By Lynda Balslev | TasteFood
When the living is easy in the summertime, the cooking should be easy, too. Open a bottle of beer and a tin of Old Bay Seasoning, and you are good to go with this simple and flavorful shrimp recipe. Using beer as a steaming liquid lends a mildly sweet and hoppy flavor to the shrimp. Choose a light ale or lager, or a citrusy IPA for best results. The rest of the flavor relies on a generous dusting of dried spices, aka Old Bay Seasoning.
Old Bay Seasoning is a famous spice blend that was created in Baltimore, Maryland, to season seafood — especially crab. You can certainly tinker with your own spice blend for this recipe, but the precise ingredients and amounts in Old Bay are a well-guarded trade secret. Suffice to say that its lengthy list of ingredients includes (among others) celery salt, paprika, mustard powder, cayenne and black pepper, plus hints of warm spices, such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Since we’re talking easy living (and cooking) for this recipe, you can simply purchase a tin of Old Bay in any well-stocked supermarket.
The homemade dipping sauce that accompanies the shrimp will bring you the satisfaction of creating something entirely from scratch. It’s a traditional red cocktail sauce, infused with lemon and horseradish, with the addition of sweet paprika and celery salt to tie it to the Old Bay.
Beer-steamed Old Bay Shrimp
Active time: 15 to 20 minutes
Total time: 15 to 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 3 to 4 as an appetizer
Cocktail Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 heaping tablespoon drained prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of Tabasco
1 pound large (18/20) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, such as a light ale or lager, or a citrusy IPA
1/4 cup water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Lemon wedges for serving
Chopped Italian parsley leaves for garnish
Whisk the cocktail sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Place the shrimp on a plate. Sprinkle the Old Bay all over the shrimp to evenly coat.
Combine the beer, water and lemon juice in a pot fitted with a metal steamer basket. (The liquid should not be higher than the bottom of the steamer basket). Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the shrimp to the steamer basket. Cover the pot and steam over medium heat until the shrimp are bright pink in color and opaque through the centers, 4 to 6 minutes, depending on size.
Transfer the shrimp to a serving plate. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley. Serve with the cocktail sauce.
Lynda Balslev is an award-winning writer, cookbook author, and recipe developer based in northern California. Visit TasteFood at TasteFoodblog.com.