Enough winter! It’s February, and we are spending several weeks in New Orleans, away from Chicago’s lingering cold. Here, spring is coming early. Spring fruits and vegetables and baskets of seafood—crawfish, shrimp, scallops, and finfish—are filling local markets. Eager to take a break from months of meat stew, pasta, and chili diet, I am inspired by straight-out-of-the-water shrimp to prepare Pickled Shrimp, a traditional southern favorite.
When I first encountered Pickled Shrimp, I thought it was a relative of Peruvian ceviche or Mexican aguachile. In these flavorful dishes, uncooked seafood is briefly marinated in citrus juice, which chemically denatures and rearranges the seafood proteins, yielding the texture of cooked fish.
Quick research, however, disclosed that the roots of pickled shrimp are in Europe, not the Americas. Food historians report that the practice of pickling seafood, escabeche (iskbech in Arabic), arrived in the Americas with the Spanish explorers in the 15th century. There is evidence, however, that its roots are even older and date back to the Sasanian Empire of Persia, where it was known as sikbaj(“vinegar stew”).
Escabeche was introduced to medieval Spain by the Moors, who ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula for 800 years. Escabeche’s roots stem from traditional methods of preserving seafood before refrigeration, where fried fish was pickled in a herbed and spiced vinegar marinade. Spanish Christians later adopted this preservation technique in preparing meatless dishes for religious observances.
Eventually, escabeche migrated to the American South, where it became pickled shrimp, one of the distinctive flavors of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Over the years, its popularity spread to Florida, along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico to Texas.
Initially, pickled shrimp was a conserve that not only prolonged the shelf life of shrimp but also enhanced their flavor: a pickle that could be stored at room temperature and eaten as a relish or a condiment. Once refrigeration was available, however, this method evolved into a culinary practice, producing pickled shrimp to be enjoyed as an appetizer or snack.
As this was my first attempt at pickling shrimp, I tried several recipes from different parts of the American South that varied widely in methodology and ingredients. The size of the shrimp, the nature, and acidity of the marinade, and spicing varied widely. And as I experimented, I reached the following conclusions:
Notes on pickling shrimp:
- Large shrimp (21-25 count per pound) work best. Good, fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (with tails on or off up to the cook), are essential to this recipe because the marinade is absorbed more slowly through thick, large shrimp, retaining juiciness without becoming tough. Smaller shrimp are best prepared in a quick pickle, like ceviche, and eaten quickly after marinating. Otherwise, they become tough and rubbery.
- .Light poaching produces softer shrimp. Unlike in ceviche or aguachile where raw seafood is briefly marinated in an acidic sauce and eaten quickly, traditional pickled shrimp recipes focus on prolonging shelf life and follow the Spanish escabeche method of precooking the shrimp before pickling. But recipes vary widely as to cooking time from barely poached, relying on acidic marinade to finish the cooking, to fully cooked in a watery brine before marinating. After several attempts, I concluded that light poaching is all that is necessary to start the “cooking” process– no more than 2 minutes in boiling water off the heat – produces a softer shrimp, better suited for further cooking in the marinade. Thoroughly cooking the shrimp before pickling should be avoided because the marinade toughens the shrimp.
- A less acidic marinade preserves the shrimp’s delicate texture. While shrimp are the focus of this blog, the marinade magically transforms ordinary shrimp into a delightful treat. Various acids are used in this pickling. Traditional recipes use highly acidic apple cider or white vinegar to produce a hard pickle, thereby prolonging shelf life, a concern in pre-refrigeration days, not needed now. Following traditional recipes, I discovered that vinegar with 5-7% acidity is too strong. Even after a short marination time, it overprocesses and makes shrimp rubbery. A mix of citrus juices such as lemon and lime with 3-4% acidity, which I used here, create a gentle marinade that preserves the shrimp’s texture.
