Next week is Mardi Gras and even though I will not be in New Orleans to celebrate, I take it as an excuse to whip up some NOLA inspired dishes since I am a big fan on NOLA cuisine. Another one of my favourite dishes that I had when I visited New Orleans was the BBQ shrimp and I just had to try making it at home. Normally the BBQ shrimp is served whole with the shell and the head on but if you have any squeamish eaters feel free to serve the shrimp completely peeled. Other than the shrimp the the most important thing is the BBQ sauce which is a mixture of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic and plenty of butter. The recipe itself is really easy, you just cook the garlic a bit in some butter, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the shrimp is cooked. Despite being so simple this New Orleans stye BBQ shrimp is so addictively good that you’ll want to serve it with some crusty bread to mop up absolutely all of the BBQ sauce. If you are looking for a way to celebrate Mardi Gras from home next week this BBQ shrimp is a great way to do it. (To be completely honest with you, I didn’t wait for Mardi Gras to enjoy this BBQ shrimp since it’s great any day of the year, including say, today!)
Serve with extra lemon wedges and crusty bread to soak/mop up all of the BBQ sauce!
It can be a bit messy but it’s finger licking good! Don’t let any of that sauce die a horrible death in the dish washer, please lick your plate clean!
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
BBQ shrimp done New Orleans style in a spicy, buttery, lemony sauce that is so good that you will be licking your fingers and the plate clean!
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup hot sauce (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup beer, wine or broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
- 2 teaspoons creole seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined *
- 2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- salt to taste
directions
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat, add the garlic, saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, beer, lemon juice, creole seasoning and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side depending on the size of the shrimp.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the chilled butter until it melts, season with salt to taste and enjoy with french bread to soak up all of that tasty sauce!
Note: Different hot sauces have different levels of heat and everyone has a different tolerance to heat so add the hot sauce a little at a time until you get it to the level of heat that you desire. (I tend use Franks Red Ho hot sauce.)
Note: Different creole seasonings have different amounts of salt and some have quite a bit so go easy on it, adding a bit at a time to get the sauce to a nice level. (I tend use homemade creole seasoning to have more control over the salt content.)
Option: Instead of simmering to reduce the sauce by half to thicken it, you could add corn starch mixed into cold water to thicken it and save some time.
Option: Garnish with sliced green onions or chopped parsley to taste.
Rocky Mountain Woman says
February 12, 2015 at 3:24 pmLove that last shot! That's the way to eat this kind of food, with passion!
Grandbabycakes says
February 12, 2015 at 3:26 pmOMG this shrimp is perfect! You are the KING of Nola cooking Kevin!
Vijay says
February 12, 2015 at 4:11 pmThis looks great Kevin. Always wondered how to make it and never realized how simple it was!
Shaina Wizov says
February 12, 2015 at 9:06 pmThis totally takes me back to my New Orleans trip last January. I had BBQ shrimp at Emeril's restaurant and it was delicious. Yours looks just as good!
Chrissy says
February 12, 2015 at 10:04 pmWhen I lived in NOLA, I was a waitress and the most popular dish at the restaurant was a BBQ shrimp linguini, which was NOLA style BBQ shrimp tossed in pasta and served on a cheese pizza to absorb all the goodness. I will say that yours look exponentially better!
HipFoodie Mom says
February 12, 2015 at 10:22 pmYum… BBQ shrimp New Orleans style looks soooo good!!! and I would be licking my fingers too! Wow, looks so amazing! love it!
Jodee Weiland says
February 12, 2015 at 11:30 pmKevin, this looks fabulous! I love New Orleans, and the barbeque shrimp is one of my favorites. Your recipe sounds awesome…thanks for sharing it!
Anonymous says
February 13, 2015 at 12:02 amHey Kevin. Your print recipe link is broken.
Nancy Long says
February 13, 2015 at 3:24 amthis is similar to my recipe – one of hubby's fave meals
kevin says
February 13, 2015 at 3:37 amAnonymous: Can you tell be a bit more? What happens when you click the button? What kind of device and browser are you using? Thanks!
Rochelle Hutchinson says
February 14, 2015 at 11:47 pmOh my. This is my idea of heaven!!
Anonymous says
February 17, 2015 at 5:13 pmDon't worry if there is any sauce left at the end I'll chug it :)))
BTW -Truly awesome recipe !!!
