Today’s recipe is to help you make The Best Cajun Spicy Shrimp and Grits! I recently enjoyed a visit to one of the great food cities found in the US; New Orleans where I had the best Cajun Crawfish Boil.

My Inspiration

Nancy’s daughter and son-in-law who live in New Orleans were gracious enough to help us explore the food scene a little bit while we were in town. Everything we ate was fantastic; from the fried chicken, gumbo, grilled oysters, beignets, jambalaya, red beans and rice, to the Muffuletta sandwiches. I continue to be inspired by the food from that part of the world. (Check here for my recipes for my Muffuletta Sandwich and for my Jambalaya!)

While on our trip to New Orleans we had so much good food. I think my favorite had to be the Cajun crawfish boil at Big EZ Seafood.

**Here I am enjoying the Cajun Crawfish Boil at the Big EZ Seafood Restaurant in New Orleans!**

Eating a crawfish boil is not for the faint of heart! Your hands will have tons of marinade on them when you are all done … And you won’t care! Put on your bib and deal with it. I’m not kidding when I tell you the sauce is finger-licking good! Do what the locals tell you to do. Pinch the tail and suck out the sauce from the head. Let me know in the comments below your favorite go-to restaurants in New Orleans!

Why Shrimp and Grits

There is not much crawfish to be found in Southern California so I decided to improvise. If you are trying to be authentic and can’t do without the crawfish, you might try the Louisiana Crawfish Company. The internet is great, but when I have a craving, I look for alternatives in order to get my spice on! New Orleans is well known for Shrimp and Grits so let’s cook some shrimp using a Cajun crawfish boil marinade to spice it up. Shrimp is just a large crawfish; right? This recipe is perfect for those of you who are messy-intolerant. You will love it!

When making this recipe I do mean improvise. I didn’t have grits in the house so I used polenta. Both are made out of cornmeal. Polenta is made from yellow corn and grits are made from white corn. Because of the type of cornmeal used, polenta is typically a coarser grind than grits. Either one will be a great accompaniment to your spicy Cajun shrimp. Check here for my recipe for making polenta!

Let’s Make Our Marinade Even More Special!

To make it even more special, I used some Vietnamese ingredients like the ones used at the Big EZ Seafood restaurant to try and recreate the same spicy sauce. So I added Shrimp Paste (Mam Tom), fish sauce, and Lemongrass with the rest of my Cajun spices. The flavors obtained from this recipe I am happy to say satisfied my cravings! All is good in the world.

This recipe will definitely put you in the mindset of taking the first flight you can to visit New Orleans to enjoy all the food the city has to offer! And if you find yourself with a bag of crawfish, my marinade will work perfectly whether you are making Crawfish and Grits or the perfect Crawfish Boil! As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

The Best Cajun Spiced Boil Shrimp

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Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time – Shrimp

minutes

Cooking time- Polenta

Ingredients

1 lb 1 Shrimp Large 15 count, Peeled and Deveined
1 Tbl 1 Grapeseed oil
1/2 Cup 1/2 Polenta
2.5 Cups 2.5 Water
Dry Seasonings
1 Tbl 1 Paprika, sweet or smoky
1 Tbl 1 Garlic powder
2 tsp 2 Onion powder
1 tsp 1 Lemon pepper
2 tsp 2 Celery salt
2 tsp 2 White pepper
2 tsp 2 Cayenne pepper
1 tsp 1 Oregano
Vietnamese ingredients
2 tsp 2 Lemongrass powder
2 Tbl 2 Shrimp paste
2 tsp 2 Fish sauce
Other Ingredients
1/2 Tbl 1/2 Minced garlic
2 oz 2 Unsalted butter-4 Tbl
Parsley, rough chop
Louisiana Hot Sauce, to taste; optional

Directions

Polenta
Check here for my polenta recipe using the ratio of polenta and water as stated in the above ingredients. Add your favorite shredded cheese if you want to make your polenta a little cheesy! (Good cheeses to try might be Gruyere, Parmesan, White Cheddar)
Cook the polenta per the recipe. Try to time the polenta to finish cooking as you finish cooking your shrimp. Shrimp does not take long to cook.
Shrimp Marinade
Wisk all dry ingredients and lemongrass powder into a bowl. Set aside. (Give your seasoning a little taste. If you think it needs a little more spice, add some more cayenne and white pepper.
Pat shrimp dry. We want to get a good color for our shrimp. Drizzle some of our homemade cajun seasoning over the shrimp. Let the shrimp sit for 5 minutes.
Heat cast iron pan over medium heat for a few minutes till hot. Add butter and oil to your cast iron pan.
Add dry seasoning to the butter when it starts to bubble. Stir well. Add fish sauce, garlic, and shrimp paste to the pan and stir well. When ingredients are well combined, add shrimp.
Let the shrimp cook for a minimum of 2 minutes on each side. Time cooking is based on the temperature of your pan. Do not overcook. Shrimp will cook fast. Make sure shrimp is well coated with the Cajun seasoning and butter mixture.
Time to plate!
Ladle some polenta into your dish/bowl. Add your shrimp. Spoon on some of your awesome cajun sauce. Sprinkle some chopped parsley for garnish. Drizzle on some Louisianna Hot Sauce if desired and you are ready to dive in. Let the Good Times Roll!