Lemons and limes for marinade
- Robustly flavored marinade adds complexity to shrimp. A cook’s choice of flavorings customizes many pickled shrimp recipes. Thin half-moons of sweet white or yellow onions, garlic, bay leaves, and salt are the essential flavorings. All other flavors are discretionary. Cooks can tailor this dish to taste by adding, for example, fresh or dried herbs, Old Bay Seasoning or Zatarain’s Crab Boil, red pepper flakes, paprika, capers, jalapeno, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, cayenne and fennel seed. As I did here, some cooks add sugar to taste to tone down the marinade’s sharpness. Lemon slices can be pickled along with the shrimp or served later.
- Lemons and limes for marinade
Flavorings for marinade
- Pickled shrimp are best eaten within 24 hours. I prefer eating pickled shrimp within 24 hours when their flavor is at its peak. However, some recipes suggest they can keep up to a week in the refrigerator as long as the marinade covers them completely. Keep in mind that depending on the size of the shrimp and the length of precooking, the texture of the shrimp may change significantly after 24 hours.
- Numerous serving options are possible. These pickled shrimp make a perfect starter for lunch or dinner. They can be prepared ahead of time and enjoyed with a glass of white wine or a Bloody Mary. They are delicious on crackers with a dab of mayo or as canapes on toasted baguettes with mashed avocado. Pickled shrimp can add tartness and spiciness to salads and pasta, but they also make an excellent snack straight out of the jar.
My version of pickled shrimp substitutes vinegar with less acidic citrus juices, adding flavor and heat with spices. Once you have the ingredients, pickled shrimp can be assembled within 20 minutes. Aside from lightly poaching and chilling the shrimp, all other ingredients are combined in one bowl and then layered into prepared jars.
These pickled shrimp have a more complex flavor than a traditional shrimp cocktail or cold, boiled shrimp and don’t require a messy sauce to enjoy. The contrast between the bright citrus flavors and sweet onions, herbs, and spices is super refreshing and flavorful.
Pickled Shrimp
For preparing shrimp
2 pounds (907 g) shrimp, 21-25 count per pound, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning or other shrimp boil for poaching liquid
1 gallon (4 l) water
For the marinade
1 ½ cups (375 ml) fresh lemon juice from 6 or so lemons
1 cup (237 ml) fresh lime juice from 5 or so limes
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced thinly pole to pole
8 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coarse or kosher salt
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
pinch whole allspice
pinch red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Equipment: 2 -1 quart wide-mouth Mason jars with lids
Preparing jars: Sterilize 2 – one-quart jars by running through the hottest dishwasher cycle and setting them aside.
Precooking shrimp: Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside. In a large pot, combine 4 quarts of water with Old Bay, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, quickly remove the pot from the stove and add the raw shrimp.
Peeled and deveined shrimp
Poach the shrimp for 2 minutes, drain in a colander, transfer to the bowl with ice, and stir shrimp for quick cooling. (The shrimp will be pink and start to curl but will not be fully cooked, which is fine because they’ll continue to cook in the marinade.)
Chilling poached shrimp
Preparing marinade: In another large bowl, combine citrus juices with other marinade ingredients and whisk so the sugar and salt dissolve. Add chilled shrimp and stir evenly, distributing the ingredients.
Layer onion slices, shrimp, lemon slices and bay leaves into prepared jars. Pour the same amount of marinade into each jar. Run a fork or a spatula along the jar sides to release air bubbles.
Jarrred shrimp ready for refrigerator
Seal tightly and turn jars over so the marinade fills any remaining air pockets between ingredients. Open the jars and press with a spatula to ensure a film of oil covers all ingredients. Top jars with marinade. (Save leftover marinade and combine it with a few tablespoons of olive oil to make a flavorful salad dressing.)
Refrigerate overnight for flavors to combine before serving. Shrimp will last longer if removed from the jar with a clean fork.
Serves: 8-10 as appetizer
Photo credits: All photos –Slava Johnson
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