Shrimp Pilau #2
My friend, Nikki Merritt, turned me on to Shrimp Pilau, and the recipe she gave me is excellent. I did some researching on “pilau,” though, and saw that it’s very much like a jambalaya I’m more accustomed to cooking, but using bacon instead of sausage, and with less in the way of Louisiana style seasonings. I’ve tried a couple of different variations of this and have had good results.
For more on South Carolina cuisine, visit this article at Charleston Magazine – “40 VERY Charleston Dishes.” As usual, feel free to experiment. We hope you enjoy.
Ingredients
3 pounds head-on wild Gulf shrimp (9-12 count)
2 pounds sliced bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, minced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned and chopped
1 red pepper, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 14oz cans tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups brown rice
5 Bay leaves
salt & pepper (red, white, and black – about 1/4 tsp each)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon dry basil (or a few leaves fresh)
2 teaspoons sugar
Directions
Peel and de-vein shrimp, placing heads and peels in a stock pot. Cover shells with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Cut shrimp into halves or thirds, and season up however you like. I prefer a good dose of garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, salt, etc. Be creative. Use a prepared Cajun seasoning like Cachere’s if desired. Stir to coat, and hold in refrigerator until later.
While stock is cooking, place bacon in dutch oven and cook until nearly crisp. Set bacon aside on paper towels to drain. Remove most of the bacon fat, but reserve a few tablespoons in the pan for cooking the vegetables.
Into hot bacon fat, add onion. Then celery, then bell peppers and garlic. Cook for a few minutes; then add tomatoes, including juice. Bring to a simmer. Add bay leaves. And other seasonings.
Drain shrimp stock, discarding heads and peels. Measure remaining stock, and return to a boil, cooking down to 2 – 2 1/2 cups. Add stock to pot of vegetables. Stir in rice.
Bring to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 45 minutes. Or until liquid is absorbed, and rice is tender. It’s okay if not all liquid is absorbed.
When rice is tender, stir in bacon and allow to heat through. Then, stir in the shrimp, folding constantly to distribute cooking heat evenly. Cook just until pink.
At this point, you may stir in some filé powder if desired.
Remove from heat. Allow to rest for 10 minutes; then serve up in big bowl with plenty of your favorite hot sauce.
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On October 13, 2023, I did a twist on this recipe. I only had 3/4 cup of brown rice.
- I cooked up Zatarain’s Cajun sausage in a wide stainless steel skillet. (In butter)
- Season shrimp generously with Cayenne, white and black pepper, paprika, onion and garlic powder. Hold in fridge for the time being.
- Removed slightly browned sausage to a plate and drained on paper towels.
- Add chopped onion and bell pepper to skillet and cook until softened a bit. Add tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes chopped.) Cook for a few minutes. Push vegetables to outer edges of skillet, clearing a place in the middle to cook the rice.
- Break up some pasta. I used a baggie and a rolling pin. Combine with the rice. Then add to the skillet and stir to coat with the melted butter.
- Stir to combine rice with the vegetables. Add sausage with stock ( I used a combination of chicken and shrimp stock.) The pilau seemed a bit thin, so I added some quinoa to thicken.
- Cut shrimp into halves or thirds. Set aside in another bowl. Use some of the liquid from the skillet to loosen seasonings that have stuck to the bowl that had contained the shrimp. Add this mixture to the skillet.
- Cover and simmer gently until the rice is tender.
- Add shrimp to skillet, and reduce heat to VERY low. Stir to thoroughly combine. Cover and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat and allow the residual heat of the rice and vegetable complete the cooking of the shrimp.