garlicky prawns with bread crumbs

Shrimp on the barbie is false I tell you, just plain false. We spent a week in the land down under and two kind Aussies (Hi Dave! Hi Cathy!) took us under their wing and showed us what real outback food is. “Shrimp? Is that what you call it? No. It’s prawns.” Because, hey, that’s more masculine and more sexy to say than “shrimp”. I mean shrimp sounds wimpy, right? And that is how we realized we were being fed false advertising. We wanted the real deal, the true cuisine of Australia and so we did. We ate seafood for lunch and kangaroo for dinner, snacked on crocodile jerky and slathered our toast with smelled and left on the side of our plate vegemite for breakfast. But we kept going back to these prawns — they seemed to be more meaty and thick, perhaps it was their name, perhaps it was the Manly beach waves they were catching but either way, these prawns demanded to be replicated in my kitchen.

Now there are a few firm beliefs I have about shrimp, err, prawns. First: butter, garlic, wine and seafood all belong together — always. Like, there should be no discussion on this. This is an eleventh commandment sort of belief. Second: I do not, and should not have to peel anything when eating, most especially prawns. It gets my fingers messy, and, well, we’re not in the fan club of messy eating. It also prevents prawns from soaking in the goodness of buttery, boozy, garlic broth and is instead wasted on the shell. And thirdly: under no circumstances are you ever to overcook your prawns. The rubbery, chewy, bland flavor they attain, no matter how much boozy goodness they are submerged in, is unacceptable.

The good people of Cooks Illustrated had what I was looking for but I was a bit apprehensive when the recipe wanted me to pan sear my prawns as well as letting them simmer in the boozy butter. Whoa, bro-hawns — rule number three. Then I read the little preface to the recipe and behold, they swore upon their lives that this indeed would not break any of the aforementioned rules. So away I went roasting, toasting, searing and simmering. The smell wafting through my kitchen was knee weakening, and let’s pretend I didn’t say this: I ate half of it before Josh came home from work and told him if he didn’t dive in and portion off some for himself, then there would be none left. I was on the verge of a massive 2-pound prawn massacre and was not the least bit sorry about it. Moral of the story: make this and don’t share. Make a second batch for your significant other, and don’t share that either. Eat this all, every single batch. It should be yours.

Garlicky Prawns with Bread Crumbs
Adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook

Serves 4

1 3-inch piece baguette, cut into small pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 pounds extra large shrimp (prawns) 21 to 25 per pound, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup bottled clam juice
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon, plus lemon wedges
Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarsely ground, about 8 pulses; you should have about 1 cup crumbs. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the crumbs, shallot and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread crumbs are golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the parsley and transfer to a plate to cool. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels.

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and toss with the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Return the skillet to high heat, add 2 teaspoons of the oil, and heat until shimmering. Add half of the shrimp in a single layer and cook until spotty brown and the edges turn pink, about 3 minutes (do not flip the shrimp). Remove pan from heat and transfer the shrimp to a large plate. Wipe out the skillet, with paper towels, Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and remaining shrimp; transfer the shrimp to the plate.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon more butter. When melted, add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic just begins to color, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in the clam juice and wine. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture reduces to 3/4 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Reduce the heat to medium-low; return the shrimp to the pan, and toss to combine. Cook, covered, until shrimp are pink and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. Serve with the lemon wedges.