Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Ham and Shrimp Gravy – Plus the Recipe for Marital Bliss

I didn’t call this ham and shrimp gravy recipe “shrimp and grits” for two reasons: One, because I’ve already done a video called “shrimp and grits;” and two, I don’t like this served over grits. So, why did I serve it over grits then? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to get that answer, as I divulge that in a little chestnut at the end of the clip

I much prefer this over rice or mashed potatoes. Even pasta would make for a deliciously effective delivery system. I just don’t like how the gravy dissolves the grits, which then kind of runs through the tines of my fork. Having said that, it’s not like I’d ever turn down a plate of this because of such textural concerns.

If you only remember one thing from this video, besides the priceless advice regarding the secret to a happy marriage, it’s my “don’t buy cooked shrimp” advice. If you look at the shrimp section at the grocery store, it’s usually dominated by bags of already cooked shrimp. It may seem a lot easier, but it’s not.

You can now get raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (ideally from the Gulf Coast), which takes almost the same time to cook, as the precooked shrimp does to heat through. When you used cooked shrimp, all those sweet juices that should be running into your gravy have been lost in some processing plant months ago.

In case you can’t find frozen, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp, I believe I shown how to prep those in previous videos. I just can’t remember which ones! Maybe it’s time for a new video tutorial. Anyway, I hope you give this a whirl soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter
6 ounces smoked ham
4 green onions, chopped (the light parts)
1/2 cup small diced celery
1 red bell pepper, small dice
1 large jalepeno, small dice
2 cloves minced garlic, optional
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, or to taste
3 tbsp flour
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I forgot to add, but you should with the broth)
1 pound small, frozen, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
chopped green parts of onions to garnish

View the complete recipe

36 comments:

Unknown said...

Hahahhahaha... "The way your wife likes it, or the wrong way..."

I could not stop laughing! lol!

Rich Stillwell said...

I think you meant marital... ;)

Anonymous said...

This looks great, but you never note how much chicken broth should be used, could you add that, please? Thanks, I love your videos!

Chef John said...

Oops!! Both errors fixed! Thanks!

Dana said...

This looks so good, it made me whimper a little. I will most definitely have this over mashed potatoes. Mmmm...

The Culinary Chase said...

Almost like a gumbo...looks delicious!

Monica said...

I can think of nothing worse than a shrimp dish like this over mashed potatoes; how mid western!
happy to hear your wife has great taste..

Lauren said...

Delicious delicious! Must try. But, boyfriend is allergic to seafood! Any substitution for shrimp in this?

Anonymous said...

I don't eat ham, is there any substitute I could use? I was thinking smoked turkey but I value your professional opinion.

Chef John said...

sure, or turkey bacon

Chef John said...

you can use chicken instead of shrimp if you want!

Emerald_Mara85 said...

The idea of cooked shrimp at markets/shops scares me...

Is just so...so unnatural...

Anonymous said...

Chef John, my foodwish is for you to make some Profiterole's.

Anonymous said...

Amazing! I am trying this ASAP. The only thing I'd alter is maybe boiling the shrimp shells in the chicken broth before adding it to your roux for that extra shrimptastic flavor.

Jim Domanski said...

Chef John,
Please move to Ottawa, Canada and become my favorite next door neighbor. Great recipe, eh!

Anonymous said...

instead of shrimp, im gonna try it with steak or beef !

Cornelius Sneed said...

While watching this, I am afraid I could not help but think of Homer Simpson, drooling and saying "Mmmm!...hammy butter...!" :)

w3bd3v said...

Your tip for marital bliss is quite accurate. I love cinnamon in my chilli, my wife to be can't stand it and curses at me when I do. haha.

tamara said...

This was unbelievably good! My family licked the pan clean. I can never go wrong with a Food Wishes recipe. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Man Oh Man, If we ever meet I need to shake your hand kind sir. This is so tasty and yet so simple. I can't say enough how much I like this dish.

Keep up the good work, and Thank you very much!

Dave

rpm1994 said...

I tried this. It wasn't thickening as quickly as I was hoping (and my impatient wife was getting hungry). Since it looked a little like gumbo, I turned off the heat and added a little file powder that I had laying around. Came out great.

Served with grits. I like adding a little raw corn off the cob to my grits when they cook. And I served some greens on the site.

Great meal. Thanks for the idea, Chef.

Holly K. said...

As soon as my husband saw this, he wanted it. We had it the next night. Awesome! Thanks for the great recipes and videos. Peach cobbler is next.

nay1134 said...

I made this last night. I only had 12 oz of shrimp instead of the full pound but I compensated and added a little more ham. It was Amazing. I followed the recipe to the T!!!! My husband and neighbors and some family all loved it. Thank you soooo much

Daniel W. said...

I made this tonight but my cooking times were a bit longer (electric range in cast iron dutch oven). I basically just cooked it down until I thought it was ready and it was sooooo tasty! I will make this again and again (and grits is the way to go with this for sure).

Anonymous said...

Holy Shlamoley!!! Someone needs to invent a new adjective to properly describe just how phenomenally phenomenal this phenom is... or something. Seriously - I spooned mine over leftover mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes jumped out of the bowl and gave me a marginally profane French Kiss by way of gratitude. An instant fixture in my repertoire. And not the first such entry from this site. Don't ever stop, Chef John. If you do, I'll be forced to call my mommy and have a good cry. And no one wants that.

Brian Kotowski
Steamboat Springs, CO

Chef John said...

So you liked it?

Anonymous said...

As much as Elvis liked his peanut butter, banana & bacon sandwich, brother.

Brian Kotowski
Steamboat Springs, CO

Anonymous said...

So good. I've made this twice now. Once following the recipe exactly and once trying a low fat version. For the low fat version, I used low fat ham and low fat margarine. (Hypertension sucks) While the first version was richer, the second was really good too!

Anonymous said...

I have been enjoying your recipes a lot, they always turn out sooo good! Well, I've made this twice now as well and it was great each time. The second time I only used maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of a jalepeno because it just was too hot for me the first time, as i had a sore throat from a cold, and the second time i didn't have a cold and it still was fairly spicy to me, which I thought was funny since I'm from Mississippi and am used to cajun and creole cooking. Speaking of which, I served over rice and keep thinking "dam, why didn't he just call it 'shrimp creole', that's exactly what this tastes like!".

Nepenthe said...

I made the Thai flank steak last night and told my husband to grill it 6 minutes per side, and he asked, "is that what Chef John said?" Tonight, I'm making this. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Brianna said...

OMG! I JUST FINISHED EATING THIS LITERALLY! DELISHIOUS! I only had to use the cajun ( I used creole) seasoning and that is all it took for some bomb flavor. Its so hard to find cooks online that you can trust. You have earned my trust!

Anonymous said...

I just made this tonight and it was sooo good i used andouille sausage instead of ham and added some okra and served it over rice! so good! Thank you chef john! :)

Unknown said...

Mmmmmm. I can smell the scallions and shrimp through the computer screen. I'm sure my wife will approve of this gastronomical venture tonight.

Shout out to Monica!

- Kurtis from the Midwest

CYNDILYNN32 said...

Just had to comment. My husband and I have been together since 1989. We have a 22 yr old junior in college, a 19 yr old high school graduate, a 16 yr old high school junior and an about to be 1 yr old grandbaby... September 17th we will be "married" one year. That is 25 years with one man (in his case, one woman) If he has learned nothing else, he has learned this: IF MOMMA AIN'T HAPPY, AIN'T NOBODY HAPPY! The food looks great but the marital advice is BETTER! Btw that 22 yr old is still with and attending the same university as his high school sweetheart from their sophomore year in high school. Relationships can last a lifetime. It can be done. Just be your partner's best friend and a lifetime will not seem like long enough. :) Take care you two.

Chef John said...

Thank you! :)

Redcaddy said...

So, CJ, using a spoon would solve your problem with the gravy running through the tines of your fork! That's how we roll here on the Florida Gulf Coast. GREAT recipe. Thanks.