Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Summer is such a great time for fresh seafood. Is seafood really better in the summer? Do fish taste different during one season or another? I have no idea. But to me, being at the beach in the summer and picking up fresh seafood just screams summer


For the 4th of July, My Guy and I went to Rockport, Texas with my family. Rockport is right along the water so we had seafood literally every day during our 5 day stay there. Here's just some of what we ate:



Most of the above are from restaurants but I was just dying to cook some seafood on my own for the blog! So mid-morning we drove to the shrimp lady. Every day around 11 or 12 the fresh shrimp catch of the day comes in. It doesn't get any fresher than seeing the shrimp boat next to the bait stand. If you can't get shrimp this fresh, remember to look for fresh wild shrimp from the butcher counter. Fresh and wild are always better than farmed and frozen. But if the frozen is on sale that will work too!



We bought about 2 pounds of the large shrimp [not jumbo]. Remember that shrimp will be peeled and shrink up when cooked so make sure to account for that depending on how many you are serving.

First, wash your shrimp in cold water. Then peel your shrimp. I threw my shells away because I was on vacation, but I read if you were really ambitious that you could keep your shells to make a seafood broth later. I might not be that industrious but if you are more power to you!


I hope that makes sense. I think peeling is less hard than knowing how to de-vein. Don't worry if you mess up the first few shrimp you are peeling, no one will notice in a batch of dozens. 


On to de-veining.  I think de-veining [I don't think that is a word but I am using it anyways] is a mystery to some people. De-vein is a nice way of saying to de-poop the shrimp. Yes, that noticeable black trail on the top side really is remnants from the digestive tract. De-vein is just a nice word. The black vein underneath really is a vein, I think. 


The rule for de-veining is that if its black it needs to go but if it's thin and white it can stay. Additionally, de-veining is only necessary for larger shrimp as it would be practically impossible for the smaller ones. 




Sorry that had to be so graphic but I wanted it to be clear. I couldn't not do a step-by-step for my readers, it just wouldn't be fair! 


Now on to the good looking stuff. 


Heat some olive oil over high heat in a skillet. Throw in your shrimp with the lemons, garlic, garlic salt, parsley, red pepper flakes and white wine/water. 





As always, if you don't want the spiciness you can omit the red pepper but I think it gives a nice flavor. 




Stir this up and let it smell wonderful before you remove the shrimp from the heat, about 3-5 minutes. They will turn pink and become substantially smaller. Add additional wine/water if you want more of a sauce at the end. 




You can then serve them as they are with rice or keep them in the skillet and toss the sauce and shrimp with some angel hair pasta which would be delicious. Squeeze some fresh lemon on them to finish them off and enjoy! 






Lemon Garlic Shrimp
The Apron Gal


Ingredients
2 pounds peeled and de-veined large shrimp
1 large lemon or 2 small
2 cloves garlic in large slices
1/2 cup [ish] roughly chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine/ white cooking wine [or water if you don't have either]
2 tsp red pepper flakes
olive oil
dash of garlic salt.

Directions
Wash, peel and de-vein shrimp. Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil over high heat. Add shrimp, lemon, white wine, garlic salt, parsley and garlic.

Cook 3-5 minutes while stirring over medium high heat, until shrimp are pink and no longer translucent. Toss with pasta if desired or serve with rice. Finish with sprigs of parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Enjoy!

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1 comment:

  1. This is exactly how I make lemon garlic shrimp! Soo delicious!!

    ReplyDelete

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