Butter-Poached shrimp and grits from Ruhlman's Twenty/photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman
Reposting this method because, well, just the name of the dish is inspiring: butter-poached shrimp. Butter-poached shrimp and grits. Mmmm.
Butter-poached lobster, not uncommon in French haute cuisine, was popularized in America by Thomas Keller in The French Laundry Cookbook and at that restaurant. "Lobster loves gentle heat," he told me then. It's not much of a leap for the thrifty-minded cook to reason that shrimp, too, love gentle heat. That's why, in the butter chapter of my book Ruhlman's Twenty, I showed how to use butter as a cooking medium (one of the many amazing ways butter can be used as a tool). This dish is absolutely killer. The shrimp stay very tender, rich and tasty with the butter; the grits are then enriched with the shrimp butter. Leftover butter can be used to saute shrimp and garlic for a shrimp stir-fry, use it to scramble eggs and serve with cured salmon, or enrich a shellfish sauce (save your shrimp shells).
Want the recipe for butter-poached shrimp and grits? It's here, on the Splendid Table site. The awesome Lynne Rossetto Kasper interviews me about the book and about one of her favorite ingredients, butter. I adore National Public Media's Splendid Table and it's host, who is extremely knowledgable, a genuine pro. She has her own new book out now, How To Eat Weekends coauthored with Sally Swift. All of Lynne's work is first rate and I highly recommend her books. You can listen to us talk butter (and hear so much more) on your local NPR station or download Lynne's podcasts.
Scroll down for process shots. One of the best parts of the book is the photography. Our goal was to show how food is supposed to look like, can look like, in your kitchen, rather present than heavily worked over studio food photography. We couldn't do if we tried—or we could but it's just not what we do. I like to look at food porn, but not make it. We're after information, visual information in this case. But looking at that lead photo, well, it's looking pretty damn good. I think I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.
How to butter poach shrimp from Ruhlman's Twenty, photography by Donna Turner Ruhlman:
Making beurre monté: start butter in a tablespoon of water over medim heat.
Add a few chunks at a time, swirling continuously until it's all melted.
Finished beurre monté at perfect poaching temperature 160-180˚ F.
Add shrimp and stir to gently cook them.
Cut one open to make sure they're coked through.
Add shrimpy butter to finish the grits and serve with a squeeze of lemon and fresh black pepper.
If you liked this post on shrimp and grits, check out these other links:
- My past posts on Leeks Vinaigrette, Corned Beef, and Hawaii.
- The Southern Foodways Alliance documents, studies, and shares the food culture of the South.
- Grits versus polenta? How are they different?
- Learn more about the 5 different species of shrimp that are harvested from the gulf and our southern coast.
© 2016 Michael Ruhlman. Photo © 2016 Donna Turner Ruhlman. All rights reserved.
I think I have to go out in this sleet/freezing rain/snow and buy some grits.
Still loving the work you and Donna do together - thank you for keeping at it all these years.
Wow! This method of poaching the shrimp looks to elevate shrimp and grits with a richer, creamier sauce that would double the taste of the seafood itself.
Great photos. Did you leave the shells on these shrimp?
Cheers, to the Splendid Table podcast & Lynn. I thank her for making my commute more tolerable. Love it when Mr Ruhlman is on.
I have a hard time buying shrimp, it's all farm raised now for some reason.
The cost of wild lobster, or Argentina langostino is usually cheaper.
Poor mans lobster sandwich is butter poached langostino with a little fennel salt, lemon mayo.
I'm drooling thinking about it.