Pickled Shrimp

By Tamar Adler

Published August 29, 2015

  • Grant Cornett for The New York Times. Food stylist: Michelle Gatton. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.
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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

  • 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

  • 4 scallions, mostly white, quartered or in eighths lengthwise

  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise, very thinly

  • ½ cup lemon juice

  • ¼ cup white-wine vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 ½ teaspoons fennel seed

  • 1 ½ teaspoons coriander

  • 10 dried chiles, broken once or left whole

  • 1 pod cardamom

  • 1 lemon, quartered and thinly sliced

  • 1 cup olive oil

  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh oregano

COURT BOUILLON INGREDIENTS

  • a few peppercorns

  • 4 bay leaves

  • ¼ onion and/or leek

  • 1 clove garlic

  • a few sprigs fresh thyme or oregano

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

5 grams carbs; 146 milligrams cholesterol; 288 calories; 16 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 351 milligrams sodium; 19 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.

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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
262 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.

Tina

What size shrimp did you use?

Marti_DC

Terrific recipe. I had purchased a Costco bag of large, gorgeous shrimp and had no room in my freezer. I remembered this with its "2 weeks." I added in some freezer burned shrimp as well. Incredibly tasty on salads and in shrimp tacos. SHRIMP TACOS: I warmed a tortilla with a little oil. Using what was in my fridge, I spread tzatziki in the center. I topped with thin sliced fresh cabbage. Added 3-4 large shrimp and a bit of feta. Squeezed lime and added salsa. BOOM! Best shrimp tacos ever!

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!!

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