[Movie clip begins] BUBBA: "Shrimp is the fruit of the sea
You can barbeque it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it, there's um-
-shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo-
-pan fry-
-Deep-fry, stir fry, there's pineapple shrimp-
-lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp-
-pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes-
-shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich
That's-That's about it." [Movie clip ends]
BABISH: Hey, what's up guys welcome back to Binging with Babish for this week
we're taking a look at the shrimp from Forrest Gump
Specifically the multitude of preparations listed by Bubba.
A list including and limited to baking broiling and boiling, barbecuing
Oh jeez that's a lot of ways a lot of ways. I think we might have to do this in two parts guys
Why don't we preface this with a little bit of basic shrimp preparation technique,
that is peeling and de-veining your shrimp
let's start by pulling off all those creepy little legs and
pulling the shell open at the gap left by the legs.
if you want to keep the tail on the shrimp
just hang on to it tight, but now it's time to de-vein.
We're going to place a slice down the length of the back of the shrimp revealing its intestine
Which we're going to remove with the back of a small knife trying not to break it, ope
Well, if you break it just pull it out from both sides.
Once you've got the shrimp's last meal out of its system
It's ready to go. So we're gonna repeat this process with the remaining shrimp
I'm gonna leave these ones with the tails on for our first couple preparations
as it makes a nifty little handle for your dinner guests
And we put these nasty shells where they belong, in the garbage
I'm just kidding.
Just kidding.
These are chock-full of shrimp flavor and we're gonna use them later on
For now, let's focus on the three B's
Baking Broiling and Boiling
we're gonna start by making a very simple seasoning mix of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
and we're gonna add a little bit of baking powder
This is gonna help the exteriors that the shrimp caramelize more quickly,
which we want because it's very very easy to overcook shrimp
So we're going to toss the shrimp with a little bit of our spice mixture
and then lay them out on a greased rack on a parchment lined baking sheet
pop them in a 400 degree fahrenheit oven for 6 to 8 minutes until they are pink and cooked through
A very very basic preparation of shrimp
For broiling we're gonna do the same thing
Saans parchment paper
throw them under a preheated broiler for about six minutes flipping halfway through
And with this method we're getting some nice charring on the tails
which can be desirable for some recipes.
Now for others, we want the third be boiled or poached
We're gonna throw a couple bay leaves into some water with a big ol hunk of lemon a few generous pinches of salt
Some whole peppercorns and we're gonna bring this guy up to a rolling boil
This is the preferred method for making shrimp for shrimp cocktail
And now we're going to add the shrimp to the boiling water
but then immediately cut the heat
cover the pan with a lid and let it sit
for 8 to 10 minutes or until the shrimp are fully cooked
This is a more gentle way to cook them and prevents them from getting too rubbery
and if your recipe calls for cold shrimp
We're gonna immediately shock them in an ice bath once cold drain them and you're ready to go
Now let's take a look at the last simple preparation. That is pan frying
We're heating a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until it is smoking adding the shrimp and cooking for two minutes on one side
Make sure you're using the baking soda salt mixture for this method
because it's gonna help you get a nice caramelized exterior without overcooking the shrimp
Once we've flipped them, we're gonna lower the heat and add some compound butter
This is just butter that's been mixed with parsley and fresh garlic
we're also gonna add a generous squeeze of lemon and give this guy one last kiss of flame to melt the butter
and make sure that everybody is cooked through
You can plate these guys up with some bread or crusty pasta
What?
Crusty bread or pasta, making sure to spoon lots of extra herb butter over top.
Now, let's invite my friends Joe and Julie
they're some my very first patreon supporters
So they're gonna help me do some taste testing today because this episode was their idea
Plus I mean how many shrimp can one Babish eat?
But even without their help this definitely would have made it into the clean plate club
But now, how about we try and get into some more involved techniques?
I say we start with my personal favorite on the list, coconut shrimp
I'm gonna start by combining about a cup of shredded coconut with half a cup of panko breadcrumbs
Mix those all together nice
Then we're gonna place- maybe a cup of flour in another dry bowl and then make our wet bowl
That is one whole egg, maybe half a Mexican beer and to make this a bit more of a slurry
We're going to add maybe a teaspoon teaspoon and a half of baking powder and maybe a tablespoon of the flour
It's gonna make a nice light batter that will sort of encapsulate all of our crispy bits
And what the hell let's squeeze half a lime in there for an extra bit of tropical
juice
And let's get down to the business of breading our shrimp
Make sure you're gonna use the wet hand dry hand method that is use one hand for wet things and one hand for dry things
Simple I only messed it up like three times
Rinse and repeat with your remaining shrimp
and make sure you press the shrimp down hard into the coconuts
to you get as much of its stuff to it as possible
then we're just frying these bad boys and some peanut oil heated to
between 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Only for about two minutes that cook really fast just cook them until they're nice and brown and crisp
Hit'em with a little bit of salt while they're still hot if you've got to season your breading like I did
And you can plate them up and serve them with some kind of dipping sauce like a-
apricot sweet chili chutney of some kind
But I'll take them as is, thank you.
