Poor Mans Lobster Roll

By tonym

This shrimp roll is AWESOME, closely as satisfying as the real deal. The shrimps that I used are frozen shell-on jumbo shrimps commonly seen in seafood markets, and frozen shell-off black tiger shrimp commonly sold in the frozen seafood sections in supermarkets (especially common in wholesalers like Cosco or etc). They are slightly different in texture as the shell-on jumbo shrimps carry a meatier/firmer bite, whereas the shell-off black tiger shrimp has a more “bouncy” almost “crunchy” mouth-feel. I prefer the combination of both but if you only have one type available, by all means just use that on its own.

Without saying, freshness is a given. But the KEY to delicious/lobster-like result is NOT TO OVER-COOK THE SHRIMP. Yeah? You’d be surprised how FAST and EASILY shrimps can be over-cooked (blink of an eye! just like that!). The insurance I took to avoid this is to “low-and-low poach” the shrimp instead of boiling. Once the water is brought to a simmer, the heat should be turn OFF completely. The shrimps will sit in the residual heat for a warm bath, and depending on the sizes, this would ONLY TAKE 1 ~ 2 min!!

Ingredients

• Lime salt:
• 260 g shell-on jumbo shrimp/prawn (frozen is fine)
• 150 g shell-off jumbo black tiger shrimp (frozen is fine)
• Zest/peels from 1/2 lime
• 1 1/2 tbsp of sea salt
• Dill/chive mayo:
• 1 1/2 tbsp of mayonaise
• 1 1/2 tsp of chives, finely diced
• 1 tsp of dill, finely minced
• 1 tsp of lime juice
• 1/3 tsp of sugar
• 1/4 ~ 1/3 tsp of lime salt
• tiny pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 good potato rolls, store bought or recipe here
• 1 tbsp of unsalted butter, melted

Details

Adapted from ladyandpups.com

Preparation

Step 1

With the shell-on shrimps, remove the heads (KEEP THEM! For stay-tuned…) and make a slit through the center of the shells all the way to the tail. Rinse under water and remove any veins/dirt. Leave the shell on and set aside. The shell-off black tiger shrimp usually comes clean and deveined, but rinse it clean anyways just in case.

Bring a pot of water (at least 6X the volume of the shrimps) to a simmer, and prepare a ice-cubes-bath on the side. Once the water starts to simmer, turn the heat OFF COMPLETELY. Lower the shrimps into the water and let them poach in the residual heat. Shrimps cook EXTREMELY FAST. The shell-off shrimps will cook MUCH FASTER than the shell-on shrimps. Once they curl up and turn orange, which is going to happen within 1 ~ 1.5 min, take one out and slit it open with a small knife. The center of the flesh should be JUST OPAQUE and not translucent. Once done, immediately transfer the shell-off shrimps into the ice-cubes-bath. The shell-on shrimp will only take 0.5 ~ 1 min more. Slit one open if you need to check, and transfer to the ice-bath once done as well.

Let them cool in the ice-bath for 5 min, then discard the water. Chill in the fridge until needed.

In a food-processor or spice-grinder, pulse the lime zest/peel and sea salt together until finely ground together. Mix 1/4 tsp of lime salt, mayonaise, chives, dill, lime juice, sugar and black pepper together. Adjust the seasoning with more lime salt if needed. Take the shrimp out of the fridge and feel off the shells. Split the shrimps in half across the length (you should have 2 mirrored slices), and mix evenly with the dill/chive mayo. Return it to the fridge while you toaste the rolls (the contrast between the cold shrimps and warm rolls is crucial in a good shrimp/lobster roll).

Brush the melted butter over every surface of the roll including the top. Toast in a pan over medium-heat unti browned and crispy. Make a slit through the center of the roll and stuff it SENSELESS with the shrimps. Garnish with a sprig of dill and serve with a wedge of lime and lime salt on the side.