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Hot and Spicy Shrimp

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on March 1, 2012

Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Hot and Spicy Shrimp

Ingredients

2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveinedSalt and pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 garlic cloves, minced½ cup beer ½ cup clam juice ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 3 scallions, sliced thin2 tablespoons hot sauce

Before You Begin

Searing develops color and flavor on the shrimp, which finish cooking right in the spicy sauce.

Instructions

  1. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of shrimp without moving until spotty brown on one side, about 1 minute; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining oil and shrimp.
  2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in beer, clam juice, and any accumulated shrimp juices, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to boil and cook until sauce is reduced to ⅓ cup, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Return shrimp to skillet and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro, scallions, hot sauce, and remaining butter. Serve.
Hot and Spicy Shrimp

Hot and Spicy Shrimp

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup beer
½ cup clam juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 scallions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons hot sauce

Ingredients

2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup beer
½ cup clam juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 scallions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons hot sauce

Ingredients

2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup beer
½ cup clam juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 scallions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons hot sauce

Why This Recipe Works

We seared the shrimp until just barely cooked through, then set them aside until we prepared the sauce—the shrimp finished cooking through in the sauce. This way, we could use one pan for cooking both the shrimp and the sauce. When building the sauce for our Hot and Spicy Shrimp, we made sure to scrape up the browned bits left in the pan—called fond—with a wooden spoon. The fond added valuable flavor to the sauce. Bottled clam juice created a bright, briny sauce with real depth. Adding butter to the sauce at the end of cooking thickened it to a glossy consistency that coated the shrimp nicely.

Before You Begin

Searing develops color and flavor on the shrimp, which finish cooking right in the spicy sauce.

Instructions

  1. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of shrimp without moving until spotty brown on one side, about 1 minute; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining oil and shrimp.
  2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in beer, clam juice, and any accumulated shrimp juices, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to boil and cook until sauce is reduced to ⅓ cup, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Return shrimp to skillet and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro, scallions, hot sauce, and remaining butter. Serve.

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