# Smoked Shrimp?



## bestee

Another question from the Swiss Alps....I just had some awesome smoked shrimp at a Scandanavian restaurant today.  The people had no clue what wood was used as they import them from Denmark.  I can see from this chapter, smoking shrimp is not common.  I have 2 birds to do this weekend, but will def. smoke some shrimp next week.  Will probalby go with like cherry or pear chips. If anyone has any insight on how long or temperature, would appreciate it.


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## fatback joe

I can't offer any assistance on the smoked shrimp, but was curious as to how the texture was.     Was it kind of dry and served cold like smoked salmon or something or was it closer to how a grilled shrimp would be, kind of hot and moist?     

Just curious.


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## Dutch

Bestee, most smoked shrimp that I do is done on a grill with a smoker box filled with a mix of maple and hickory chips.  You got to keep a close eye on the shrimp or they will over cook in a heart beat.  When I skewer them up, I'll add an unpeeled shrimp to one of the skewers-when the shell turns that pinkish orange color, I'll pull 'em off.


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## crownovercoke

I smoked some shrimp and was pleasantly supprized how fast it was gone.  I used hickory and cherry at 225 for 45 min to 1 hr.  Them little boogars dont take too long to cook when not frozen.  Here is a pic...


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## fatback joe

Do you guys brine them first or anything or just let it go as is?


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## crownovercoke

Ive done w/ and w/o.  Just a depends on how much time I have beforehand.


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## richoso1

To give you an idea how quickly shrimp can cook, boiling water is at 212*, put shrimp in that water and they'll be done in about 3 minutes. If they are overcooked, they'll have a rubbery texture. Watch for color change as they are cookin',grillin', smokin'.


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## peculiarmike

What Dutch said!
The unpeeled shrimp has to be the sure indicator.
I've got 3 pounds on hand, gonna try them. Sounds really good!


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## keywesmoke

I am in Shrimpville and have not even thought of this. I wonder if marinated shrimp would make a difference in smoke time, since they're soaked.


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## ba_loko

I smoked some marinated shrimp last night.  Let me see if I can find a photo.


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## ba_loko

Okay, here's last nights mini smoke.  I cooked them over cherry and they were great (2lbs, 3 people, they're gone).  This is just before they went on.  Grill temp was 200 degrees F.  They were on for just under 20 minutes.


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## ba_loko

I forgot to say that the marinade was a jamaican jerk marinade from A1.  I didn't make it.  It was good though!


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## gypsyseagod

man i miss shrimp..... great job.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




 i marinade overnight in italian dressing,beer,& garlic sealed in tupperware.


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## cheech

Kinda hard to not look when cookn shrimp, was always taught if you are looking you are not cooking. 

I guess unless it was grilling shrimp then maybe it is the exception to the rule


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## keywesmoke

Did you actually marinade those or just pour it on them for a little while before smoking?


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## ba_loko

I suppose I'm just pouring it on for about an hour, Key.  'Course, I don't know really what the difference is.  Covered for awhile......soaking for awhile.  In this case, I don't think anything penetrates the meat.


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## keywesmoke

ok thanks for that


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## bestee

Good question, cause I dont know if I can duplicate them. They were served cold..vacuum packed, and seemed a bit oily...very much like a smoked salmon. I am gonna brine em for a couple hours, and then use pecan chips. I will post my results..but have to wait till the weekend...


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## pescadero

Once again, everyone has different taste. But for my money, Dutch and richoso1 have it right.

We all think low and slow when smoking. But, that is when we are thinking "Meat". That doesn't necessarily go for shrimp or prawns. For shrimp and prawns, you want to think low and short duration.

Next time you are ready to prepare shrimp or prawns, start ten minutes early. Don't trust me and what I am saying. Try this and decide for yourself. If this works, then you will be glad you tried it. If it doesn't, you have only wasted 10 minutes and 3-4 shrimp.   And, you can always send me a "NastyGram".

Take just 3 or 4 shrimp or prawns. Put a large pat of butter in a frying pan, use a garlic press to squeeze in a clove or two of garlic. Mix it around and when it starts sizzeling drop in the shrimp or prawns. Those little 'bugs' will be turning pink in 30 to 45 seconds. Flip them over and give them another 45 seconds, "MAX". They are done!!!!   Anything longer just makes them tough. I give this disclaimer on everything I say "everyone has different taste and different ideas", and I won't argue with any of you. But for my money, this is the way to do it.  99% of the people I know, even restaurants, overcook shrimp and prawns. We all love them and just don't know it is happening to us. Until you do it this way. Then you know the difference.

NOW, If I want them smoked I never smoke them until they are done and ready to eat.  I use my age old method of "cold smoking", (which does not dook them) and then cooking like I just mentioned, above.   If I am forced to hot smoke, once again I use as low of temprature and as short of time as possible. If you smoke them until "done and ready to eat", you may like them, but you will be settling for much less than you could be eating. 

What do you have to loose? If you like them, do the rest that way. If you don't like them, you have only wasted ten minutes and 3-4 of the little 'bugs'.

Skip


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## bestee

Pescadero, thanks for the advice.  I am a shrimp(all seafood)-nut! And I saute my scampi nice and short...I hear where you're coming from, and can attest to that as being the easiest and best way to prepare shrimp..no need to complicate things...unless you wanna smoke em 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





!! .  Are you suggesting to do the full saute and then cold smoke?  And then if they are cooked, how long would you cold smoke for? Would that include any brining or is that just OTT? Thnx


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## pescadero

Ba LoKo:

Your 'Bugs' look almost good enough to eat.  Your 20 minutes at the low temp sounds good too.  I bet they were delicious.  Pictures made me hungry.  

I really Jerk Sauce.  Tried a Tequila and Lime based sauce once that was great, too.

Skip


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## rather be in the keys

In this picture there are some shrimps and some ABT's right?

The ABT got me thinking (now I'm really really new at this smoking thing so bear with me).

I've grilled bacon wrapped shrimp on a gas grill.  What if you wrapped bacon around the shrimp, and when the bacon is done, the shrimp would be done.  

Has anyone tried this?  if not maybe I'll try that this weekend.

Be gentle with your replys - I cry easy


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## twistertail

I love shrimp, and all seafood.  I'm going to have to try some in the smoker.  I think the bacon wrapped shring sound great.  I'm thinking maybe an ABT with a shrimp inside of it?


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## pescadero

Rather Be  &  Twister:

Your ideas of bacon wrapped shrimp sounds wonderful.  Makes me hungry just thinking about it.  A great combination for sure.

My concern is that the two ingredients seem to take different times to cook.  Most bacon wrapped foods(such as ABT's) take from one to two hours to finish the bacon, depending on temp and your preference for doneness.  I would think this would be way too long for shrimp.  At least for the way I like them.

On the other hand, several have said they do shrimp in 20 minutes or so.  This would seem to leave somewhat undercooked bacon.

The thought is good enough, I know several will give it a try.  Me included.  In a short time we should have several different sets of results posted.  

I know there will be a way to pull this off.

Let's keep this thread going and see what we can come up with.

Skip


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## homebrew & bbq

Maybe partially cooking the bacon in a skillet before wrapping the shrimp?


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## schultzy

I do bacon wrapped jalapeno and shrimp all the time and you won't do another way once you try it, heres my procedure. Start with about 40-50 count shrimp deviened and peeled, then take jalapeno peppers, I use fresh out of the garden, quarter them taking seeds and veins out, take a whole package of bacon and cut in half so you only have half strips, duh. Lay them out in microwave for about 3 minutes until they just start to cook, don't overcook, keep bacon pliable, let them cool and wrap the shrimp with a piece of the jalapeno, put a toothpick through it and put on your smoker. Cook until the bacon is done to the way you like it. Just before you pull them off paste a little BBQ sauce of your choice on both sides and let heat up in the smoker, pull them off and enjoy. They take way longer to make then they do to eat!! Enjoy!


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## pescadero

Yup. . . I was sure someone had already 'cracked this egg'. Partial cooking the bacon should get everything done about the same time.  Good solution.

The shrimp and bacon sound great, but adding the pepper put this over the top.  Will try it soon!!

Thanks,  Skip


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## twistertail

Man this all sound great, cant wait till the weekend.  I'm going to do a plain fatty to use in a big pot of jambalaya, I'm thinking I might smoke the shrimp for it also.  I might as well try some shrimp ABTs while I'm at it.


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## billybones

Hey guys! I found this thread from an online search and I recently tried to smoke bacon wrapped shrimp with a jalapeno slice in the middle. There is a wholesale shrimp warehouse right next door to my office so I lucked out on a two lb bag of 12 count shrimp. They were freakin huge! So here's the low down. I gambled and didnt precook the bacon. Big mistake. The bacon was cooked, but it didnt get crispy enough. It was way too soft for having smoked for an hour. It had a nice brownish color, but it just wasnt spectacular. By the way jumbo shrimp held up fine even after an hour of smoking. They were real juicy and spicy. All in all, they were good but not great. 
Here's what I want to try next time: Jumbo shrimp with a jalapeno slice wrapped in prosciutto. I'm figuring the thinness of the slices would be perfect for smoking. I'll let you guys know how it comes out. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pics. Anyways, thanks for this idea! I will say this, they were way better cold the next day than they were hot!


