Recipes

Nothing tastes better than Wild Alabama Seafood fresh from the Gulf of Mexico. Except for Southern tried-and-perfected recipes featuring the freshest Gulf bounty.

Calling all seafood cooksÑhave a great Alabama seafood recipe youÕd like to share on this website? Send it to us at info@eatalabamawildseafood.com.

For the Maque Choux:
¼ cup Olive Oil
3 cups Sweet Corn
½ cup Vidalia Onion, diced
½ Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 tbsp. Garlic, minced
3 cups Heavy Cream
1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
2 tbsp. Parsley
1 cup Tomatoes, diced
Salt & Pepper, to taste
For the Shrimp:
24 Large Alabama Wild Shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ cup Olive Oil
2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp. Kosher Salt
2 tsp. Black Pepper

In a large sautŽ pan, heat olive oil. Add corn, onion, peppers and garlic. Sweat until tender, then add cream, lemon juice, parsley and tomatoes. Reduce cream by half. Season and serve.

In a bowl, toss shrimp with cayenne, oil and seasonings. Transfer to an open-faced grill and grill on each side for 2 minutes.

On a small plate, place a spoonful of Maque Choux and top with 3 shrimp per person.

For the Tempura Shrimp:
1 cup Flour
8 oz. Soda Water
Pinch of Baking Soda
1 tbsp. Sea Salt
2 tbsp. Sesame Seeds
18 Extra Large Alabama Wild Shrimp
2 cups Canola Oil
For the Chili Aioli:
½ Onion
½ Celery Stalk
1 inch Fresh Ginger
½ cup Cherry Tomatoes
½ Lime, juiced
2 tbsp. Sesame Oil
2 tbsp. Chili Sambal
1 tbsp. Mirin
¼ cup Soy Sauce
¼ cup Rice Vinegar
1 Whole Egg
Salt, to taste
1 ½ cup Grapeseed Oil
For the Arugula:
1 large bunch of Arugula
2 Lemons, juiced
4 tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

For the Tempura Shrimp: Whisk together the flour, water, baking soda, sea salt and sesame seeds. Heat the oil in a small deep fryer to 350° F. Dip the shrimp in and fry them for 2 minutes. Drain them on paper towels and season with fine salt.

For the Chili Aioli: Combine all ingredients in blender except oil. Blend until smooth and strain through chinois—and discard solids. Add back into blender and drizzle grape seed oil in slowly until the mixture thickens.

For the Arugula: Toss the arugula with the lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Serve shrimp with arugula and Chili Aioli. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

For the Shrimp:
4 cups of your favorite salad mix
1 cup Sylvetta Arugula, petite
1 cup Green Beans
1 cup Carrots, matchsticks
1 cup Celery Root, peeled, matchsticks
1 cup Okra, sliced into stars
1 cup Figs, quartered
½ cup Jalapeno, deseeded, deveined, julienned
¼ Whole Cantaloupe, or other ripe melon, thinly sliced, 1" long
8 slices Niman Ranch Bresaola, thinly sliced
8 Crimini Mushrooms, cap trimmed, thinly sliced
24 Alabama Wild Shrimp, peeled, deveined, salted and then blanched and chilled
For the dressing:
2 tbsp. Charbay Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur
2 tbsp. Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
1 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp. Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, minced
2 tbsp. Grapeseed Oil
1 ½ tbsp. Roasted Sesame Oil
2 tbsp. Fennel Pollen or Gita's Heirloom Tomato Powder with freshly ground black pepper to garnish

For the Shrimp: In boiling water, blanch the green beans for 2 minutes, then the carrots and celery root for 1 minute. Saute the sliced okra for about 5 minutes. In a stainless steel bowl, combine the salad mix and arugula and dress lightly with the dressing. Keeping each separate, toss the blanched vegetables, raw mushrooms, jalapeno and the melon with the anise-soy-lime dressing. Place greens in the center of the plate and arrange vegetables, cantaloupe, figs, bresaola and shrimp around the greens.

For the dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients together.

