This Crab Stuffed Key West Shrimp is a perfect dish for the holidays, as well as any other special occasion. Jumbo Key West Shrimp are primarily caught off the coast of the Florida Keys. In addition, they are sweet, large and just perfect for my special crabmeat stuffing.
Making the Crab Stuffing for Key West Shrimp
Generally, when selecting the type of crabmeat to use, I choose Lump crabmeat. Lump crabmeat can be purchased fresh cooked, as well as frozen or canned. It contains, both small and large pieces of crab and has a sweet mild taste.
Truly, if you love the taste of crab, you will especially, love this recipe. Given that, it contains just a bit of Panko Breadcrumbs. In this case, using some breadcrumbs, along with some mayo will keep your crab stuffing from falling apart, without sacrificing the flavor of the crabmeat.
Most crab cakes or stuffing contain the usual key ingredients, such as mayo, lemon, Dijon mustard and Old Bay seasoning. In my recipe, I also like to include a bit of grated fresh garlic.
Preparing the Key West Shrimp
I purchased a pound of frozen jumbo shrimp, which contained 15 pieces from Wild Fork Foods. You can check with your local fish market for availability of Key West Shrimp or substitute with another jumbo or extra jumbo variety. Fresh or frozen.
First thing to remember, after defrosting the shrimp, you need to remove the shell. In this case, by pinching the tail end and gently pulling on it. I suggest you leave the tail on, because doing so will minimize the shrinkage that occurs when the shrimp are cooked.
While carefully holding the shrimp, use your pairing knife to begin deveining the shrimp. Thereupon, make a shallow slit, across the back of the shrimp to remove the black line. Once the shrimp have been peeled and deveined, place in a mesh colander and rinse with cool water.
How to fill the Key West Shrimp with the Crab Stuffing
First, the shrimp will need to be butterflied. You can do this along the back or belly of the shrimp. If you choose to butterfly the back, just cut into it a little deeper when you are deveining. In this recipe, I cut along the belly of the shrimp. It may be a bit more labor, but I believe, it makes for a nicer presentation. Whichever way you choose, just be careful not to cut through and separate the shrimp completely.
Once the shrimp have been butterflied, you can begin to fill with the crab stuffing. Just, use a small spoon and place a generous scoop into each shrimp.
For another twist on this classic, I put a small cube of gruyere cheese on top of the stuffed shrimp, before adding the lemon butter sauce and placing in the oven. Simply delicious!
You will need:
- 1 lb. Jumbo Key West Shrimp, peeled & deveined.
- 8 oz. Lump Crabmeat, picked through for any shell bits
- 1/2 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp. Mayo
- 1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
- a small garlic clove, grated
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 12-15 small cubes Gruyere Cheese
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 white wine, optional
Directions for Crab Stuffed Key West Shrimp
- 1. Begin with a 375° preheated oven.
- 2. Gently combine the crabmeat, breadcrumbs, mayo, mustard, lemon zest and grated garlic, along with the Old Bay Seasoning, in a mixing bowl.
- 3. Using a small spoon, place a generous scoop of mixture, in each butterflied shrimp.
- 4. Lay the shrimp in your casserole dish with the stuffing side up.
- 5. Then, place a cube of cheese on each piece of shrimp.
- 6. In a small bowl, combine melted butter and lemon juice along with the wine, if desired, and then drizzle over shrimp.
- 7. Place dish in the oven and cook for approximately 12 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through.
Moppina and Wooden Spoon Kitchen Talk
- You can prepare most of this dish ahead of time. However, do not add the lemon, butter and wine sauce until you are ready to cook.
- I like to serve this over rice, couscous or quinoa. In this recipe, I steamed rainbow quinoa in vegetable stock for added flavor and tossed in chopped sundried tomato along with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- An extra side of steamed green beans or asparagus would be equally delicious.
- Visit the Inside The Recipe Box for more dinner ideas.