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The Kitchen Table

Tell me how you cook your Shrimp Creole?

11 years ago

I have a huge pot simmering in the crockpot, minus the shrimp until just before we eat. I even boiled the shells and heads to make shrimp broth. It smells like the creole my Mama used to make with a thick, creamy gravy from simmering it all day. I used the bacon grease/roux recipe and it smells heavenly.

Deb

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Comments (8)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
I don't think I've ever seen a creole recipe using bacon drippings. How'd you make yours? I know that your kitchen must smell good!
angelaid
11 years ago
Hubby loves this dish! I've made it with chicken too.

Shrimp Creole

2 lb uncooked medium shrimp in shells, thawed if frozen
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 medium onions, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 medium green bell peppers, finely chopped (2 cups)
2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Ã¯Â¿Â½ teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 dried bay leaves
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
6 cups hot cooked rice

Peel shrimp. Make a shallow cut lengthwise down back of each shrimp; wash out vein. Cover and refrigerate.
In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic in butter about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients except rice and shrimp. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
Stir in shrimp. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and firm. Remove bay leaves. Serve shrimp mixture over rice.

Makes 6 servings
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debnfla8b
Original Author
11 years ago
I made it basically just like the recipe Angelaid posted. But I fried some bacon, saved a little grease, added a pat of butter. Then I made a roux by putting about 1/4 cup of flour in the frying pan and slowly browning it, a very dark brown. Then I added the celery/onion/bell pepper that I had diced up and cooked it until it was tender. I put that in the crockpot with tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasoning. I added the shrimp stock I had made and put the lid on. I did add creole seasoning. I want it to be like a gravy and just before we eat I will add the shrimp, about 3 pounds of them. I'll put it over rice with garlic bread. My house does smell so good right now...LOL

Deb
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
oh yea that sound good! I do the shrimp stock too! it adds so much more of the shrimp flavor and that is the best way to make a good flavorful roux too. You got it goin on yea BAM!

Wish I had some it is a rainy cold day here today and that sure would be good. But I don't think I have any shrimp in the freezer. Now I might have to go dig around and see LOL

I like my creole thick too not watery!
glenda_al
11 years ago
I haven't made shrimp creole in forever, but I used Good Housekeepings recipe.

I like this more than I do creole.

Just sharing :o)

Jambalaya

1/2 pound Smithfield Smoked Sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 1/2 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup long-grain rice
1/2 to 3/4 pound medium, fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined.
Steps
In a Dutch oven add water, tomatoes, tomato sauce. Add dry ingredients, smoked sausage and rice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink. You do not want to overcook the shrimp.
marilyn_c
11 years ago
My best friend's mother made the best shrimp creole I have ever eaten. When I got married, my husband was a shrimper, and I tried for years to duplicate her recipe. By the time I thought to ask her, she was in a nursing home, and my friend had no idea what her recipe was. She didn't know anything about any of her mother's cookbooks or recipe file, which surprises me because I practically lived at her house growing up, and she had the most complete pantry I have ever seen at anyone's house. Plus, she was always saving recipes from magazines and newspapers.

I finally hit on it....bacon grease. I also make the roux out of bacon grease. I make mine similar to yours, but I don't care for tomato pieces in mine, so I use sauce. I have done the making broth out of shrimp shells, but I abandoned that long ago in favor of using chicken broth. It has a lot more flavor and doesn't compete with the flavor of the creole. You are smart to add the shrimp at the last minute. They just need to cook such a short time and every time I have eaten shrimp cooked in a crock pot, they have been over cooked to the extent of being mushy.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
The worst part about over cooking the shrimp is you can start out with nice big sized shrimp and end up with little tiny miniature shrimp it cooks them to death LOL

I put mine in right at the end just long enough for them to get done , however one of my tricks is I take a few of the raw shrimp(if I have plenty), and I smash them up raw into almost a paste and I put that in with the stuff while cooking so that it is infused with the shrimp flavor but you are not ruining your good big shrimp.
debnfla8b
Original Author
11 years ago
The creole was wonderful! Ravencajun, I did use some small shrimp mashed up in the gravy part! I figured it wouldn't hurt anything but would make it tastier and it did. I had that crockpot filled to the rim with creole so I will have lots to eat over the weekend. I have my pint jar of bacon grease in the fridge for special things like this. I know it isn't the healthiest thing to use but sometimes....you just have to have bacon grease and nothing else!

David(husband) loved it and said he will gladly eat it all weekend. Except for tomorrow night...tomorrow is my birthday!!! We have a hot date on the agenda...LOL

Deb

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