Ask Chef Phyllis:
I love all-you-can-eat shrimp and the shrimp festival at Red Lobster…I never miss an opportunity to get my fill. Though I should mention that the shrimp at these events are good but not great. Recently, my husband surprised me and took me to a little bistro that served shrimp in a wine-butter sauce. It was listed on the menu as Marinated Shrimp in Champagne Beurre Blanc. Maybe because I’d never eaten this before, but it was exceptionally good. Of course, I was in my glory. The shrimp were served 4 on a small plate, tails upright, drenched in a warm butter sauce and garnished with fresh herbs. I asked for the recipe, but the waiter said it was a family secret. Is it possible to find a recipe for me?
—Lucille Pellini Morrow from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lucky you, Lucille. Fresh shrimp—brown, white, gulf, and later in the season, sweet pink—are plentiful in your area beginning in June and continuing through early September. Most of the time, they’re amazingly easy to prepare and cook. Just remember to look for wild-caught shrimp, which are healthier than farmed shrimp.
Lucky for me, I did find the particular recipe you mentioned in a very old cookbook. It’s a classic French recipe, usually made with butter and sparkling white wine. It sounds to me like your bistro chef gave a glamorous makeover to an old favorite—and the champagne is a lovely touch.
Champagne and sparkling wines are labeled either brut or extra dry. Brut indicates the driest, while extra dry is sweeter. For this recipe you’ll want the slightly sweeter extra dry wine.
Sumptuous Shrimp
A lot of French cuisine has many steps, and this dish is no exception. But you know it’s worth the effort. The following recipe serves 6 as an appetizer or 3 as an entrée, with 8 shrimp per person. You can prepare the sauce base in advance and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the sauce base:
2 cups champagne or other dry white sparkling wine
½ cup shallots, minced
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
½ teaspoon freshly ground pink peppercorns
¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
For the shrimp:
1 cup dry champagne
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
24 extra large uncooked shrimp with tails (about 2 lbs.), peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon each fresh chives, tarragon, and flat leaf parsley, minced, for garnish
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled salted butter, cut into 16 pieces
Crusty French bread (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce base (this can be done in advance): Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and boil until reduced to ½-cup liquid, about 20 minutes. Cover and let stand at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, whisk champagne, olive oil, shallots, pepper, and, if desired, red pepper flakes in a measuring cup, then pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add shrimp to the bag and shake until evenly coated. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or 1 hour in the refrigerator, turning the bag often.
- Preheat broiler to high. Generously grease a broiler pan with butter or oil.
- Drain shrimp, discarding the marinade, and arrange them in a single layer on the pan. Broil until just opaque in center, about 2 to 3 minutes per side depending on the size of your shrimp. Check often.
- Stand each serving of shrimp in the center of a plate, with the tails upright.
- Gently simmer the sauce base over medium heat, whisking in butter pieces one at a time to make a beurre blanc sauce. Don’t let it come to a boil, or it will separate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon warm sauce over and around the shrimp. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve immediately, with slices of crusty bread to soak up the butter sauce, if desired.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
To choose your organically grown and fresh ingredients wisely, use the following criteria:
- chemical- and hormone-free meat
- wild-caught fish
- pasture-raised, organic eggs
- whole, unrefined grains
- virgin, unrefined, first-press organic oils
- whole-food, unrefined sweeteners
- pure, clean, spring water
- sea salt
- raw and/or cultured milk and cream products
Phyllis Quinn is a chef, food writer, and founder of Udderly Cultured, a class that teaches how to make homemade fresh mozzarella, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, and other cultured products. Private lessons are available. For a reservation, call Phyllis at 970-221-5556 or email her at phyllisquinn2@gmail.com. Rediscover nearly lost cooking methods and get one-of-a-kind recipes in her books The Slow Cook Gourmet and Udderly Cultured: The Art of Milk Fermentation.
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