Binging with Babish: Shrimp from Forrest Gump Part I

BUBBA: "Shrimp are the fruit of the sea. You can grill them, boil them, broil them, bake them, sauté them, there's um- -

shrimp

skewers,

shrimp

creole, shrimp gumbo- -pan fry- -Fry, stir. fried, 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 it." BABISH: Hey guys, welcome back to Binging with Babish, this week we're taking a look at Forrest Gump shrimp. Specifically, the multitude of preparations listed by Bubba. A list that includes and is limited to baking, roasting, boiling and barbecue. Oh, God, there are many ways, many ways.

I think we'll have to do this in two

part

s, guys. Why don't we start this off with some basic shrimp preparation technique, i.e. peeling and deveining the shrimp. Let's start by removing all those creepy little legs and throwing away. The shell opens into the space left by the legs. If you want to keep the tail of the shrimp, hold it tight, but now is the time to remove the veins. We are going to place a slice along the back of the shrimp, exposing its intestine which we are going to remove with the back of a small knife trying not to break it, open it.

Well, if you break it just pull it out. from both sides. Once you've gotten the last of the shrimp meal out of his system, he's ready to go. So let's repeat this process with the remaining shrimp. I'm going to leave these with the tails on for our first preparations, as they are a nifty little handle for dinner guests. And we put these nasty shells where they belong, in the trash, I'm just kidding. It's a joke. These are packed with shrimp flavor and we will use them later. For now, let's focus on the three B's: bake, roast, and boil.

We're going to start by making a very simple seasoning mix of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and we're going to add a little bit of baking powder. This will help the outside of the shrimp caramelize faster, which we want because it's so easy to overcook shrimp. So we're going to toss the shrimp with a little bit of our spice mixture and then place them on a greased rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, put them in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 6 to 8 minutes until they're pink ​and well cooked. A very, very basic shrimp preparation.

To grill, let's Do the same with Saans parchment paper, throw them under a preheated grill for about six minutes turning them halfway through. And with this method we achieve a pleasant charring on the tails that may be desirable for some recipes. Now for the others, we want the third to be boiled or poached. We'll throw a couple bay leaves into some water with a big wedge of lemon, a few generous pinches of salt, some whole peppercorns and bring this guy to a boil. This is the preferred method for making shrimp for shrimp cocktail. And now we are going to add the shrimp to the boiling water, but then we immediately turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for 8 to 10 minutes or until the shrimp are completely cooked.

This is a gentler way to cook them and prevents them from getting too rubbery. If your recipe calls for cold shrimp, we will immediately place them in an ice bath, once cold, drain them and that's it. to go Now let's look at the last simple preparation. That's pan frying. We are heating a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until smoking, adding the shrimp and cooking for two minutes on one side. Be sure to use the baking soda and salt mixture for this method because it will help you get a nice caramelized exterior without overcooking the shrimp. Once we've flipped them, we'll lower the heat and add some compound butter.

This is just butter mixed with parsley and fresh garlic. We'll also add a generous squeeze of lemon and give this guy one last fire kiss to melt the butter and make sure they're all cooked through. You can serve these guys some crusty bread or pasta. That? Crispy bread or pasta, making sure to spread plenty of extra herb butter on top. Now, let's invite my friends Joe and Julie, they are some of my first Patreon supporters. So today you're going to help me do some taste tests because this episode was your idea. Also, I mean, how many shrimp can a Babish eat?

But even without their help, this would definitely have made it to the clean plate club. But now, how about we try to delve into some more complicated techniques? I say we start with my personal favorite on the list, the coconut shrimp. I'm going to start by combining about a cup of shredded coconut with half a cup of panko breadcrumbs. Mix them all well. Then we'll put maybe a cup of flour into another dry bowl and then make our wet bowl. I mean, a whole egg, maybe half a Mexican beer and to make this a little more runny, we're going to add maybe a teaspoon and a half of baking powder and maybe. a tablespoon of flour.

