Mardi Gras is a great excuse for cooking cajun classics, and instant pot Shrimp Étouffée is a great addition to your recipe box. I wanted to make this dish and I also wanted to make something in the Instant Pot for ease of cooking, but shrimp and instant pot don’t go together in my brain. I thought the shrimp would end up overcooked and rubbery. Well, they don’t because you do not add the shrimp to the pot until after the pressure cooking part is complete. And next time you are peeling shrimp for any reason save the shells and make a batch of shrimp broth to have ready in the freezer for when you want to make anything that calls for shrimp or seafood broth. It’s super easy to make and you only need a couple cups for this recipe, so it won’t take many shells to produce a delicious broth. Your broth can be as complex or simple as you like, based on how much time and energy you have. If you only occasionally have shrimp, and not in sufficient quantities to make broth then save your shells, and heads if available in an air tight freezer container until you have enough for a batch of broth. This is a great technique for all broths, putting to good use the kibbles and bits from vegetables and other broth ingredients such as celerey, carrot, onion and garlic ends, bones from various meats, and chicken backs. Then when you are ready to make your broth your ingredients are readily available and you have upcycled your discards for a better use than the landfill. Oh, and shrimp shells are great for your gardening soil, so don’t toss them in the garbage after you make the stock…add them to your compost soil!
Basic Shrimp Broth Recipe –makes approximately 2 cups broth
- 1 Tbsp sunflower, vegetable or olive oil
- shrimp shells (heads optional) from 2 lbs shrimp
- 2 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp seafood seasoning such as Old Bay or cajun seasoning such as Slap Ya Mama (my favorite)
- optional: 1-2 sprigs thyme and 5-6 parsley stems
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat, add shrimp shells and seasonings and toss to coat shells. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes to reduce broth to 2 cups. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer or use immediately. Keeps in refrigerator up to 5 days, and in freezer for about 3 months. If you have a freezer that is not self defrosting it will keep much longer. I store my broth in bags with my Wolf Vacuum Seal Drawer, then lay flat to freeze and they take up much less room in the freezer. It’s a great tool for the kitchen!
The prep for the Shrimp Étouffée is what takes the most time, but really is not time consuming. If you are prepping vegetables for something else you could also prep the garlic, onions, peppers, celerey, scallions and parsley for this at the same time, then store until ready to use.
Shrimp Étouffée Recipe
Yield 4 servings
- 2 cups shrimp stock, water or chicken stock
- 2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 Jalapeño pepper, deseeded and diced finely
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced finely
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup diced or chopped tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp Cajun or Creole Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 1 Tbsp dry sherry or dry white wine (optional)
Toss peeled, deveined shrimp in 1 Tbsp Cajun or Creole seasoning and set aside.
Melt butter in Instant Pot set on low sauté setting. When butter is melted, add flour, stirring constantly to make roux. Cook roux for 5-10 minutes, then add celerey, sweet pepper, chopped onions, jalapeño pepper and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in remaining Cajun or Creole seasoning, pepper, Slap Ya Mama seasoning, bay leaf and thyme, and stir. Then add lemon juice, Worchestershire sauce, tomato paste, tomatoes and broth, and stir. Turn off Instant Pot then place sealed lid onto pot and set to High Pressure for 10 minutes. When pressure cooking is complete, turn pot off and allow to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure and removing the lid. Stir in shrimp and sherry or wine (if using) and place cover on pot and let rest for 10 minutes then stir in parsley and scallions and serve over rice, orzo or grits, with your favorite hot sauce on the side for those who like it hot….my favorite is Secret Aardvark. Enjoy!
