For one large summer party I had BBQ's set up. Raw shrimps were on bamboo skewers on crushed ice and guests grilled their own. Other seafood also available so no problem with line-ups.

My favorite, and easier, way is to boil them (water, court bouillon, or 1 qt. beer with 1 bay leaf) just until done. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Chill thoroughly. May be done the previous day. Serve on crushed ice with toothpicks and sauces.

Red Sauce for Shrimp - old fav
1/4 c. each catsup & chili sauce (Homemade brand)
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. horseradish (must be prepared horseradish, not the sauce type with other ingred. added)
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire
2 drops Tabasco
Mix & chill at least 2 hrs. Makes enough for 2-3 lbs. shrimp.

Curry Sauce - new fav
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. drained, minced chutney (Major Greys mango)
3/4 - 1 tsp. curry powder (must smell fragrant and lovely)
1/2 tsp. green onion, minced
Mix & chill at least 2 hours for flavors to blend.
Makes enough for 2-3 lbs. shrimp.

This is not difficult. Will save money too.

Cold shrimps and salmon.

Shrimps and salmon for 200 can be very expensive.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful:

I tried Ina Garten's roasted shrimp and now I'm hooked. Everyone raves about how flavorful they are and preparation couldn't be easier. I usually don't bake mine quite as long as she does simply because the shrimp I buy are smaller.

Ina's Roasted Shrimp
2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in 1 layer. Roast for 8 to10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Thank you all! I just found Ina's recipe last night and had about decided that's how I'd do it, so nice to have confirmation that it's good. I love the idea of putting them all in the oven to cook.

Iris, I am going to make both of your sauces - thank you for including them. I think the curry will be a nice change from the usual red sauce, but I do love cocktail sauce and that looks like a really easy recipe. I usually just stir horseradish into catsup, but this is better!

dcharch, I make sushi all the time, but not for 200! If only I had minions. Oh, wait. I am the minion. Thanks for the idea, tho.

Remoulade sauce made with fresh tarragon is very good with shrimp.

Just want to second that Ina's recipe is good. I don't eat shrimp but so many of my relatives love it. I decided to make Ina's as an app one year for a holiday and everyone loved it. The first and only time I served something that I didn't taste first.

Hmmm, I do have fresh tarragon in the garden; that sounds delish...thanks, Shuffles

And thank you for weighing in on the recipe Melissa...I don't think I'd ever prepare an app I didn't like, no matter how much my relatives did; you're nicer than I am.

One of my fave go-tos for serving cold shrimp is to toss them in pesto.

If I don't have enough basil to make this at home, Trader Joe's jars of pesto are fine. I'll add a bit more parmesan cheese, and a few toasted pine nuts to doctor up the Trader Joe stuff. Easy to make ahead and just keep in the fridge until serving time.

Smiles,
Sooz

Sooz, that sounds good, too. I think there is other pesto sauces being served for this party, but I'll try it some other time. I've only used pesto on shrimp in pasta dishes. Never thought to serve it just on the shrimp! Thanks.

I will third Ina's shrimp. It's the only way I make shrimp now.

Years ago a chef told me the secret to roasted or sauteed shrimp with a great flavor. Sprinkle a very, very tiny amount of sugar on them to caramelize and bring out the shrimp flavor.

I also vote for Ina's recipe but I go easy on the salt and add the sugar too.

Iris has the perfect recipe for the cocktail sauce. So many of the commercial ones add some type of sweetener that I find off putting.

So how many pounds do you have to prepare?

Pkramer, I think I ordered??? I can't recall, but maybe 8? and 16 lbs of fresh king salmon...these are just appetizer servings, not main dish.

My fish monger said she always uses Alton Brown's recipe, but it's for shell on, mine will be shelled, but she brines the shrimp before cooking, so I'm thinking of doing that before roasting with Ina's method..and the brine has sugar and salt. I can't quite see the need for salting shrimp, so I'll take your advice about the salt in Ina's recipe and will probably just skip it.
Thanks!

How about Pickled Shrimp? They can be done a couple of days ahead. Serve in a pretty bowl with crackers alongside.

Pickled Shrimp

7 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 pounds unpeeled fresh shrimp
3 medium onions, sliced
Fresh ground pepper
Whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, no more than 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and rinse in cold water to prevent further cooking. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails on. In a large glass airtight jar (about 1 1/2 quarts *) layer shrimp and onions and top each layer with ground black pepper, peppercorns, bay leaf and a clove of garlic. Keep layering until jar is about 2/3 full. Pour vinegar and lemon juice over layers until jar is almost full. Leave space at the top so you can gently shake jar to remix ingredients. Seal jar tightly and chill for a few days up to 2 weeks. Turn jar upside down to remix every other day or so. Serve chilled as an appetizer.

* Note: for larger shrimp you may need a larger jar and adjust ingredients accordingly.

PD says they'll keep for 2 weeks. Hugh Acheson in Saveur says a week - http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pickled-Shrimp. I'd go with a week or less.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paula Deen's Pickled Shrimp

IMHO the salt enhances the flavor of the shrimp in Ina's recipe and personally I would not eliminate it.

Thanks LVMadison for weighing in about the salt. If I brine first, would you still use that much salt on the finished shrimp?

BBStx, thanks for the idea and the recipe. I've never heard of pickled shrimp...not sure it would sell in the PNW...is it a Southern thing? I think I might try it for myself sometime and see what it's like. Can't quite wrap my taste buds around it in my imagination, though. :-)

This post was edited by olychick on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 2:31

Sorry Olychick. I've never tried brining my shrimp. Maybe Alton's recipe is the direction you want to go.

If it was me, I'd probably buy a pound of "practice" shrimp and try making it a couple of different ways to see what I thought was best.

I used the Alton Brown brining recipe a few years ago and they were inedible due to the salt. Shrimp don't need a brine to improve the flavor, they are good as they are.

Good point pkramer...I guess they've been brining in salt water their whole lives.

I think a practice run is a great idea...I just took some out of the freezer to try tonight. Thanks!

Sounds like a good supper in the making.

I just wanted to report back and thank you for your help. Esp. lvmadison for suggesting Ina's recipe. It was PERFECT and so easy!!! I cooked 7 lbs of tail on wild gulf shrimp, plus a 16 lb fresh King salmon, cut into 2 filets. I baked the salmon using this recipe...it's hard to believe how good it was and again, so easy. This is my new go-to salmon prep and I use it all the time, but usually it's a one or 2 lb filet, these were about 8 lbs each and quite a bit thicker than what I usually prepare so I was worried that the volume would change the timing, maybe make it much longer to cook or so long it would dry out?? But it didn't! It was perfectly delicious and moist, especially important since I served it cold. I think there were about 150 guests.

Perfect Salmon Filets:
Cover with olive oil, salt & pepper. Put in a *cold oven* and set the temp to 400. Leave it for 25 minutes and out pops a perfect fillet!

oops, double post. But I also forgot on the other post to say thanks to Irisgal for both of those sauce recipes. I served them both and people were especially raving about the curry sauce. I used some plain greek yogurt in it, too, because I didn't have as much mayo as I thought. I saw people putting it on their salmon, as well as the shrimp. It was GOOD!

This post was edited by olychick on Mon, Aug 11, 14 at 14:26

I'm really glad that you like Ina's recipe as much as we do, olychick. It is always a special treat to find a good recipe that is super-easy.

I'll need to try your salmon recipe next time. Sounds like it is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing.