Bayou Stuffed Shrimp

I mentioned last week of boats coming in with pretty good numbers of shrimp and a lot of nice, jumbo size showing up. This is my favorite way to eat ‘em up. Enjoy!

Shrimp of the Week

Bayou Stuffed Shrimp
About 6 servings

40 jumbo shrimp, de-headed
1 stick butter or margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 1/4 cup finely chopped celery, divided
1 pound lump or claw crabmeat
3 eggs -beaten
4 slices stale bread, crust removed
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
A few dashes of Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon season-all
3/4 cup cracker or breadcrumbs or Panko
2 tablespoons plain corn meal
-Wash the shrimp under running water and remove shell leaving the tail on. Butterfly each shrimp by running a sharp knife down the backside to the tail. (Sometimes I marinate these in a little Creole seasoning and hot pepper sauce in the fridge for an hour.)
-Add the stale bread to the eggs and let soak about 15 minutes.
-Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium low; add the onions, bell pepper and 1 cup of celery and sauté on low until soft.
-Stir in the crab meat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove bread and quickly mash into the sautéed vegetables using a fork until the bread is a mush. Stir in the green onions and the next 8 ingredients mixing well. Cook a couple more minutes. Remove from heat until cool enough to handle.Fold in remaining celery.
-Mold 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of stuffing on each shrimp.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place shrimp on a baking sheet in a single layer about half-inch apart.
-In a small bowl, combine the mustard with the melted butter, season-all, crumbs and cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops of each shrimp with this mixture.
-Bake in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes or until the tails curl up and shrimp meat is bright white. Place under a broiler a couple of minutes to brown the top if desired.Do not over cook the shrimp.
-Serve with drawn butter and lemon wedges or over a rice dish with a vegetable if desired.