Salt Roasted Shrimp

Simply amazing. We did this with some HUGE prawns and they were a hit.

Head on/head off shrimp shouldn’t make a difference as much as the TYPE of shrimp and whether they are ez-peel. Ez-peel can butterfly open and expose more of the meat to the salt. Wild shrimp as opposed to farm raised shrimp are more salty. I would go with a farm raised Tiger shrimp, whole, with entire shell intact, heads on or off at your choosing.

You HAVE to use head on shrimp for a reason. The salt and cooking method controls more than just taste – texture and moisture are just as important! Exposed shrimp just won’t do. Besides, head-on shrimp typically have a much better taste and quality. Less processing=good eats. If they aren’t in your area, wait till they are in season. Previously frozen is o.k. This recipe is extremely easy to do and comes out very well. Plus, your friends can peel their OWN shrimp, saving you time to prepare other things (such as Alton’s advocado dip) and giving them somthing else to do besides drink all your beer.

Next time, I may use a little more salt to cover the shrimp better. Doesn’t hurt anything plus the salt is cheap. This could even be done at a b-b-q with a gas grill if you can control the temp. Will be doing again – at the lake. It’s pretty fool-proof. If you love shrimp and seafood, you can’t find an easier way to cook them. And this is from a seafood and cooking nut. FOLLOW THE RECIPE AND YOU SHALL FIND HAPPINESS……

I’ve made this recipe twice with two different type of shrimp, and the way they’re prepared seems to make all the difference between loving the recipe or hating it:

Attempt 1: Used standard shrimp….no head, no deveining/EZ peel. Turned out PERFECTLY!!! Everyone in the house RAVED about the level of tenderness/juiciness/seasoning. It even brought out a crustaceous sweetness I hadn’t noticed in shrimp previously. The only part of the shrimp exposed to the salt was where the head had been removed, so it didn’t overwhelm the shrimp flavor at all and complimented it quite nicely. I personally thought it could actually use a little more seasoning, but that’s where the cocktail sauce comes in, right??? Ultimately, a great shrimp texture…and more importantly…flavor!

Attempt 2: Used EZ-peels: No head, length of back cut open and exposed. WAY too salty. My son thought that, again, they were perfect. But he’s also the son who sucked on a piece of the leftover salt from the pan. More surface area is exposed in this scenario, and as the shrimp cooks, it butterflies open, exposing itself to even more salt. Even washed them off and soaked them in an ice-water bath before supper, and still too salty. Good thing my hubby was out of town or he would’ve gagged. I’m a fan of salt, but still too overwhelming for my palette. They also seemed to cook a bit faster, and wound up slightly overdone, but that was my fault for veering from the recipe.

I haven’t tried the head-on shrimp, but I can see how this would be important if you’re particularly senstive to salt. In that situation, No part of the shrimp is exposed to the salt at all, leaving you with nothing but a succulent, juicy shrimp.

I’m giving this a 5-star, because if you follow the recipe as written, I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Plus, it’s something really unique to prepare in the kitchen. The kids love watching me make it–the hype is half the fun of supper for them!

A little too salty for me and my family. Also, a little weak on taste.

I’m not an experienced cook, but I like to experiment in the kitchen. I recently made this recipe for my extended family during our annual beach vacation, and they RAVED about how good it was! I was not able to find shrimp with the heads still intact, and I almost didn’t make the recipe because I was afraid they would be too salty, but they came out perfectly seasoned! The only reason I give this recipe four instead of five stars is that I found that head-on shrimp weren’t necessary, but the results were excellent!

this is delicious, the shrimp sizzles when you lay it on the hot salt. Its done almost within 1 or 2 minutes

I made this with heads-on whole shrimp, and, while they were pretty good, I thought they weren’t seasoned enough. The only one I really liked was the one that lost its head. Also, the smell of the cooking shrimp nearly put me off them altogether. They tasted fine, so they weren’t old or anything, but that “ocean” smell turns my stomach.

best food ever

I used deveined shrimp (shell on) with this recipe and it was way too salty. You need to use whole shrimp (head on).

Great recipe and simple to make