Butter poached shrimp

By mrmcglone

serves 4-6
Poaching shrimp in beurre monté - a "sauce" of melted butter - results in a lobster-like taste and texture. Once you have the butter at near poaching temperature, you can cook as many shrimp as you like. Use whatever size shrimp you desire; just adjust the cooking time. You can also secure each shrimp head-to-tail with a toothpick, dust with a light sprinkle of smoked paprika or chopped parsley and serve as hors d'oeuvres, or serve on a bed of herbed couscous.

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-large shrimp
• (26/30 count per pound).
• 3 to 4 tablespoons water
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds (4 to 6 sticks) salted butter, cut into large chunks
• Lemon slices, optional
• Freshly ground black pepper, optional

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Peel and devein shrimp. Rinse and pat dry

Place a small to medium sauce pan over medium-high heat and add the water. When it comes to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low.
While whisking, start adding the butter a chunk at a time at first. Adjust your heat so that the butter is hot and easily melts but doesn't simmer. There should not be any bubbles.
As they melt, add more chunks until all the butter is incorporated. This will take a few minutes. The butter should remain emulsified and not separate, which it will if it gets too hot.

Use as much butter as needed to have a depth of about 1 1/4-1 1/2 inches; the size of your sauce pan will determine how much butter you will need. (At a minimum, the depth of the butter should be a little deeper than the thickness of your shrimp. If it is deeper than that, you will be able to poach more shrimp at a time.)

Add just enough shrimp to the butter so they are all immersed. You can fiddle with the heat if you want to keep the butter at optimum temperature, 160°-180°. If you leave the heat alone, it just might take a little longer for the shrimp to finish.

Cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes. When properly cooked, they will be moderately curved. If tightly curved into a circle, they have overcooked.

Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon, and season with a squeeze of lemon juice and a grind of pepper, if desired. If working in batches, keep shrimp and a little butter warm in a 200° oven.
Freeze the poaching butter for up to 6 months; reuse by rewarming with the beurre monte technique.