Winning National Shrimp Festival Recipes

Want to get your hands on the top three shrimp recipes from award-winning Alabama Gulf Coast chefs? Sure you do and we’re happy to share them with you because the Alabama Gulf Coast Area of Commerce shared the winning recipes from the Fifth Annual Zatarain's National Shrimp Festival Restaurant Challenge with us.

The restaurant challenge, which is held each October, gives local restaurants the opportunity to compete for the bragging rites for preparing the best shrimp dish. The honor holds true for an entire year until the contest rolls around again. To compete, the dishes had to feature Alabama Wild Shrimp and at least one of the 200+ products produced by Zatarain. Beyond that the imaginations of the chefs were unleashed and their creativity definitely showed through in the contest entries.

So here are the winning recipes (at least the shrimp portion of the delicious dishes):

1^st Place Winner
Chef Ashley Cabana at Shaggy's Waterfront Bar and Grill in Orange Beach

Zatarain's Blackened Garlic Crusted Shrimp
served with Smoked Gouda Grits and Green Tomato Marmalade

Ingredients

Alabama Wild Shrimp (12) large

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

juice of 1 lemon

1 ½ T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Zatarain’s blackened seasoning

Steps

Peel the body of the shrimp leaving the head on and generously season with Zatarain’s blackened seasoning.

In a cast iron skillet bring the olive oil almost to the point of smoking.
Add large shrimp, turning on each side just until they begin to turn pink.
Add garlic and immediately add the juice of the lemon.

Smoked Gouda Grits

Ingredients

1c of grits

2c of chicken stock

1/2c heavy cream

1/4 lb. butter

1/2 lb. Smoked Gouda cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

In a heavy saucepan add chicken stock and butter and bring to a rolling boil.

Add grits and cook until al dente but not gritty approximately 20 min.

Add heavy cream and let reduce and simmer 5 min or until thickened.

Turn off the heat and fold in smoked Gouda cheese and season with salt and pepper.

2^nd Place Winner

Chef Michael Pophin at Nolan's Restaurant and Lounge in Gulf Shores

 Pecan Crusted Grouper served on a bed of Zatarain's Rice Pilaf

topped with Pineapple Beurre Blanc

 with Caribbean Jerk Shrimp and Lemon Hollandaise.

Caribbean Jerk Shrimp

Ingredients

Fresh Alabama large shrimp peeled, deveined and butterflied.

Jerk seasoning:

Ingredients

2oz garlic powder

2oz ground black pepper

2 oz onion powder

1 tbl of Zatarain’s cayenne powder

1 tsp of ground nutmeg

1oz ground cinnamon

1oz of kosher salt

3oz of Jamaican auspice

1oz red pepper flakes

1oz salted butter

1 cup heavy cream

Steps

Coat shrimp with Jerk seasoning; add to skillet over medium heat, with butter.

Cook shrimp until done, remove from pan and hold.

Add cream and Jerk seasoning to taste and reduce until thick.

Return shrimp to pan and hold until plating entrée.

3^rd Place Winner
Chef Mike Myers at Flippers Restaurant in Orange Beach

Creole Shrimp Moutarde En Boule

Ingredients

2 tbl butter

1 tbl diced shallots

Season salt

10 ea peeled/deveined Alabama Wild Shrimp

2 oz Pinot Grigio white wine

3 oz heavy cream season to taste

2 tbl Zatarain’s Creole mustard

2 oz diced fresh tomato

1 tbl diced fresh chives

1 ea sourdough boule

6 oz Elberta sausage

Steps

Sauté shallots in butter, add Alabama Wild Shrimp, and season salt (Cavender’s creek)

Cook 2 minutes each side, deglaze with wine

Add cream and reduce to desire thickness (1-2 minutes)

Add Creole mustard and blend in well, add tomato and chives

Spoon into toasted sourdough bread bowl which has a top and partial interior removed

Cut grilled Elberta sausage a long rim of bread bowl garnish as desired

Of course if you can’t get fresh shrimp or choose not to attempt these recipes yourself, you can always go to Shaggy’s, Nolan’s and Flippers on your next beach getaway and sample these and other seafood creations.

See you at the beach!