Barbecued Shrimp (Easy)

This recipe has always been a treat in my home (due to the cost of preparing it) and it has become somewhat of a New Year Eve's tradition dinner for my family.   I sometimes make it for special occasions like my anniversary.   This is not a cheap meal to make unless you make the recipe as is down below.  I double this recipe for my family and use jumbo shrimp so you can see why it gets expensive.  My dad discovered this recipe when I was a teenager living in New Orleans and we, me and my sisters, loved this meal.  When I got married I wrote this recipe down to take with me and continue to make for my family.  My family loves it too.  I always like to serve it with a sparkling apple cider to make it even more special.  Fresh French bread is a must for dipping in the sauce!  Some may think when they read these ingredients that it is spicy, it really is not, all the ingredients get watered down so to speak with the butter but don't get me wrong it is still very flavorful.  The only heat you will get off of this is when it comes hot out of the oven and you can't wait for it to cool down and you burn your fingers trying to peel the shells off so you can start gobbling it down.

Ingredients:

• 3 slices bacon, chopped ( I use scissors and cut it up raw, all 3 pieces together at once)
• 1/2 lb butter, 2 sticks
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, Grey Poupon is fine
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. basil
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed ( I use the minced garlic in the jar)
• 2 Tbsp. crab boil ( it is sold in a box by the brand Zatarain's or Rex, it has to be the boil-in bag, not the liquid) (picture down below)
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 1 1/2 lbs large, raw shrimp with shells, no heads (the reason they are in shells is so that the shell will trap more of the seasonings in the shrimp while baking) (I have used some shrimp already peeled just with their rails on for younger children to be able to eat)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a frying pan, fry bacon until clear. Add the butter and all the other ingredients except the shrimp. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Place the shrimp in an open baking dish. (I use a glass 9x13 baking dish) Pour the sauce from the frying pan over the top. Stir to coat all of the shrimp. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring twice during the baking process, this is to ensure all the shrimp have been coated in the sauce. The shrimp will be orange, not gray when completely cooked.
• Serve hot and at once! Peel the shrimp before eating  but not before cooking. Serve with fresh French bread for the sauce, dip it and enjoy! This recipe serves 2 for a complete meal.

3 - 4 lbs jumbo shrimp rinsed.

All the spices needed for flavoring this yummy dish!

This is what the crab boil looks like that I use. You see why it is crucial to use the boil-in bag variety. Because of all the spices that will be floating around in the sauce, If you used a liquid, it would just be that, a liquid, no prettiness to the presentation of the dish. I put the spices in a Ziploc once I cut open the boil-in bag because you will not use the entire bag unless you make a huge recipe.

Once the shrimp have been rinsed I spread them out evenly in a glass baking dish.

Frying the chopped up bacon until cooked and I leave the bacon grease in there for more flavor.

All the spices and butter added and simmering for 5 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Once the sauce is done simmering, pour over the raw shrimp and stir to coat evenly.

After 30 minutes of cooking. YUM!

This is a messy meal to eat. I use wet, warm wash cloths or dish rags, preferably white (so they can be bleached) for our napkins. The bowl on the left side of each plate is for the shrimp shells as you peel them off your shrimp. The French bread is for dipping in the sauce. So good! We love to have a sparkling juice cider with this meal. This is a doubled recipe.

See how I dip my French bread into the sauce? Try to get some of the yummy spices on your bread if you can. I love looking for the bacon pieces and eating them too!

This is my dinner plate and there is my piece of French bread just lightly dipped in the sauce.

Almost done here, see my wet dish rag for my napkin and my bowl filled with shrimp shells, it is really the best way to eat this meal.