Stuffed Shrimp

Ah, crabmeat stuffed shrimp... a great Maryland Eastern Shore staple, and a big favorite of mine. This is a very simple dish to prepare as either an appetizer or entree, and your friends will keep coming back for more.



When buying shrimp for this dish, get a larger size: large 21-25, or jumbo u-12. (The numbers are reflective to how many shrimp there are in a pound.) The next question is, how many do I buy? For an appetizer I would get 2 per person of the 21-25's and for an entree, 4 of the 21-25's or 3 of the u-12's. I think the u-12's are more impressive but they can be expensive. Next comes the crabmeat; jumbo lump is my preference but backfin will work (it comes down how much money you want to spend, the lump being more expensive). I would buy a pound, don't worry if you don't use it all, as I have posted at the end a couple of suggestions for using any leftovers.

First you have to clean the shrimp, which consists of taking off the shell (down to the tail leaving the tail on), then you must devein the shrimp, which consists of taking a knife and lightly running down the back, pulling out its poopie. (Doing this under running water makes it a little less unpleasant.)

Next, put the shrimp on its side and cut into it, slicing a slit from the tail to the head (like the middle shrimp in my photo) .

Then take the crab stuffing (recipe on my site) and delicately put it in the shrimp (third shrimp in the photo).


Now we have to flour the stuffed shrimp for cooking: You will need two prep bowls; in one put an egg wash (one or two eggs beaten with a fork), in the other put flour and salt & pepper to taste. Take the shrimp and dust them in the flour mixture, then into the wash and back into the flour mixture. Allow the shrimp to set up in the fridge for an hour or so.

OK, now its time to cook 'em up. Get your pan heated up on med-high with a tablespoon of olive oil. Make sure the oil is hot before placing the shrimp in the pan. Bring the temp back to a medium heat and allow the shrimp to cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden on each side. If you like, add chopped shallots to the pan before flipping, just make sure they don't burn. Now just serve them up. Damn good !!

Now, if you have some of the crabmeat mixture left over, form it into crabcakes to use now or later (you can cook them the same way as the shrimp). You can also make quesadillas by taking a tortilla, placing the crab mixture on it, and adding cheese, sauted vegs (onions, peppers, corn), and placing another tortilla on top. Bring a pan up to med heat with a Tbl of olive oil and saute on each side 5 mins, until golden brown. Cut into quarters and serve... Easy!