Slammin' Royal Reds

Slammin’ Royal Reds ~ The Southern Scoop’s Recipe of the Month

Slammin' Royal Reds

Make your beach vacation a truly immersive one and get the full experience and try our Slammin’ Royal Reds ~ The Southern Scoop’s Recipe of the Month! Royal Red Shrimp are local menu superstars but that hasn’t always been the case. Royal Red Shrimp are caught in the deep waters off of the continental shelf; depths in excess of 1,000 feet! As such, your typical shrimp boat likely doesn’t have the requisite equipment to fish for them. Additionally, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Southeast Regional Office dictates a special permit is required for commercial harvesting.

Royal Red Shrimp are much larger, and much tastier than their cousins you see in most markets. You can cook them in the same way you cook any other shrimp, but they’re best when featured as the primary protein of a dish due to their rich, sweet flavor and lobster-like texture. Today we’re bringing you a recipe that does just that. This dish is best paired with grilled corn or fingerling potatoes, but those can be substituted by anything you wish that goes well with a grilled protein.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What you’ll need for your Slammin’ Royal Reds
**In addition, Royal Reds are in season from late summer to early fall, so price and availability are best in August/September. Royal Reds can be purchased from the World Famous Joe Patti’s Seafood Market in Pensacola, Florida; Sexton’s Seafood Market in Destin, Florida; the Gulf Shores Steamer in Gulf Shores, Alabama; and many more local restaurants and seafood markets. How you purchase them is up to you, however for this recipe we will be using the entire shrimp (head-on).
~2 lbs. of Royal Red Shrimp (2 lbs. should be enough for 3-4 people, but after a long day at the beach with only some fruit throughout the day, you may want to double up!).
~Old Bay Seasoning.
~2 lemons.
~1 stick of butter (You can use unsalted or salted butter).
~3-5 garlic cloves, minced.
~1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
~Extra virgin olive oil.

Cooking items you’ll need
~Large cutting board.
~Appropriately sized knife.
~Large mixing bowl.
~Grill and appropriate grilling utensil such as tongs.

Preparation
~Rinse the Royal Red Shrimp.
~Fill the large mixing bowl with a generous amount of Old Bay, 3/4 of the minced garlic, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil (just enough so the shrimp don’t stick to the grill) – then go start the grill and put it on medium heat.
~Toss the shrimp until evenly coated and remember, the meat is primarily inside the tail so don’t be stingy with the seasoning! After fully coated, let the shrimp sit for a few minutes to let the flavors really meld while the grill heats up.
~Melt the stick of butter in a bowl and juice both lemons into it. Afterword, place the remaining minced garlic in the bowl, and whisk for a few minutes. Once complete, top with a small amount of freshly ground black pepper.
~Once the grill is nice and hot, evenly place the shrimp across the grill remembering how quickly these will cook, you’ll only need two minutes or so on each side – just enough to get a grill mark – for these to cook thoroughly.

~Testing for doneness: take one of the shrimp, expose the meat, and it should be opaque (milky white).

~Serve, and enjoy with the drawn lemon garlic butter. NO DOUBLE DIPPING.

We hope you like our Slammin’ Royal Reds ~ The Southern Scoop’s Recipe of the Month. If you haven’t seen our other recipes make sure you check the Gulf Coast blog! Since we’ve got you covered from Panama City, Florida to Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan Alabama, make sure to browse on over to our events page to find out about what’s happening in your vacation area! Thank you for being a part of the Southern family, and we’ll see you next month with another delicious quick recipe!