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Original New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Recipe Does Right Bayou

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Shrimp and andouille sausage in a bowl

BBQ shrimp is a N’awlins classic and now you can make it as good, if not better, at home!

In New Orleans (pronounced NAW-lins), BBQ shrimp are pan seared or baked with a barbecue sauce made with butter, garlic, Louisiana hot sauce, and lagniappe (a little something extra). Technically, since there is no smoke in the process, so it really isn’t barbecue, but there’s no reason why we can’t use this wonderful sauce on grilled shrimp, andouille or other sausages, pork chops, pulled pork, or chicken.

This is a runny sauce with a lot of butter in it, and if you paint it on the meat most of it will run off and cause deadly flareups if you put it over direct heat, and shrimp likes direct heat. So the best technique is to cook the meat and then dunk it in the sauce and serve. Putting it on French bread is the best way to use it since the sauce will soak into the bread. In fact that is how it is used in New Orleans, to make the classic barbecue shrimp and andouille po-boy.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Sauce Recipe


New Orleans BBQ Shrimp in a dish
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3 from 24 votes
Even though this recipe is not technically barbecue, this New Orleans classic is worthy of your attention. Use as a dipping sauce to avoid dangerous flare-ups when cooking.

Course:
Sauces and Condiments
Cuisine:
American
,
Southern

Makes:

Servings: 6 servings

Takes:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces butter (1 stick)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon Meathead's Memphis Dust
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Notes:
About the hot sauce. Use your favorite brand. Tabasco is from Louisiana, so it would be a good choice. If your andouille is hot, you might want to skip the hot sauce. If you are from New Orleans, crank up the heat!
Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

  • Prep. Mince the garlic cloves.
  • Cook. Pour the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir fry for about 1 minute, no longer or it will brown and get bitter.
  • Add the Meathead's Memphis Dust and cook for another 30 seconds to extract the flavors. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and stir gently until it dissolves and blends in. Take the pan off the heat.
  • Serve. Taste and add more heat if you wish. In N'orleans they like everything hot, but it will not be so hot when you use it on meat or for classic BBQ shrimp.

Related articles

Published On: 3/3/2016 Last Modified: 9/8/2023

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  • Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer - Founder and publisher of AmazingRibs.com, Meathead is known as the site's Hedonism Evangelist and BBQ Whisperer. He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living.

 

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