Spiced Salt-Baked Shrimp
Published August 5, 2014
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
3 pounds rock salt
¼ cup whole green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
4 bay leaves
3 star anise
1 lemon, cut into four wedges
10 sprigs of thyme
2 jalapeño peppers, cut into thick slices
1 head of garlic, outer skin removed and smashed into several pieces
2 pounds medium or large shrimp, about 20 to 25 pieces, with shells and tails on
Cocktail sauce, tartar sauce or melted butter, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
16 grams carbs; 371 milligrams cholesterol; 280 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 4 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 673 milligrams sodium; 48 grams protein; 1 gram sugar
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.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 475 degrees. In a bowl, add salt, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves, anise, two lemon wedges, the thyme, the jalapeños and the garlic and mix well.
- Step 2
In a large shallow baking dish, add half the salt mixture. Place in oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Step 3
Carefully remove pan from oven and set shrimp in a single layer on salt and then cover with remaining, cool salt mixture.
- Step 4
Return to oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes more, or until shrimp are just cooked through.
- Step 5
Serve shrimp in the salt, or remove to a platter. Garnish with remaining lemon. Serve with cocktail or tartar sauce or melted butter.
Private Notes
Comments
Dry the outside of the shrimp shells before putting them on the hot salt bed. Wet shrimp will dissolve salt and allow it to flavor the meat--especially if the shells are split for easy peeling. Dry shrimp will roast without getting salty flavor.
This sound great. I have always wondered about the sand vein that we normally remove prior to preparing shrimp, why is it okay not to remove it for the shell on application?
brings a fresh taste to frozen shrimp, tartar sauce is a good accompaniment. the timing was tricky but i probably squished too many together. the recipe is worth filing. thx.
I made this recipe for a large group of friends at a recent holiday party, and everyone enjoyed the moist, succulent flavor of the salt-roasted shrimp. Even though the kitchen smelled amazing with all of the aromatics, very little of their flavor seemed to penetrate into the shrimp. I used shell-on, headless wild gulf shrimp and rock salt. Given that I spent more than $10 on a jar of cardamom pods, along with the other aromatics, I felt as though it would’ve tasted the same with salt alone.
This was fragrant and beautiful and a disaster. Inedibly salty. I think if the shrimp had been whole instead of headless and/or they hadn't had their shells cracked, all that salt wouldn't have seeped in. I wish the recipe had indicated that in the ingredients area. I even tried rinsing them after they were cooked to salvage dinner... But it was peanut butter sandwiches for us.
I haven't tried this recipe yet but would like to. The nutritional values say it serves four and that it has 908 calories??? Is that possible and if so where are all the calories coming from?