Smoked Shrimp?

Bassman · June 22, 2004, 05:05:16 PM

For Fathers Day I got one of those metal dishes with holes in it to put on the grill to cook veggies. I'm thinking of using it for shrimp in the smoker. Has anybody ever smoked shrimp before? How about mussels or clams? I have made clams on an open fire with wonderful results,so I'm thinking it would be much better in the smoker.

For Shrimp I'm thinking of peeling/cleaning/marinating over night. And then smoking (pre-heated to 200F or maybe less) till they turn pink. Does this sound like a plan?

Jack

PAsmoker · June 22, 2004, 06:37:52 PM

I've thrown shrimp in a few times. They get wonderful. I just threw the peeled shrimp onto the racks. A few fell through but they fell onto another rack; no big deal. I didn't marinate, just sprinkled w/ old bay before tossing on.

Regforte · June 22, 2004, 08:54:45 PM

Bassman,

Try brining your peeled, deveined shrimp. It's even more important than marinating IMO. I use a very simple brine.

1 quart water
1/4 C salt
1/4 C sugar (brown or white)
1 T black pepper

Shrimp are small so you only want to brine them for 20 - 30 minutes or they'll be too salty.

Let the surface dry the way you do with fish (i.e. until a pellicule forms).

Brush them with butter mixed with the BBQ rub of choice. Smoke at 200 F. Don't overcook.

I do oysters and mussels too. They're fantastic. Just brush with some butter, sprinkle on a little rub and smoke at 200 F. Again, don't overcook. That's very important with shellfish lest they come out rubbery.

Bassman · June 22, 2004, 09:51:52 PM

Thanks Regforte,
I will try your recipe. Just one thing, approximatly how long in the smoker? like you said, I don't want to over cook.

Jack

Regforte · June 22, 2004, 11:23:29 PM

Jack,

My last cook at 200 F was about 45 minutes, but I had to to be *very* careful. As I rememeber I had to pull the ones on the lower shelf early because of the higher temp in the lower area.

Don't be afraid to cook a bit slower. I've done it as low as 160 F and they were good.

If you pull your shrimp a bit early you can use them in other dishes like fettucine with cream sauce, etc. The extra heat in the pan will finish them.

Smoked shrimp will make you a hero at your next party, believe me. You just can't get good smoked shrimp anywhere, even at restaurants. It's a dish that has to be made at home.

whitetailfan · June 24, 2004, 03:57:30 PM

Thanks for the recipe regforte,
I have done shrimp twice, but not put any thought or effort into it.
First time I butterflied raw prawns and smoked with hickory till they turned color, I don't recall if they got bright red, or just opaque. They were damn tasty except that I was a little boozed up and thought it would be a good idea to toss em in the ole microburner for 2 minutes to make sure they were cooked[:D] OOPS

Second try was the day I did up some Kummok salmon. I used the bottom tray and smoked them at the low 140 range of Kummoks recipe. That time they were pre-cooked, so all I was doing was flavouring and warming...OK but nothing to rave about. I got another bag the other day I was shopping, so I'm going to try your brine.

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

Regforte · June 24, 2004, 05:45:17 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by whitetailfan
I got another bag the other day I was shopping, so I'm going to try your brine.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Sounds great. Feel free to add more spices, garlic, etc to the brine. Personally I find that if I get high quality shrimp there's so much flavor in them it's not required, but feel free to experiment.

Good luck on the next batch.

BrentK · June 28, 2004, 02:23:41 AM

I do fresh shrimp, fish, clams, King Crab and lobster on the grill. I cook'em till there done just as if I were steaming,baking or broiling them. They only take a short bit of time and in the smoker I think they would be GREAT[:D] Mostly I like to cook them with the meat ...that way as they cook they absorb some of the flavor from from the meat smoke. I don't see a need to brine them...just let thier flavor stand on it's own. Putting them in the BS sounds like a great idea

BrentK
Grand Forks, ND

Oldman · June 28, 2004, 03:31:35 AM

I cook close a 100 pounds of shrimp during the year. It seem that every one of the family that comes to Florida expects this.

