Shrimp Scampi with Garlic Butter

I've posted this before, but now I have photos. DW had a craving for shrimp today, and the supermarket had 10 - 15 count jumbo shrimp for $8.99 a pound, so what the heck.

This recipe is from the old Time-Life Cookbook series, an excellent collection of American and international recipes.

Some folks like to add a bit of wine or to roast the garlic in this recipe, but I think it's damn near perfect as originally written. Also, the cooking time may seem a little excessive, but it's correct -- the broiler is a lot slower than sauteing in a fry pan.

Here's the recipe:

SCAMPI WITH GARLIC BUTTER

1 pound of jumbo shrimp (prawns), peeled & deveined
¼ cup butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
¼ cup finely chopped shallots or scallions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely chopped parsley (preferably Italian flat-leaf parsley)
Lemon wedges for garnish

1. Rinse shrimp and pat them dry with paper towels. Place in flame-proof baking dish in one layer.

2. Melt butter in olive oil over low heat, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, shallots or green onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour over shrimp, and turn shrimp over to coat all sides. Allow to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Preheat broiler to highest setting. Adjust rack so that shrimp will be 4 to 6 inches from heat. Broil shrimp in butter sauce for about 3 to 4 minutes, then turn shrimp over and broil the other side for about 3 minutes; they will begin to brown and will feel firm when done.

4. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve shrimp and sauce garnished with lemon wedges.

I can attest to the deliciousness of this dish (don't try to say that sentence out loud).

Very easy, and even better tasting than it looks!

Lee

I know what I would like for dinner. That looks wonderful!

That looks great Doug and will try your method next time we have shrimp.

Looks great! thanks for posting. I love shrimp about anyway you can cook it but scampi is a favorite.

damn, fry, that does look good. and a good price on the u15's.

copied and saved. thanks.

I made this for New Year's Eve dinner again this year, as I do almost every year. We could afford a lot more now, but we still go back to this dish because when we were first married in 1968, shrimp was expensive and a special treat, and DW likes it more than lobster (I love shrimp, but I love lobster just a bit more).

However, I can't believe how cheap shrimp has become! We bought a 2-pound bag of superb frozen shrimp at Von's (Safeway operation here in SoCal). Don't be turned off by frozen -- unless you live in N.O, virtually ALL shrimp you buy in the market has been frozen and defrosted, and it's much preferable to buy it still frozen and defrost in a bowl of cold water when you want to cook it. Actually, the bag held just under 2½ pounds of shrimp, as it almost always does, 21 to 25 per pound, $6 per pound! Great food at a great price!

That looks (& sounds wonderful). I love Shrimp Scampi-style & love trying new versions of it.

One quick question - the baking dish you're using looks identical to several I have, but I've always been afraid to use them under the broiler for fear they'd crack. Is yours a particular brand/type?

Good question, Breezy. It's an old CorningWare French White F-4-B 2.5-Liter Oval Casserole/Roaster, part of a set of three that also includes an F-6-B 1.8-Liter and a F-21-B 4.5-Liter similar pans (but no lids). We've had the set a long, long time, and I've never worried about how I use it.

HOWEVER -- and this is very important -- because of its age, the set is made from the original CorningWare PyroCeram glass-ceramic material, which is supposedly similar to the material used for the tiles on the Space Shuttle. According to one source, PyroCeram is commonly referred to as glass but it is actually a transparent ceramic that has virtually zero thermal expansion.

Corning stopped making these pans in the 1990s and sold the brand off to a company called World Kitchens, which switched from PyroCeram to stoneware. The latter material is not nearly as durable or resistant to thermal extremes, and I would not recommend putting it under the broiler. The original CorningWare, however, was so heat resistant that it could be used on the stovetop.

The CorningWare brand reintroduced a few items made of PyroCeram in 2009 under their "StoveTop" line: http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/index.asp?pageID=240&b=312 But not all new CorningWare is made of PyroCeram; most is apparently still made of stoneware, so be careful about what you buy and how you use it.

Yup - mine is the "French White" Corningware "roaster" as well. I knew it looked familiar. Of course, for the life of me, I can't remember when I bought it.

Guess I'd be safest either broiling the shrimp in the bottom half of an enameled broiler pan or baking them at a relatively high temp.

Looks wonderful!

BreezyCooking said:

Yup - mine is the "French White" Corningware "roaster" as well. I knew it looked familiar. Of course, for the life of me, I can't remember when I bought it.

Guess I'd be safest either broiling the shrimp in the bottom half of an enameled broiler pan or baking them at a relatively high temp.

Click to expand...

Check on the bottom of the pan and see if it has one of the model numbers I listed -- it's kind of hard to see, small raised letters on either one end or one side near the edge. If yours has the same number, it's PyroCeram and should be safe to use in the broiler or even on the stove.

FryBoy said:

Good question, Breezy. It's an old CorningWare French White F-4-B 2.5-Liter Oval Casserole/Roaster, part of a set of three that also includes an F-6-B 1.8-Liter and a F-21-B 4.5-Liter similar pans (but no lids). We've had the set a long, long time, and I've never worried about how I use it.

