Alright y’all, let’s talk about whipping up Princess Tiana’s Jumbo Shrimp. Saw this recipe floating around, claimed to be “easy,” and well, you know me, I gotta try stuff myself. Grabbed my keys and headed out.
Getting Stuck Before I Even Started
First hurdle: finding the dang “jumbo” shrimp. Hit two grocery stores. First place had shrimp, sure, but puny little things. Second place? They wanted an arm and a leg for the big boys. Seriously, almost gave up right there. Settled for something just barely big enough to call “large,” my wallet feeling way lighter.
Back in my kitchen, ready to roll. Recipe says “devein the shrimp.” Sounds simple. Turns into a mini battle. Those little black lines don’t wanna come out clean! Tweezers slipping, shrimp guts everywhere. Took me like 20 minutes just to clean a pound. What a chore. Had to stop and wipe down the counter like twice. Smelled kinda fishy already.
Spicing Things Up (Literally)
Now for the seasoning mix. Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, pepper. Okay, measured those out easy enough. Mixed ’em in a little bowl. Then… “creole seasoning.” Recipe just assumed I had it. I did not. Dug through my spice drawer – dusty bottles of stuff I forgot I owned. No creole. Figured my Cajun seasoning mix was close enough? Tossed a spoonful in with the rest. Who knows.
Tossed the cleaned (finally!) shrimp in the spice mix, trying to coat them good. Fingers covered in orange-red powder. Looked messy, felt messy.
Fire Up the Pan Drama
Big skillet goes on the burner. Heated up some oil – recipe said a couple tablespoons, seemed like a lot, but went with it. Waited till it shimmered like it said. Dropped a shrimp in… instant sizzle! Okay, good. Working fast now, laid those suckers out in a single layer. Didn’t wanna crowd them.
- First problem: That oil popped like crazy. Spatters everywhere! Grabbed a splatter screen way too late.
- Second problem: Timing them. Recipe says cook for 2 minutes per side. Seemed fast. First flip at 2 minutes… the side wasn’t pink all the way through? Gave it another 30 seconds. Definitely overcooked that one. Adjusted for the rest. Flipped them carefully, trying not to lose any spice coating to the pan.
Cooked them in two batches ’cause my pan wasn’t big enough for all at once. Second batch went better, figured out the timing. Smelled actually pretty darn good once the initial spice-cloud settled. Minced up some garlic and parsley for finishing.
Finally… Dinner?
Took the last shrimp out of the pan, tossed the minced garlic in the hot oil left behind – it cooked in like 30 seconds, stirred in the parsley quick. Poured that whole buttery, garlicky mix over the shrimp piled on a plate. Made a huge mess on the counter pouring it. Looked decent, smelled amazing.
Tried one. Okay, flavor was actually really good. Big, punchy spice, garlic finish. But man, those first few shrimp I messed up on timing? Definitely a bit chewy. Second batch was juicier. Served it with just some plain rice ’cause that’s all I had energy for. My kitchen looked like a spice bomb went off. Cleanup was a whole other adventure.
So yeah, “easy”? Hmph. Deveining sucked, finding big shrimp cost a fortune, spice cabinet panic attack, almost set off the smoke detector with oil splatter, and I messed up half the batch. But… the part that turned out right? Tasted like something Tiana herself might slap on a plate. Worth the struggle? Maybe once. Gotta restock my spice drawer before I try again though.