I pre-smoke some two weeks back (2 pucks worth–box heat off) and then finished them off over direct oak. I was not happy with the end results. The flavor was there, however they were tough.

One of the tricks to understand shrimp is that they are like eggs. Once you remove them from the heat they continue to cook fairly rapidly. I will use the example of boiled shrimp. I place them into boiling water. Stirring almost continuously. About 3 minutes into the cook I will pull one and cut it to see how opaque it has become. As it cooks the more opaque it becomes. When the shrimp has a translucent center the size of a pencil lead I pull the shrimp from the boiling water and then dump them into an ice bath. By the time the ice bath kills the cook that center is all but completely opaque. This gives you a nice firm, full favored, but not tough/ rubbery shrimp.

When I just grill them I pull them when ½ of the shrimp is opaque. Place in a covered dish and within minutes the shrimp has finished cooking itself.

I'm not sure about slow cooking them in the Bradley. This is something I need to look more into. I do know that slow boiling them makes them tough and they shrink.

BrentK · June 28, 2004, 04:37:21 PM

Olds,

You're right, it is very easy to overcook fish and shell fish. On the grill you have to watch them all the time. One question....when you pre-smoked the shrimp and then finished them off over direct oak was that on a grill?? I wonder how then might be if you pre-smoked them and then finished them by steaming them? Do you think they would hold the smoke flavor?

BrentK
Grand Forks, ND

Bassman · June 28, 2004, 06:18:16 PM

Regforte,
Made a 1LB of Shrimp according to your recipe. Came out with very good texture but a little salty. I left them in the brine for 30 minutes, rinsed them really good and then smoked for approx. 1hr @170F.Very moist & tender,just too salty. Next time I will skip the brine completely and just marinate them.Or maybe use 1/2 the salt with 1/2 the time in the brine.

Jack

Regforte · June 28, 2004, 11:59:23 PM

Jack,

I read you loud and clear. It's very easy to end up with too much salt in the finished product. But I wouldn't give up on brining your shrimp just yet.

Cut back on the brining time. I usually soak for 20-30 minutes, but since you found the salt level too high you should try just 15 minutes. Then go ahead and let them dry so the outside surface has no moisture left (this is the "pellicule"). The drying time will also allow the salt to distribute itself more uniformly inside the shrimp (this is called "equalization").

The brining makes a major difference, trust me. I'd give it another try.

Regards,
RegForte

Bassman · June 29, 2004, 03:07:59 PM

Regforte,
OK, I'll try it again with 1/2 the brine time. Thanks for your help,I'll let you know how they come out.[:)]

Jack

edited because I can't type

BigSmoker · June 29, 2004, 04:39:28 PM

I as well like to brine my shrimp. I usually only do about 15-20 min. I like to use large prawns as they have more meat persay. I take a very large ripe grapefruit and slice thin. cut fruit in half longways. PLace one butterflyed shrimp on 1/2 pc fruit. use t. pick to secure place on rack and smoke at 170 175 until almost opaque Best I remember about 30-45 min buts its been a while. Yummy!!

Could you cold smoke them and then sautee' in pan with garlic and butter?

Jeff

Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

banzai · June 29, 2004, 06:13:35 PM

ok i hate the add a new subject but, i was in Seattle a while back at Pikes Place Market and they had the most amazing smoked salmon. it was sweet as candy!! also, i tried some terriaki smoked salmon in Newport Oregon on that same trip. absolutely incredible!! my question here is, does anyone know how i can make the same thing in my Bradley? its supposed to do the whole "cold smoked" thing and i think thats how those salmon were done. any help would be great. my mother is addicted to smoked salmon and would love be able to make some for her. thanks folks......"E"