Sunday, March 17, 2013

Oyster-A-Thon Again


My buddies Joe and Dave came down last week for another version of oysters-n-stuff and I won’t post again about the oysters as they were just our standard raw and Rockefeller.  To go with these we had cold boiled shrimp, cooked a different way, flank steak, and roasted potato wedges.

A couple of weeks ago, Mary from Barefeet In The Kitchen posted her recipe for The Best Shrimp Cocktail and I decided to try her unique (to me) cooking method which I’ve just adapted slightly from her site – check it out for the complete recipe including her spices and recipe for cocktail sauce.  Mary used peeled shrimp but I cooked mine in the shell and used my own spices.

Shrimp Boiling
In a large pot, combine the shrimp, 4 cups cold water, spices and cook this mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the water registers 170 degrees and the shrimp are just barely beginning to turn pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and add 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, along with all of the lemon peels. Cover the pot and let the shrimp mixture rest until the shrimp are completely pink and firm, about 5-7 minutes. Dump into a colander to drain then add the shrimp to an ice bath to quick cool them.  When cool, peel and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

The method worked very well and the shrimp were just right except I made one screw up – I didn’t measure the 4 cups of water and used probably twice as much.  As a result, it took longer to heat the water and the shrimp were turning pink at 150* so I just removed from the heat and followed the rest of the process –  if you try this use 1 qt. of water and no more.

For the flank steak, I marinated for 6 hours in The Best Steak Marinade In Existence and grilled over high heat to an internal temp. of 125* on the thick end.  I show this photo to point out the difference between cooking like this vs. the reverse sear method which would have yielded much less of a well done section around the outside (but it does take longer to cook).  The thin end was just right for those that preferred theirs medium. 

I didn’t get a shot of the potatoes but we used the recipe form Ina Garten for Baked Potato Wedges (with rosemary) and we thought they were very good.  Another fun time and good eats at Almost Heaven South.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/9/13 event date

15 comments:

  1. Would love any oyster . . and this new -to-me too version of preparing shrimp sounds like it worked just right. Can't get enough seafood, especially shellfish.

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  2. I need another bookmarked recipe like I need another hole in my head, and thanks to this post I've added three. The steak marinade, the potatoes, and the cocktail sauce. Even though we love my cocktail sauce, I like her addition of Old Bay. I have to try that next time. The potatoes are simple and a "must try" and most of all I'm interested in the marinade. What was your opinion? Was it the best in existence? Happy St. Paddy's Day Larry, Bev and crew. I'm taking the lazy way out today, corned beef brisket in the crockpot with a little Dijon and some Hard Cider. Too lazy to send Bob to the Liquor Store for some Guinness.

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  3. Happy St. Patrick's to you too! Your meal sounded FABULOUS... That marinade looks great--and when I saw a picture of the steak, my mouth watered... YUM...

    Have a great spring-like day..
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. It all sounds wonderful to me. Your method for cooking shrimp really caught my eye. I feel an experiment coming on :-). I hope you and Bev have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary

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  5. Happy St. Patrick's Day Larry. Your meal sounds outstanding. Great recipes to try out.

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  6. ditto with Lea Ann - wondering about that marinade myself ... your shrimp look perfect... and so good

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  7. We've been using the steak marinade for two years and it's our go-to version - used it at least a half dozen times.

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  8. It all looks great, especially the shrimp! I'm boiling shrimp today, too. Great minds think alike! :)

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  9. That steak looks mighty good, Larry. I am just as happy with flank steak as I am ribeye, filet, or strip. I'm with you, reverse sear is generally better but sometimes you just want to eat now :)

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  10. Larry, We hope that you and Bev had a great St. Patrick's Day! That steak looks fabulous... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  11. Glad to see you had a great St. Patty's Day. What an interesting way to cook shrimp. I love shrimp and will have to give it a try.
    Sam

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  12. I need to give that shrimp boiling a try.. I had seen Mary's post and thought it interesting too. Everything looks great... a perfect meal!

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  13. You always have something wonderful going on down there! I am still thinking about Mary's shrimp and the cocktail sauce - yum.

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  14. It's always good eats at Almost Heaven South. Glad you had such a great day.

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  15. What gorgeous shrimp! I can't wait for a good shrimp boil when our shrimp guys from Galveston return to town.

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