipe, but they bring lots of flavor. To smoke onions, cut yellow onions into 1-inch slices and smoke over mesquite for 45 minutes. Sliced raw yellow onions are a fine substitute.
