Butterflied and Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp

 

Last night I made some butterflied and stuffed shrimp. I think they turned out really well, so here is what I did:

Ingredients:

4 TBSP Butter Divided

1/4 of a Red Bell Pepper - Finely Chopped

1/4 of a Small Onion - Finely Chopped

1 Stalk Celery - finely Chopped

1 LB. Jumbo Shrimp (10-15 Count Per Pound) Peeled and deveined but leave the tails on.

2 Eggs - Beaten

2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1 TBSP Stone Ground Mustard

2 TBSP Fresh Parsley - Finely Chopped and Divided

1 LB Jumbo and Lump Crab Meat

1/4 to 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

Bread Crumbs or Crushed Saltine Crackers

1/2 Cup Coarse Bread Crumbs

Preparation:

Melt 1 TBSP of butter and sauté the bell pepper, onion and celery until crisp tender and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Using another TBSP of the butter, grease a baking dish. Butterfly 8 of the shrimp and arrange in the baking dish with the tails curled up. Remove tails from any remaining shrimp and chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces and set aside. 

In a large bowl mix the sauted vegetables, eggs, Old Bay, mustard and 1 TBSP chopped parsley. Fold the crab and the chopped shrimp into the mixture in the bowl. Add enough of the mayo to begin to bind the mixture together. Start adding bread crumbs or crushed crackers about 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is dry enough to be able to form into cakes. The mix should hold together but still be pretty damp. Form 8 balls of the crab mixture and place one on each of the butterflied shrimp in the baking dish. Flatten out a little to cover the shrimp leaving the tail uncovered and pointing to the ceiling. You will not use all of the crab mixture. You can use what is left over the next day to make small crab cake appetizers. Melt the last 2 TBSP butter in a small skillet. Add the Coarse bread crumbs to the skillet and sauté until the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are golden. Mix in the last TBSP of chopped parsley and top the stuffed shrimp with the coarse bread crumb mixture. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes and serve directly out of the oven.  Serve with a baked potato and green vegetable or a nice salad. Enjoy !!