Pickled Shrimp

By Tamar Adler

Pickled Shrimp
Grant Cornett for The New York Times. Food stylist: Michelle Gatton. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.
Rating
4(252)
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Shrimp season is summer and fall in marshy coastal Georgia and South Carolina and in the Louisiana Gulf. If you can find shrimp from any of those places at those times of year, get enough for eating for several weeks, and make this marinated or pickled shrimp, which lasts that long. There is a version of a recipe for this everywhere, over eons, including in Sciappi’s "The Works." His recipe is for a fish called gilthead, but the method and result are almost identical. Something very similar to this exact recipe was popular through the middle of last century as Pickled Shrimp, or Shrimp Sea Island. And the Alabama chef Frank Stitt has a recipe almost exactly like this one, in one of his fine cookbooks.

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Ingredients

  • 2pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
  • 4scallions, mostly white, quartered or in eighths lengthwise
  • 2cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise, very thinly
  • ½cup lemon juice
  • ¼cup white-wine vinegar
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1½teaspoons fennel seed
  • 1½teaspoons coriander
  • 10dried chiles, broken once or left whole
  • 1pod cardamom
  • 1lemon, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1cup olive oil
  • ¼cup roughly chopped fresh oregano

    • Court Bouillon Ingredients

    • a few peppercorns
    • 4bay leaves
    • ¼onion and/or leek
    • 1clove garlic
    • a few sprigs fresh thyme or oregano
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

288 calories; 22 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 19 grams protein; 351 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make court bouillon for shrimp: Put a few peppercorns, 4 bay leaves, ¼ onion and/or leek, 1 clove garlic and a few sprigs fresh thyme or oregano in a pot of water. Bring to a boil, and let cook 15 minutes. Then add 1 teaspoon salt and shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes at below a boil. Remove shrimp with a strainer.

  2. Step 2

    In separate bowl, combine all other ingredients except oil and oregano. Let sit 5 minutes. Add shrimp. Mix well. Add oil, and mix. Add oregano, and mix. Serve at least 5 hours later and ideally the next day, cold or room temperature.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
252 user ratings
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Comments

frazeej

Did I read correctly that the pickled shrimp will last several weeks?

MC Majumdar

Coriander seeds? coriander powder? coriander leaves?? (aka cilantro) - give us a clue!

Alice

Actually, you really don't want to put the shrimp in an ice bath when you take them out of the pot. Since they "cook" for only 2-3 minutes, they're not really done at this point, so residual cooking is a good thing. And if they're still warm when they go into the marinade, they will absorb the flavors and seasonings much better. A cold shrimp will not benefit from the marinade.

Aenneken

Incredible. I cannot get over the unique flavor of this. Love, love, love!!! I followed other reviewers' recommendations and steamed the shrimp & cut the EVOO by about half. SO good!!

Karen

Made it one day in advance. Used 1/2 olive oil, and added sweet onions, thinly sliced on the mandolin. My friends loved it.

DML

So very disappointing. I followed the recipe, making no changes. Within 24 hours the shrimp were nicely pickled, but had a very unpleasant bitter after taste. Adding the thinly sliced lemon (with all that bitter pith) was a BIG mistake. My showstopper Thanksgiving appetizer quickly became a very uninteresting cheese plate. I might try it again...but definitely omitting the sliced lemon. (BTW: we did serve it with a sign "Experimental Recipe: No Money Back Guarantee")

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