Now, how about this tailless shrimp that we poached earlier?
What we gonna do with those?
Well, it's time to kill two birds with one stone and make a shrimp salad sandwich
To the chilled shrimp I'm going to add maybe a quarter cup of mayonnaise a generous squeeze of lemon juice and then our salad accoutrement
some fresh chopped parsley some fresh chopped dill some fresh chopped celery and some fresh chopped green onions
Add a little fresh chopped salt, and give it a fresh chop little stir adding fresh chopped Mayo as necessary to adjust for consistency
Place on a toasted bun with some butter, lettuce, and optional tomatoes
And finally! Something I can cross-section
Not gonna lie I'm very proud that shrimp aren't just spilling out the sides of the sandwich
Not the most impressive the cross section in the world,
but WOW, does it taste good.
We've got ourselves yet another worthy member of the clean plate club.
And now once we wash our hands it's time to tackle the big one gumbo which relies on the Holy Trinity of green pepper celery and-
Whoa! little freaky
But that's just what I was after
finely chopped vegetables,
guess I don't need this anymore.
But I do need a six cloves of garlic
So let's get those all prepped before we head over to the stove and make good use of those shrimp shells
We're gonna start by sauteing them in a little bit of vegetable oil,
just for five minutes or so until they take on a lovely color and fill the room with shrimp smell
at which point we're going to add some water to make shrimp stock
Let's start with two-
eh, maybe four-
no, hou 'bout five cups of worder
It seemed like the right amount for these shells from about 1 pound of jumbo shrimp
Once we've let this simmer for about 20 minutes uncovered, it's time to strain it and we should end up with about 4 cups of shrimp stock
You make gumbo with chicken stock
but I mean, come on.
And now for the very foundation of gumbo, the roux
We're starting by heating 1/2 cup of vegetable oil over medium flame until it's almost smoking
and then adding an equal amount or 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
we are mixing this rigorously and constantly
with a large wooden spoon that lets us get into all the corners of the pot
Cooking slowly and patiently over medium heat until it goes through the different phases of roux
ology roux ology if this is your first time making brown Roux do not step away keep stirring it constantly until it turns into chocolate
It should seriously look like some dark chocolate milk
Pat yourself on the back for preparing your diced Holy Trinity before starting the roux making process
and then slap yourself in the face for not slicing your okra
Which is going to act as the secondary thickening agent for this gumbo
Saucé everything together until it's all nice and soft
and then we're going to add the six cloves of minced garlic right towards the end
sauteing just until fragrant, so it does not burn
Then it's time for that shrimp stock
we're adding it very very slowly at first in a thin steady stream
to make sure that the final texture of the gumbo is not compromised by your childlike impatience.
Once you've got about half the stock in there you can just add the rest
and we're gonna season with a bit of paprika and some cayenne pepper
Next up I'm adding some andouille sausage.
If you can't find andouille you would be just fine with some smoked kielbasa
I'm also going to add two fresh bay leaves and give the whole thing a stir and let it simmer for a solid hour
Until those flavors have gotten to know each other to the point where they're like-
each other's emergency contacts when they fill out a health care form
Remove the bay leaves and then, it's shrimp time
We're putting these guys in here for a scant four minutes
Just barely enough to cook them through
And then to brighten up this sausage fest a little bit of freshly chopped parsley
cook for one more minute and then take off the heat
and prepare to serve, with a little bit of oven baked rice
you can see how to make rice in your oven at the link in the upper right hand corner
NOW
And we're labeling the gumbo around a mound of the rice as is tradition
I think
And then we're garnishing with some freshly chopped parsley and some green onions
I really hope you can smell that through the camera because it smells
absolutely
completely insane
and as a lover of New Orleans culture and food
I found myself having to take a breather after my first bite
Contemplating the gravity of what I have just done
The magnanimity of something ssoulful
so deep and complex
coming out of this my home kitchen
Clean Plate Club doesn't quite do it justice
My soul has been cleaned, my heart - Okay. I'm going off the rails. See you guys in part two