By Chef David “Smitty” Smith
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“If you are making a different sauce than scampi, use the same method of searing the shrimp and at the last minute toss them in the hot sauce.”
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I was asked recently if it was possible to cook shrimp in a pan and have them seared as if they were cooked on the grill. “When you grill shrimp, they get blacker than when sautéed and have a kind of crispy coating on them,” my friend asked me. OK, I got it, they get caramelized on the outside, and the answer is yes, but, depending on what dish you are trying to create, you might have to do things slightly different.
For example, if you are making scampi and putting it with pasta, you want to make your sauce without the shrimp in the pan until the last second and arrange the shrimp over the top of the pasta instead of mixing it in, otherwise the sauce and pasta will negate the crispness of the sear. No big deal, that’s easy enough.
You also want to use oil. I use clarified butter for the sear instead of whole butter because the whole butter will burn too quickly and become bitter. Another thing is that you need to keep the garlic with the sauce and not with the shrimp during the sear or it will burn and become bitter. In other words, make your sauce first, sear your seasoned shrimp with oil only, and then at the last minute combine them and place over the pasta.
If you are making a different sauce than scampi, use the same method of searing the shrimp and at the last minute toss them in the hot sauce.
When I make scampi, I sauté the shrimp on the first side with the garlic and whole butter on medium high heat, then I’ll flip them over and if I don’t need to do it in two batches, I add the wine and let the second side cook as the wine reduces. When the shrimp are barely cooked through, I’ll add the lemon, parsley and any needed salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
If it is going with pasta and needs extra sauce, the shrimp needs to be removed from the pan just before it is cooked through and set aside. Add the extra ingredients to make the sauce and at the last minute add the shrimp back into it. By starting the sauce after the flip with the shrimp in the pan, you get more shrimp flavor into the sauce, but if you’re looking for that extra crispness, the shrimp can’t be in the pan while you make the sauce, so the drippings from the searing will have to add the shrimp flavor.
You can add a little more caramelizing to the shrimp by adding a pinch of sugar when seasoning them with salt and pepper. I once read in an old article to do that and when I tried it, it worked great. Not only did the sugar help in caramelizing, but it also enhanced the sweetness of the shrimp. Just be careful and, again, use only the tiniest pinch. Sugar will also burn and ruin the flavor.
Pan Seared Shrimp
1½ lbs. shrimp (16 20s or 20 25s) peeled & deveined
Pinch of salt
2 T oil
4 T butter softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T white wine
1 lemon
¼ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Season the shrimp with salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of sugar.
Mix all of the ingredients from the softened butter down except the salt and pepper in a bowl. Use a large skillet and heat 1 T of oil until it smokes and add one layer of shrimp with plenty of room so they aren’t crowded. Cook for about 1 minute until you can see some dark spots and the edges are pink.
Flip the shrimp and immediately remove the pan from the heat and let the shrimp sit in the pan for about half a minute or until the center is just short of done and still a tiny bit opaque. Place them on a dish and repeat the process with the second batch.
Once you place the second batch on the plate, quickly add the butter mix to the pan and let it melt and get warm. Toss the shrimp quickly in it and serve immediately.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at smitty@chefsmitty.com or (530) 412-3598.