Adrian says
February 22, 2015 at 7:27 pmYou (we!) need a 30 minute meal cookbook, Kevin. Great recipes, great pictures (do you take your own??).
kevin says
February 22, 2015 at 10:49 pmAdrian: That would be a great cookbook! Yes, I take all of the photos on my site.
Anonymous says
March 9, 2015 at 4:26 pmDoes it matter if you use red or white wine?
Anonymous says
May 7, 2015 at 11:58 pmI made the NO bar be que shrimp exactly as your recipe read. They were lip smacking delicious. I put them over white rice for us. Wow. Thank you, thank you.
Anonymous says
June 20, 2015 at 10:30 pmSeriously?!?!?! Having worked IN the New Orleans restaurant biz for 20+ YEARS we have NEVER put hot sauce in BBQ Shrimp!
There is no BEER either!
Where is the thyme? Rosemary? Basil?
If you're going to slaughter a traditional recipe, RENAME it. I have forwarded this horrible recipe to several friends in New Orleans and they are ALL APPALLED!
Sadie says
February 25, 2019 at 10:15 pmI am APPALLED at your rudeness! Who died and made you BBQ shrimp god?? There are all kinds of different recipes for BBQ shrimp and this is one of them. If it doesn’t appeal to you, then move on to another one. There is no need to leave such a nasty hateful comment!
Anonymous says
June 25, 2015 at 10:48 pmI am making this tonight for the second time in 2 weeks! It is delicious and tastes just like the bbq shrimp I order when in New Orleans. I have tried other recipes for bbq shrimp and your sauce is by far the best! I do add basil and Rosemary from my herb garden.
kevin says
July 25, 2015 at 1:43 pmAnonymous: I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
Romy Mackay says
September 22, 2016 at 5:36 pmI made this and the sauce was just terrible. I followed the recipe and it was horrible and salty it was just not good at all. I think it was all the Worcestershire sauce I've looked at other recipes and they only had one table spoon. I defiantly think you need to check this recipe it can not be right everyone said it was inedible.
kevin says
September 22, 2016 at 7:21 pmRomy Mackay: I'm sorry it did not work out for you! If it was too salty it was likely the creole/cajun seasoning; a store bought brand can contain about 4 times as much sodium than the worcestershire sauce based on the amounts in this recipe. The hot sauce would be the next highest contributor… I normally use a homemade creole/cajun seasoning to help have better control of the amount of salt in the final recipe as I cannot know how much a particular brand of seasoning, hot sauce or worcestershire sauce would have in it. I will add a note to the recipe to indicate this.
Unknown says
November 13, 2016 at 1:47 pmJust came across your site googling for BBQ shrimp, and this recipe looks and sounds delicious. Beautiful photography! I can't wait to try it. Thank you.
Deb Leonard says
February 25, 2017 at 11:21 pmQuestion: Which gives this the best taste – beer or wine and what name? Thanks!
Thomas Reeber says
February 26, 2017 at 2:02 amI too have found commercial creole seasoning too salty. For a change I used a vanilla java porter for the beer and liked it. Next time I think I will let the shrimp be rubbed and rest in the creole seasoning for a bit before cooking. Am also considering removing shells first..keep the heads and shells to cook in the sauce for flavor but just serve the shrimp for the weak of heart…tons of bread and I add more butter a little at a time..encourage all to play with this good basic recipe.
Kristy K says
March 26, 2017 at 4:33 pmJust made this for my boyfriend (who is from Louisiana) and he loved it! I don't eat shrimp but I ate some of the sauce on rice. Super tasty. Thank you!!
Jim_S says
July 23, 2017 at 2:11 amYou almost nailed Mr B's BBQ sauce perfectly just abit too much hot sauce. Or maybe it was because I used extra-spicy creole seasoning. Either way, great starting point for one my favorite shrimp dishes.
Steele says
December 5, 2018 at 7:03 amGreat dish! I had to tone it down for my partner, next time full heat and then some! Thank you.
Mike Crawford says
February 25, 2019 at 8:37 pmThat is in no way New Orleans BBQ shrimp. That’s a joke at best. Has the chef even been to New Orleans? Where are the shells and heads? If you’re going to post a recipe…be authentic or don’t bother.
Greg says
March 6, 2019 at 8:36 amThis had great flavor, I loved it. And yes, I have been to New Orleans. I will be making this again in the near future, despite recipe nazis who clearly are terrified from deviating from their mommies recipes. Thanks for posting!!