For the Arugula: Toss the arugula with the lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Serve shrimp with arugula and Chili Aioli. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

1 lb. Alabama Wild Shrimp, peeled, deveined and fully cooked
2 Green Onions, coarsely chopped
1 Shallot, chopped
2 tbsp. Chopped Fresh Taragon
¾ cup Mayonnaise
¾ cup Sour Cream
½ tsp. Hot Pepper Sauce (or more to taste)
¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce (or more to taste)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Place the shrimp, onions, shallots and tarragon in the bowl of a food processor in two or three batches if necessary. Pulse on and off to obtain a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and chill at least two hours. This dish can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for one day. Serve with crackers or toasted French bread slices. Yields eight servings.

24 Large Gulf Shrimp
3 cups Italian dressing (Wishbone)
3 Fresh Jalapeno Peppers
1lb. Lean Bacon
Toothpicks

Peel Shrimp, Butterfly the shrimp, Clean and Rinse. Trim Jalape–o Pepper and clean seeds out. Cut each pepper to julienne strips. Take the strips and insert into the butterflied back of the shrimp. Wrap each Shrimp in ½ slice of bacon and toothpick to hold together. Repeat for all shrimp. Place 24 shrimp into a shallow preferably plastic or pyrex pan and pour the dressing over the top. Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for min. 12 to no more than 36 hours. To cook, place shrimp on preheated grill (350-400) and cook each side for 4 min. or until bacon is done. Remove from heat and serve.

Tips
Shrimp will cook during the marination process so judge doneness by the Bacon.
Great as an entrŽe or appetizer.

2 pounds large shrimp (approx. 36), heads off, peeled and de-veined, leaving on the tails
1 T coarse sea salt
1 T wasabi powder
1 T prepared horseradish
¼ cup beer (I use Corona and drink the rest while cooking.)
2 T unsalted butter
1 T fresh cilantro finely chopped
Lime slices for garnish

Combine wasabi, beer and horseradish. Set aside. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat. When it begins to smoke, add shrimp. Toss until shrimp begin to turn pink (about 15 seconds). Add salt, wasabi-beer mixture and butter. Stir quickly for another 15 seconds, then cover tightly and remove from heat. Let shrimp rest for five minutes. Add cilantro, stir once and cover again. Wait another five minutes. Garnish with lime slice. Serves 6.

2 ½ lbs. Wild Alabama Shrimp deveined, cleaned and washed with lime juice.
1 medium lime freshly squeezed
½ tbsp. Curry
½ tsp. Tony's Creole Seasoning
¼ tsp. Caribbean jerk seasoning
1 packet Sazon Goya
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. Geera (roasted cumin)
1 ½ cup water

Combine first six ingredients and marinate shrimp overnight. Dissolve geera in 1 ½ tbsp. water. Add to hot oil in heavy pot. Keep stirring until pot becomes silent. Add shrimp and stir evenly for 1 ½ minutes at medium high heat. Serves 8.

This recipe keeps Mama Kathy's kids coming home. Whenever she's missing her traveling brood, she rings the dinner bell (meaning their cell phones) and sets a date for her south Alabama famous recipe. You can make this one on the stovetop or take it outside to the grill. Either way, Mama Kathy says it never fails to bring the family (and usually some extras) home.

1-2 quarts of fresh, raw oysters, drained
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 stick salted butter (you can add salt to taste—use Kosher salt if more is needed)
About 2 teaspoons each of course ground black pepper, fresh or dried oregano leaves and fresh or dried rosemary
4 Bay Leaves
20-25 cloves of garlic, well smashed
1 cup of dry white wine
French bread

Combine everything except the oysters and the wine in a cast iron skillet. Cook on medium heat until itÕs all well-blended and hot (about 15 to 20 minutes). Add the wine and stir. Gather the family and give them a hunk of French bread and a napkin (if youÕre cooking inside). Drop in the oysters about a pint at a time and cook until their edges curl. HereÕs the hard part: deciding who dips first (this is usually where promises of cleaning the kitchen and producing grandchildren begin). Once thatÕs figured out, take turns dipping the French bread in the garlic butter sauce, put an oyster on top and watch them disappear.

5 lbs. Alabama Wild Shrimp
2 cans beer
2 whole lemons, cut up
1 piece celery, diced
2 onions, cut up
2 large cooking spoons salt
2 large cooking spoons olive oil
Red pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
Enough water to cover shrimp

Bring everything to a boil after adding 5 pounds of headless shrimp. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Stir, then let stand covered off the heat for 6 more minutes. They should be just right to peel and easily eat.