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## pescadero

Bestee:

My suggestion is just the other way around. I usually don't brine shrimp. I peel them so that they are naked and the smoke can easily reach them, then run some smoke against them to impart the flavor. I prefer to 'Cold Smoke' but if I can't do that, then I 'Hot Smoke', but at the lowest temp I can possible use and still get the wood to smoke. To help with this, I use chips because they burn quicker and at lower temps than chunks. I like a mild fruit wood and only run one or max two pans against them. My preference is to NOT cook the shrimp, just flavor them. Then I Saute in butter and Garlic, or quickly grill, basting with butter and Garlic. Hope that make sense. 

Dang you Bestee, I had to edit this just so I could tell you that you are making me really hungary and anxious to do another batch.  

Skip


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## [email protected]

Hello!  I just happened on this site while looking for information on how to smoke lobster.  When I saw the question about smoking shrimp, I just had to respond.  I have always loved smoked shrimp, but it is very difficult to find, so I decided to try doing it myself.  The result was incredible!  I use a Big Green Egg.I start it and let it do its thing at a very low temperature, about 250.  Then I soak cedar planks (thin ones are best) and put jumbo shrimp (in the shell) in a marinade.  I make a marinade of olive oil, a cilantro lime/vinaiagrette salad dressing, a bunch of extra cilantro, and lemon juice.  I leave everything be for at least an hour.  Then I place the shrimp on the cedar planks and put them in the smoker.  About 35 minutes later, _VOILA!..._the best shrimp you can imagine.  I took about 4 pounds of them to a party recently and they were the hit of the gathering.  In fact, a Paris trained chef (who politely never comments of the food offerings of others) proclaimed them "to die for"!  And, they can be re-heated after refrigeration (without becoming tough) by simply putting them back in the smoker on cedar planks.  Sorry for such a long initial contribution.


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## cowgirl

Thank you for the recipe canderson, looks great....and welcome to the forum!


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## goat

Cowgirl, Do you feel anything coming on after that recipe??


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## rip

I did some back in the summer, not knowing what to do I just winged it. I peeled and marinade for an hour, had smoker at 300 and blowin smoke. Put in the shrimp for 15 min. and they were done. 5Lbs gone in as long as it took to make them, they were tasty.


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## cowgirl

LOL! Yes goat, I do! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




Now where is my dip net?


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## billybones

Well folks, round two coming up! Everyone has to bring something for the company thanksgiving pot luck HooHaw so I volunteered to bring Smoked Jalapeno Shrimp!!!
This time I am dropping the bacon altogether and wrapping the shrimp and jalapeno in prosciutto! I think I might experiment this weekend to see how it comes out and try to perfect the process before I run the batch on tuesday night. Wish me luck.


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## cowgirl

That sounds really good BillyBones....let us know how they turn out.


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## pancho villa

Hey BillyBones, I am going to try this recipe tomorrow. I think I'll make a chipotle with sourcream dipping sauce to go along with it. Thanks for the idea.


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## billybones

Oooooooo....that sounds good. Might try that myself!


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## billybones

Here's an update on the smoked shrimp. I have tried various methods and I recently did my best batch of smoked shrimp yet!
I used a 12 count asian prawn, thick as your thumb, 2 lbs worth. I wrapped half of the shrimp in bacon with a jalapeno slice in the middle, and the other half I wrapped in prosciutto with a slice of sweet red roasted pepper in the middle. I slow smoked without the water pan in my ecb for about 45 minutes. Then just to crisp the meat up, I threw them on a hot grill for a minute on each side. I know, I know....experts will say these shrimp were ruined by overcooking...blah blah blah. Well tell that to the people who made two lbs of shrimp disappear in less than five minutes!!!
I'm telling you folks, the sweetness of the red roasted pepper mixed with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the slow smoke flavor..... absolute heaven!!! Every person I spoke to said that they hands down preferred the prosciutto wraps over the bacon and jalapeno. I had to agree. I'll never use bacon again!!! Go with the prosciutto people you will not be disappointed!


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## cowgirl

BillyBones, you're making my mouth water......thanks for the update and the tip!


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## squeezy

You could partially precook the bacon before wrapping the shrimp perhaps.


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## ulla miettunen

Read more here: http://bittersweettastesofnorth.wordpress.com/


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