Summer season recipe: Seize some shrimp, Previous Bay and a beer

By Lynda Balslev | TasteFood

When the dwelling is straightforward within the summertime, the cooking needs to be simple, too. Open a bottle of beer and a tin of Previous Bay Seasoning, and you might be good to go along with this straightforward and flavorful shrimp recipe. Utilizing beer as a steaming liquid lends a mildly candy and hoppy taste to the shrimp. Select a light-weight ale or lager, or a citrusy IPA for greatest outcomes. The remainder of the flavour depends on a beneficiant dusting of dried spices, aka Previous Bay Seasoning.

Previous Bay Seasoning is a well-known spice mix that was created in Baltimore, Maryland, to season seafood — particularly crab. You may actually tinker with your individual spice mix for this recipe, however the exact substances and quantities in Previous Bay are a well-guarded commerce secret. Suffice to say that its prolonged record of substances consists of (amongst others) celery salt, paprika, mustard powder, cayenne and black pepper, plus hints of heat spices, reminiscent of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Since we’re speaking simple dwelling (and cooking) for this recipe, you may merely buy a tin of Previous Bay in any well-stocked grocery store.

The home made dipping sauce that accompanies the shrimp will deliver you the satisfaction of making one thing fully from scratch. It’s a standard purple cocktail sauce, infused with lemon and horseradish, with the addition of candy paprika and celery salt to tie it to the Previous Bay.

Beer-steamed Previous Bay Shrimp

Energetic time: 15 to twenty minutesTotal time: 15 to twenty minutesYield: Serves 3 to 4 as an appetizer

Cocktail Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup1 heaping tablespoon drained ready horseradish1 tablespoon contemporary lemon juice1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1/2 teaspoon candy paprika1/4 teaspoon celery salt1/8 teaspoon freshly floor black pepperDash of Tabasco

1 pound massive (18/20) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Previous Bay Seasoning1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, reminiscent of a light-weight ale or lager, or a citrusy IPA1/4 cup waterJuice of 1/2 lemonLemon wedges for servingChopped Italian parsley leaves for garnish

Whisk the cocktail sauce substances in a bowl.

Place the shrimp on a plate. Sprinkle the Previous Bay all around the shrimp to evenly coat.

Mix the beer, water and lemon juice in a pot fitted with a steel steamer basket. (The liquid shouldn’t be greater than the underside of the steamer basket). Carry the liquid to a boil over medium-high warmth.

Add the shrimp to the steamer basket. Cowl the pot and steam over medium warmth till the shrimp are brilliant pink in colour and opaque by way of the facilities, 4 to six minutes, relying on dimension.

Switch the shrimp to a serving plate. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley. Serve with the cocktail sauce.

Lynda Balslev is an award-winning author, cookbook writer, and recipe developer based mostly in northern California. Go to TasteFood at TasteFoodblog.com.