How to Make Shrimp Scampi

Full recipe on Serious Eats: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/how-to-make-the-best-shrimp-scampi.html?utm_source=yt&utm_campaign=oct16

To get the most flavor in this shrimp scampi, we use vermouth instead of white wine and a mix of fragrant herbs—parsley, tarragon, and chives—instead of just parsley. The silky butter sauce, meanwhile, is brightened with a splash of fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest. It’s a quick, easy, one-pot Italian-American classic with just enough extra flavor and flair to make it special.

shrimp scampi that Italian American classic of tender sauteed shrimp in a buttery garlicky sauce on the surface it’s simple enough there are a few key points you should know for getting it just right we want to brown the shrimp for great flavor but we also want them plump and tender not dry and mealy the solution is to take a trick from Chinese cooking by marinating them with baking soda and salt for 10 minutes this transforms them making them extra plump and juicy with a satisfying snappy bite there are a lot of ways to mince garlic but in a quick cooking dish like this the method you choose can have a huge impact on the final flavor a quick and easy method like grading the garlic into a puree RUP there’s too many of the garlic cells releasing far more if it’s pungent aroma put that in a hot pan and it becomes stinky and noxious with a really nasty flavor your best bet here is to mince the garlic by hand which produces lots of tiny bits loaded with a sweet garlic flavor and none of that harshness a delicious looking dish like this may inspire you to double all the recipes ingredients for an even bigger serving just be careful pan sauces like the buttery one and shrimp scampi do not scale well which means that if you multiply all of the ingredients by the same factor you can end up with really unfortunate results start by tossing peeled large shrimp with baking soda and salt then letting them stand for 10 minutes or so heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over high heat until it begins to shimmer working in batches to avoid crowding the pan add the shrimp and cook stirring occasionally until just cook through and lightly browned in spots transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate and set aside add a little more oil to the skillet followed by minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is lightly golden if you want you can lower the heat here to prevent the garlic from scorching add remove to the pan stirring up any brown bits and simmer it until it’s reduced by half and most of its raw alcohol smell is cooked off next stir and butter whisking and swirling as you go it’s this rapid train that’s going to emulsify the butter into the sauce making it silky and creamy instead of broken and greasing off the heat add some fresh lemon juice which is going to give a really nice bright flavor to balance all of that rich butter add the shrimp back to the pan or turn it to the heat and cook them tossing to coat until they’re warmed through now I like to take a page out of French cooking here by finishing the dish with a mixture of minced fresh parsley tarragon and chives for even more flavor and aroma but you can just use parsley if you want for an extra kick of flavor grate a little fresh lemon zest on top at the end it’s going to reinforce that lemon juice flavor and add even more complexity to the dish all that’s left is to dig in whether you toss it with some pasta or just you know tack it with your bare hands like we do you