It will make a nice light dough that will encapsulate all of our crunchy bits. And what the heck, let's squeeze half a lime in there for a little more tropical juice. And let's get to the point. shrimp Make sure you use the wet hands/dry hands method, which is using one hand for wet things and another for dry things. Simple, I only screwed it up like three times. Rinse and repeat with the remaining shrimp and be sure to press the button. shrimp hard into the coconuts to get as much of your ingredients as possible, then we'll just fry these bad boys and a little bit of peanut oil heated between 325 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit Just for about two minutes they cook very quickly, just cook Leave them until they are golden and crispy.

Give them a little salt while they are still hot if you have to season the breading like I did. And you can put them on a plate and serve them with some kind of dipping sauce like a sweet chilli and apricot chutney of some kind. But I'll take them as they are, thanks. Now, how about these tailless shrimp we poached earlier? What are we going to do with those? Well, it's time to kill two birds with one stone and make a shrimp salad sandwich. To the cold shrimp I'm going to add maybe a quarter cup of mayonnaise, a generous squeeze of lemon juice and then our salad will be topped with some chopped fresh parsley. chopped dill, some chopped fresh celery, and some chopped fresh green onions.

Add some fresh chopped salt and chop it fresh. Stir a little, adding fresh chopped mayonnaise as needed to adjust the consistency. Place on a toasted bun with a little butter, lettuce and optional. tomatoes And finally! Something I can cut. I'm not going to lie. I'm really proud that the shrimp didn't spill over the sides of the sandwich. It's not the most impressive cross section in the world, but WOW, does it taste good. We have another worthy member of the clean plate club. And now, once we've washed our hands, it's time to tackle the big gumbo that's based on the Holy Trinity of celery, green bell pepper, and...

Wow! a little weird But that's just what I was looking for after finely chopped vegetables, I guess I don't need them anymore. But I need six cloves of garlic. So let's get them all ready before we hit the stove and put those shrimp shells to good use. We'll start by sautéing them in a little vegetable oil, just for five minutes. or so until they turn a lovely color and fill the room with the smell of shrimp, at which point we'll add a little water to make shrimp broth. Let's start with two, uh, maybe four, no, about five cups of Worder.

It seemed like the right amount for these shells for about 1 pound of jumbo shrimp. Once we 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 broth. chicken broth but I mean, come on. And now, for the base of the gumbo, the roux. We start by heating 1/2 cup of vegetable oil over medium heat until almost smoking and then add an equal amount or 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour we are mixing. Do this rigorously and constantly with a large wooden spoon that allows us to reach all corners of the pot.

Cook slowly and patiently over medium heat until it goes through the different phases of the roux ology roux ology if it is your first time making brown roux, don't do it. Move away, keep stirring constantly until it turns into chocolate. Seriously, it should look like some dark chocolate milk. Pat yourself on the back for preparing your diced Holy Trinity before you begin the roux-making process, and then slap yourself in the face for not dicing the okra. it's going to act as a secondary thickening agent for this gumbo Sauce everything together until it's all nice and smooth and then we'll add the six cloves of minced garlic towards the end sautéing until it's fragrant, so it doesn't burn.

Then It's time for that shrimp broth. We're adding it very, very slowly at first in a thin, steady stream to make sure the final texture of the gumbo isn't compromised by your childish impatience. Once you have about half the broth, you can add the rest and we'll season with a little paprika and a little cayenne pepper. Next I'll add some andouille sausage. If you can't find andouille, you'd be fine with some smoked kielbasa. I'll also add two fresh bay leaves, stir everything together, and let it simmer for a full hour until those flavors have come together. each other to the point where they are like each other's emergency contacts when filling out a healthcare form.

Remove the bay leaves and then, it's time for the shrimp. We'll put these guys here for just four minutes. Barely enough to cook. and then to liven up this sausage fest a little freshly chopped parsley cook for another minute and then remove from the heat and prepare to serve, with some baked rice you can see how to make rice in your oven in the link in the top corner right NOW And we're labeling the gumbo around a mound of rice as is tradition, I think. And then we garnish it with some freshly chopped parsley and some green onions.

I really hope you can smell that through the camera because it smells absolutely crazy and as a lover of New Orleans culture and food I found myself having to take a breath after my first bite Contemplating the gravity of what I just did Magnanimity of something moving so deep and complex Leaving this kitchen in my house Clean Plates Club doesn't do it justice My soul has been cleansed, my heart - It's okay. I'm going off the rails. See you in the second

part