BBQ shrimp is a delicious yet confusing New Orleans classic. It has "BBQ" in the name, yet does not touch a grill nor have any amount of BBQ sauce in it. Then why is it called "BBQ Shrimp" you ask? We have no fucking idea!! Regardless of the tom-foolery in the name, this wonderful creation is the invention of Uptown landmark Pascal's Manale, another confusing name... like who in the hell is "Pascal" and what in God's name is a "Manale"? Well we have an answer to that one. In 1913 Frank Manale bought a little corner grocery store in Uptown New Orleans and opened up "Manale's Restaurant". It was a family operation and Frank's nephew, a guy named "Pascal Radosta" worked the bar. When ole Frank passed away, Pascal took over operations and later wanted his namesake to be a part of the joint; so to respect his late uncle, he left "Manale" but added "Pascal's" in front... clever, right? Kinda like how Ruth bought "Chris' Steakhouse" and added her name in the front and transformed it into the overpriced conglomerate "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse" that we all love... until we get the bill, Anyway, back to the shrimp... The BBQ shrimp came about when one of Pascal's buddies from Chicago came into the restaurant raving about some dish he had back home and wanted the chef to attempt to make it. He basically told the chef that it had "shrimp, and lots of butter and pepper". The chef took that and added a New Orleans spin and VOILA!... BBQ Shrimp was born! (still no clue why it's called "BBQ")
In the Beer Down Here Test Kitchen, we decided to take this classic New Orleans dish and incorporate some amazing local craft beer into it. We took it a step further and made "BBQ Shrimp and Grits" but if you're too lazy to cook the grits, grab you a big ole loaf of French bread and sop up all that delicious juice with it... or use it to make a BBQ Shrimp Po-Boy... it's your BBQ shrimp... we're not gonna tell you what to do with it.
BBQ Shrimp Recipe:
Ingredients:
2lbs fresh Louisiana shrimp (heads on will add more flavor, but heads off will equal less mess)
1-1/2 links Andouille sausage
2 sticks unsalted butter (cut into 1/4" slices)
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1/3 cup diced onions
1 lemon (juiced)
8 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp hot sauce
Instructions:
Add olive oil to large pan and saute onions, garlic, and Andouille until browned
Add shrimp, Worcestershire, rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, cayenne, and lemon juice, stiring well until shrimp are light pink.
Add the Slackwater Brown Ale to de-glaze the pan, making sure you scrape off all the browned goodness all at the bottom!
Cook the shrimp until fully cooked and remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Begin adding the butter, a few pads at a time while stirring constantly to mix thoroughly.
Continue simmering until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. DISCLAIMER: keep any french bread away from the kitchen during the cooking process. We ate about half a loaf while cooking and barely had any sauce left for the shrimp and grits!
Cool slightly and add peeled shrimp back to sauce
Ladle your delicious BBQ shrimp and sauce over a nice bowl of grits, or make yourself a BBQ shrimp po-boy,... or even just dump that shit in a bowl and sop up all that glorious sauce with some warm, lightly toasted French bread!
Regardless of how you eat it, try pairing it with Port Orleans Ella! Pilsner. or their Storyville IPA to really blow the socks off of your dinner guest!
As always, don't forget to tag us on social media @beerdownhere and #beerdownhere and let us know what you think of this dish!
Cheers!
Comments