Name: Huge Cajun Shrimp
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1.5 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tsp kosher salt; 3/4 tsp black pepper; 4 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 tbsp olive oil; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 lemon, halved; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; 1 loaf crusty baguette (for serving)

Huge Cajun Shrimp

Prep

10m

Cook

Total

16m

Bigly says

Sit down for this one. Cajun shrimp. HUGE Cajun shrimp. The greatest Cajun shrimp in the history of Cajun shrimp — and listen, I've eaten shrimp in every corner of the Gulf, every shack on every back road, every little spot with three tables and a screen door, and I will tell you the best Cajun shrimp of my LIFE was in a gas station outside Lafayette, Louisiana, true story, a woman named Miss Audrey was running a hot plate behind the lottery counter, she handed me a paper boat of these shrimp, no fork, no napkin, she said, 'eat, baby,' and I ate, and I have been chasing that shrimp ever since. These come close. Hand on heart.

Most shrimp out there is SAD. Most shrimp is rubber. Most shrimp tastes like the inside of a freezer because that's where it's been sitting since 2019. And then the so-called chefs tell you to BOIL it. Boil! Like it's pasta! You do not boil a shrimp. You sear a shrimp. You give it a CRUST. You treat it with respect. If your chef tells you otherwise, find a new chef. Game over.

The secret is the spice blend, the BUTTER, the heat, and most importantly the timing. Shrimp cook in two minutes. Two. Minutes. Tough guys come up to me, men with the tears in the eyes, they say, 'Bigly, I cooked my shrimp for nine minutes,' and I have to tell them, gently, that what they ate was an eraser. An eraser with a tail. We do not do that here. We sear, we baste, we plate, we eat. Believe me.

Ingredients

1.5 lblarge shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on(16/20 count, fresh or thawed, dry as a desert)
2 tspsmoked paprika
1 tspsweet paprika
1.5 tspgarlic powder
1 tsponion powder
1 tspdried oregano
1 tspdried thyme
1/2 tspcayenne pepper(more if you're brave, less if you're sad)
1 tspkosher salt
3/4 tspblack pepper
4 tbspunsalted butter
1 tbspolive oil
4 clovesgarlic, minced
1lemon, halved
2 tbspfresh parsley, chopped
1 loafcrusty baguette (for serving)

Steps

1
Pat the shrimp completely dry with paper towels. Wet shrimp will not sear — they will steam, and steamed shrimp is a tragedy.
2
In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, sweet paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
3
Toss the dry shrimp with the spice mixture until evenly coated.
4
Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large cast iron or stainless skillet over medium-high heat until the butter foams and just begins to brown.
5
Add the shrimp in a single layer (work in two batches if needed — do not crowd the pan). Sear undisturbed for 90 seconds.
6
Flip the shrimp, add the minced garlic and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and cook another 60-90 seconds, basting with the foaming butter, until the shrimp are pink, opaque, and just curled.
7
Remove from heat. Squeeze half the lemon over the pan and toss to glaze. Scatter parsley on top.
8
Serve immediately with the remaining lemon wedges and crusty bread for soaking up the butter.

One more thing

Bread in the butter. Bread. In. The butter. That spicy, garlicky, lemony butter pooled at the bottom of the pan is the BEST part — better than the shrimp, and the shrimp are phenomenal, so that's saying something — and if you throw it out you have committed a CRIME against your own tongue. Tear off a hunk of baguette, swipe the pan, eat it standing up over the sink like a person who knows what's good for them. That's how it's done. That's how Bigly does it. Save me a piece.