Cook up a taste of Mardi Gras with Barbecue Shrimp

If you've ever been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, you know it's quite the party. Parades, beaded necklaces, rum-spiked hurricanes (the drink, not the storm), and king cakes abound. There is a lot of decadence to fit in before Lent begins, after all, and food and drink play an important role.

Gumbo, jambalaya and red beans and rice find their way onto many Mardi Gras menus, as does another one of my favorite NOLA dishes, New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp.

Don't be fooled by the name. This dish isn't about barbecue — it never touches a grill. Some would argue it isn't really even about the shrimp. It's about the butter.

Yes, the success of the dish, which is simply sautéed shrimp, often served unpeeled with the heads still intact, lies in the generous amount of butter that's whisked together with beer, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and black pepper to form the sauce.

Legend has it that the name is derived from its appearance — the sauce has a reddish hue — rather than how it's cooked. In some versions, that hue comes from the addition of paprika. Other times it comes from tomato paste. I like to use the latter, as it gives the dish a slight sweetness.

You can serve the barbecue shrimp as an appetizer or a main course alongside a crusty loaf of bread for sopping up every drop of sauce. Mardi Gras only comes once a year, so enjoy.

Serves 4.

Note: You won't need to fire up the grill for this quick and easy shrimp dish, but you will need plenty of crusty bread to sop up the rich, buttery sauce. Whole, head-on, unpeeled shrimp are typically used in this dish. Although we are using the easier-to-find peeled, deveined shrimp in this recipe, feel free to substitute, if preferred. From Meredith Deeds.

• 3/4 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 2 lb. jumbo shrimp (21-25 per lb.), peeled, deveined, tail-on

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

• 6 tbsp. butter, cut into 6 pieces

• 2 tsp. all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp. tomato paste

• 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 c. beer (lager style)

• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp. lemon juice

• Finely chopped chives

• Lemon wedges

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper and cayenne. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of shrimp, for 1 minute per side, or until almost cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and shrimp.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the same (now empty) skillet over medium heat. Add flour, tomato paste, rosemary and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in beer, Worcestershire and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil for 1 minute, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Turn heat to the lowest setting and add the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter, stirring until melted. Return shrimp and any accumulated juices to skillet. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until shrimp are heated through.

Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with chopped chives. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Meredith Deeds is a cookbook author and food writer from Edina. Reach her at meredithdeeds@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram ­at @meredithdeeds.