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
30 uncooked large, Alabama Wild shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 cups Jamaican lager or other lager beer
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Freshly cooked white rice

Melt 6 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic, black pepper, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper and stir 1 minute. Add shrimp and sauté 1 minute. Stir in beer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to large bowl. Add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and honey to skillet and boil until sauce is reduced to 1 ¼ cups and coats spoon thinly, about 45 minutes. Return shrimp to sauce and simmer until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve with rice. Serves 4.

1 c. flour
1 c. Mazola oil
2 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped celery
½ c. bell pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 lbs. raw deveined, Alabama Wild Shrimp
1 large can tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste
3 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. red pepper
½ tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. chopped onion tops

Make roux (brown over slow fire stirring constantly) of flour and cooking oil. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, mix well and cook about 5 minutes, then add 6 cups of water. Let simmer about 1 hour. Add 3 pounds of raw, deveined shrimp, cook for 15 minutes. Add parsley and onion tops 5 minutes before serving. Serves 10 generously over rice.

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, unpeeled
2 green onions, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Bring medium saucepan of lightly salted water to boil. Add shrimp and cook just until bright pink and opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water. Peel and devein shrimp; transfer to processor. Add green onions, shallot, and tarragon; using on/off turns, process until shrimp are finely chopped. Transfer shrimp mixture to medium bowl. Mix in mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.) Serves 8.

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 lbs. Alabama Wild Shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
2 10-oz. cans mushroom soup
½ cup light cream
⅓ cup sherry
2 tsp. dry mustard
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in double boiler. Add soup, mustard, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Whip cream. Add mushrooms, shrimp, and sherry to mixture in double boiler and continue to cook over low heat. Add parmesan cheese. Fold in cream. If sauce is too thick, thin with milk. Serve over rice, in pastry shell, or over toast. Serves 8.

2 large red bell peppers
2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 cup quick-cooking grits
3 ½ cups low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
30 uncooked large, Alabama Wild shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Fresh thyme sprigs

Butter 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and coarsely chop peppers.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, green onions, and chopped thyme. Sauté until onions wilt, about 2 minutes. Add grits and stir 1 minute. Whisk in broth and cream. Simmer until liquid is absorbed and grits are thick and tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Whisk in salt, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper. Fold in roasted bell peppers. Spread grits in prepared dish. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Press shrimp, on their sides, onto top of grits in single layer. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until grits are heated through, shrimp are just opaque in center, and cheese begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Garnish with thyme sprigs. Makes 6 main-course servings.

With J. Bristro, Jame Burns brought a downtown-style dining destination to Mt. Pleasant, just north of Charleston. He dishes up his creatively casual cuisine in contemporary digs. His rendition of this lowcountry favorite is a riff with New Orleans overtones.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ cup finely julienned country ham
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
2 tablespoons Paul Prudhomme's Cajun spice mix
¼ cup white wine
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cups hot cooked stone-ground grits
1 bunch scallions, chopped

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large large heavy-bottomed frying pan. Sauté the garlic and ham lightly for 30 seconds. Add the rest of the vegetables, sprinkle in the Cajun spice, stir to combine, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the wine to the pan to deglaze it, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the cream and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened to the desired consistency. If the sauce separates, whisk in more cream to bring it back together. Add the shrimp and simmer them in the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink.

Divide the hot grits between four bowls, spoon the shrimp and sauce over them, sprinkle with scallions, and serve immediately.

1 pound fresh jumbo lump blue crabmeat
Salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)
½ medium Vidalia (or sweet) onion, sliced paper thin, in half moon shape
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup white vinegar
⅓ cup ice water (with 4-5 ice cubes)

Place half the crabmeat gently in the bottom of a glass bowl or plastic container, carefully picking out any shell. Sprinkle with just a smidgen of salt and pepper. Cover crab with a layer of onion. Repeat steps with remaining crab, salt, pepper, and onion. Pour oil and vinegar over layers. Place ice cubes in a liquid measuring cup. Fill with water until volume reaches ⅓ cup and pour over crab. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours before serving. When ready to serve, shake bowl gently, or if using a leak-proof plastic container, turn upside down and back upright to gently mix salad. Serve in a shallow bowl with juice. Makes 4-6 servings.

Eat Alabama Wild Seafood • P.O. Box 338 • Bayou La Batre, AL 36509 • 251-824-1672