HOWEVER -- and this is very important -- because of its age, the set is made from the original CorningWare PyroCeram glass-ceramic material, which is supposedly similar to the material used for the tiles on the Space Shuttle. According to one source, PyroCeram is commonly referred to as glass but it is actually a transparent ceramic that has virtually zero thermal expansion.

Corning stopped making these pans in the 1990s and sold the brand off to a company called World Kitchens, which switched from PyroCeram to stoneware. The latter material is not nearly as durable or resistant to thermal extremes, and I would not recommend putting it under the broiler. The original CorningWare, however, was so heat resistant that it could be used on the stovetop.

The CorningWare brand reintroduced a few items made of PyroCeram in 2009 under their "StoveTop" line: http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/index.asp?pageID=240&b=312 But not all new CorningWare is made of PyroCeram; most is apparently still made of stoneware, so be careful about what you buy and how you use it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the numbers. You just made me go check mine, and they are the same set as yours. I've always used them under the broiler without even thinking about it. Good to know that I haven't been doing something dangerous.

Cooksie said:

Thanks for the numbers. You just made me go check mine, and they are the same set as yours. I've always used them under the broiler without even thinking about it. Good to know that I haven't been doing something dangerous.

Click to expand...

One source -- Wiki, I think -- suggests that the manufacturer stopped using PyroCeram because it's nearly indestructible and will last 1,000 years! Not much profit in that, considering that they were relatively inexpensive.

WooHoo! Thanks for the info on the Corningware, Doug. I have a couple of those sets but I couldn't remember for how long. Mine are the good stuff, too! I never thought of using them under the broiler before. This is really useful information.

Fisher's Mom said:

WooHoo! Thanks for the info on the Corningware, Doug. I have a couple of those sets but I couldn't remember for how long. Mine are the good stuff, too! I never thought of using them under the broiler before. This is really useful information.

Click to expand...

Do be certain that what you have is the original Corningware Pyroceram. Later versions of Corningware, including most of what is marketed today, is NOT made of Pyroceram. Rather, it's stoneware. Stoneware is fine in the oven or microwave, but unlike Pyroceram Corningware, stoneware Corningware is not certified for use on gas or electric stove tops or under the broiler.

One way to check is to go to this site and look for the particular model number of each item you use:

http://www.classickitchensandmore.c...le-roaster-no-lid-nm-p-3373.html?currency=USD

I checked mine against the model numbers you posted, Doug. Thanks again for this info!!!

Nuts. Mine is an F-23-B. Oh well, like I said, I'll find another way to try this recipe.

FryBoy said:

I've posted this before, but now I have photos. DW had a craving for shrimp today, and the supermarket had 10 - 15 count jumbo shrimp for $8.99 a pound, so what the heck.

This recipe is from the old Time-Life Cookbook series, an excellent collection of American and international recipes.

Some folks like to add a bit of wine or to roast the garlic in this recipe, but I think it's damn near perfect as originally written. Also, the cooking time may seem a little excessive, but it's correct -- the broiler is a lot slower than sauteing in a fry pan.

Here's the recipe:

SCAMPI WITH GARLIC BUTTER

1 pound of jumbo shrimp (prawns), peeled & deveined
¼ cup butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
¼ cup finely chopped shallots or scallions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely chopped parsley (preferably Italian flat-leaf parsley)
Lemon wedges for garnish

1. Rinse shrimp and pat them dry with paper towels. Place in flame-proof baking dish in one layer.

2. Melt butter in olive oil over low heat, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, shallots or green onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour over shrimp, and turn shrimp over to coat all sides. Allow to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Preheat broiler to highest setting. Adjust rack so that shrimp will be 4 to 6 inches from heat. Broil shrimp in butter sauce for about 3 to 4 minutes, then turn shrimp over and broil the other side for about 3 minutes; they will begin to brown and will feel firm when done.

4. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve shrimp and sauce garnished with lemon wedges.

Click to expand...

Looks delish. Love scampi. I have the Time-Life "Pasta" book, & it's one of my favorite cookbooks.

If you don't have the right dish to put under the broiler, this is a similar dish I like from Jacques Pepin - Little Shrimp Casseroles, made in gratin dishes:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aspen-2006-little-shrimp-casseroles

ETA: Hope you don't mind me sticking my two cents in lol. Didn't want you to think I was detracting from Your recipe.

BreezyCooking said:

Nuts. Mine is an F-23-B. Oh well, like I said, I'll find another way to try this recipe.

Click to expand...

The F-23-B is Pyrocrerma:

http://www.classickitchensandmore.c...w-new-storage-lid-ln-p-1845.html?currency=USD

Looks like you're in luck, BC!

Oh wow - THANKS!!! Guess we'll be having Scampi one night this week - lol! I'm thinking with a side of Angel Hair pasta to absorb some of that lovely sauce, maybe a nice mixed green salad. . . .