Capt. Tommy Thompson's Saltwater Angler's Guides

Garlicky, Lemony, Buttery—The BEST Shrimp Scampi

Archived, from Florida Sportsman Magazine, March 2012, Sportsman’s Kitchen

Shrimp are likely the most versatile seafood.  According to Bubba Gump, they’re good boiled, fried, sautéed, or served with grits.   They even make good fish bait.  And they’re available year round.  Buy your shrimp from a reputable seafood shop that isn’t hesitant to let you smell their product.  Good shrimp, although likely frozen aboard the boat soon after being caught, don’t have a ‘fishy’ smell and should smell like the waters from which they came.

There’s no comparing properly prepared shrimp scampi to what many restaurants serve.  Shrimp soaked or poached in garlic butter can be good, but there’s more to scampi than just a quick swim through a sauce.  When garlic, shallots, butter and lemons mingle with that of fresh Florida shrimp, the explosion of flavor is hard to describe. Here’s my recipe, along with one for a nice companion Caesar salad:

Shrimp Scampi

3 shallots, peeled and chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3/4-cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2-1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 cups dry white wine

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 -cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine the shallots, 4 cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a mini-food processor or blender.  Process to make a smooth paste.  Pour 6 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining crushed garlic into a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When the garlic sizzles, add about half the shrimp.  Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and sauté until seared, but not fully cooked, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove the first batch of shrimp to a holding dish and sauté the second half.  Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil and the garlic-shallot paste to the skillet and cook until the paste is so thick it almost sticks to the bottom of the pan.  Then add the white wine, lemon juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and 4 tablespoons butter.  Bring the sauce to a boil until its volume is reduced by half.  Finally, whisk in the remaining butter, add the shrimp and cook about 2 more minutes.  Don’t overcook the shrimp!

This recipe feeds 4 hungry fishermen if served as an entrée over linguine or fettuccine. Or a few shrimp, each on a piece of thinly sliced French bread toast, make an excellent appetizer.  In either case, garnish the servings with chopped parsley.