Seafood

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

February 20, 2021
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0 Ratings
Photo by anotherfoodieblogger
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

There is this trendy little restaurant in Central Oregon called Zydeco Kitchen and Cocktails that sells the most amazing BBQ shrimp appetizers, which gets ordered every time we go there and more often as not I eat it as my main meal. They bottle and sell the sauce for it for at least triple the amount I'd be willing to pay, so I decided to recreate this dish at home a few years ago. After several attempts, I felt I had mastered it! My picky husband loved it, and I was so proud of it I made it for Super Bowl, I made it for a dinner party, and I handed the recipe out to many friends who asked for it (and to even those who didn't!). —anotherfoodieblogger

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chili sauce (found in the ketchup aisle)
  • 3 tablespoons Worcesterhire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun (Creole) seasoning
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • Generous amounts of ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Prepared refrigerated polenta (comes in a tube)
  • Chopped parsley and green onion, for garnish
Directions
  1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add all the ingredients through to the ground pepper.
  2. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until it’s reduced just a tad. Add the shrimp in a single layer to a casserole dish, then pour the sauce over it, stirring around to coat. Cover and place in refrigerator to marinate for 1 up to 4 hours. (Even overnight would be fine.)
  3. About a half hour before you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When preheated, place shrimp dish uncovered in oven for 15-20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, slice four 1/2-inch or so cakes of the polenta (refrigerate or freeze reserve for another use). Add 1 tablespoon butter to a skillet over medium-high heat, then fry the polenta cakes on each side until slightly browned.
  5. Place two polenta cakes in each bowl, then add desired amount of shrimp over the cakes, pouring generous amounts of the BBQ sauce over it. Garnish with additional chopped parsley and green onion. Serve with a crusty bread, for sopping up all the sauce. Try not to fight over who gets to mop up the last of the sauce out of the casserole dish.

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