Shrimp Scampi
Restaurant Quality Shrimp Scampi at Home
Seafood is my favorite food. I’m not sure I have ever eaten a seafood dish I didn’t like. As a kid, I would eat some fairly terrible seafood TV dinner on Friday night and I could not wait! In most other ways I was a really picky eater, but I loved those frozen breaded fish and peas. Fast forward many, many years and I am still looking forward to a seafood meal. Whether at home or at a restaurant, fish will always be my entree of choice. This shrimp scampi is one of my favorites. It is easy to put together and tastes exactly like the shrimp scampi I have ordered in restaurants.
Frozen Shrimp? Good Enough.
You would think that since I live a 15-minute drive from the ocean, I would have tons of fresh seafood choices in my neighborhood. Alas, you would be wrong. Unless I want to go to a specialty store, I am left with the option of frozen fish. That isn’t always good, but in the case of shrimp, it works out pretty well. Fresh shrimp is a delicate thing and it won’t keep well. That means that you would have to buy your shrimp fresh and cook it almost right away. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for all of that on a weeknight. In this case, then, a one pound bag of frozen shrimp works perfectly. If possible, get the cleaned, tail off, uncooked shrimp. Cleaning shrimp is another thing I don’t really have time for.
Shrimp Scampi Marinade
Shrimp scampi is cooked in a butter, garlic, white wine sauce. Give yourself plenty of time to let the shrimp marinate for the best results. I begin by defrosting the shrimp. This takes about 15 minutes under cold water. While the shrimp defrosts, I crush four cloves of garlic and mince them into small pieces. Mincing is actually the best way of getting a strong garlic taste. Pat the excess water off of the shrimp. Toss the shrimp, half the garlic, and some olive oil into a Ziploc. I like to lightly salt the shrimp and add about ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Shake it up and let it sit in the fridge. Thirty minutes would be ideal, but I have left it for as little as ten.
Start with Some Garlic
As you near the end of the marinating time, heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a saute pan on medium high heat. Add the remaining garlic and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Don’t let it burn/brown! Turn down the heat if you see the slightest burning. Once your garlic has had a bit of time to cook in the butter, add the contents of the Ziploc (shrimp, garlic, etc.).
Please Don’t Hurt Yourself
White wine is the last ingredient in this recipe. Time for a confession: I am seriously afraid of setting my kitchen on fire. It seems like a reasonable fear. As a volunteer EMT, I went to some pretty bad kitchen fire injuries. That said, I exaggerate in the name of safety. I know wine in a pan can catch on fire, so I tend to lower the heat – or even remove the pan from the burner – while I add the wine. In this case, you are adding ⅓ cup of white wine. Mine is just grocery store white cooking wine and it is still great. Let the whole mixture simmer on medium heat until the shrimp are all pink.
Shrimp Scampi Serving Suggestions
My favorite way of serving shrimp scampi is over pasta with a hunk of crusty bread. Fine linguine is my preference. It does a great job of soaking up the sauce from the shrimp and you can sop up the rest with the bread. NOTE: You should try to get your pasta to finish cooking at the same time as the rest of the meal. It is very easy to overcook shrimp.
It’s no frozen breaded fish and peas, but shrimp with a butter, garlic, white wine sauce isn’t bad at all.
Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp frozen, tail off and cleaned
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup white cooking wine
Instructions
- Prepare your shrimp. Frozen shrimp can be defrosted in a colander under running water. This takes about 15 minutes. It is best to use frozen, tail off, cleaned shrimp – because all the work is done. Fresh shrimp requires careful cleaning and removal of the tails. You can find instructions online.
- While the shrimp is defrosting, prepare the garlic.
- Peel the garlic. Crush it with the flat side of a large knife (see the photo). Mince the crushed garlic.
- Pat the defrosted shrimp dry and place it in a Ziploc or other sealable container.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bag with the shrimp.
- Lightly salt the shrimp and add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Add 1/2 of the crushed garlic.
- Seal the bag/container and shake everything together.
- Ideally, let the shrimp sit in the closed container in the fridge for about 30 minutes. I have cooked the shrimp after 10 minutes and thought it was fine.
- As you near the end of the marinading time, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium high heat.
- Add the remaining garlic to the pan and cook about 2 minutes, moving the garlic frequently. NOTE: Do not let the garlic burn or brown. Lower the heat if necessary.
- Add the shrimp, garlic, and the entire contents of the marinade container to the pan and stir. Cook for three minutes.
- I prefer to lower the heat a bit as this point, or even remove the pan from the heat for a second, to add the wine. Wine can burn and I would prefer not to set the kitchen on fire.
- Once the wine is added, cook over medium heat until the shrimp is pink and cooked through, 5-8 minutes.
- Shrimp scampi is great with pasta (I like fine linguine) and crusty bread. Make sure the pasta is ready at the same time as the shrimp as shrimp is easily overcooked.
