After Jess and I graduated from school, we decided to pick up and move to Rockport, Texas, for a year. Every day we walked by bait shops stocked with fresh “table shrimp” from that morning’s catch. Fresh gulf shrimp is sweet and buttery and blends perfectly with the spices in Rattler Rub. This is a basic recipe for blackened shrimp, but these shrimp can be used for shrimp and grits, shrimp fettucine alfredo, shrimp risotto, or anything else you can think of. While I enjoy “blackening” in a cast iron pan, I also recommend skewering for shish kebabs or sautéing with butter to add a more delicate flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fresh (not frozen) large gulf shrimp, peeled, cleaned and deveined
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons of Rattler Rub
• 1 lemon, deseeded and cut in half

Directions

After the shrimp are cleaned, place them in a glass bowl and cover with half of the olive oil. Gently toss in the olive oil to make sure all shrimp are coated. Sprinkle the shrimp with Rattler Rub and again toss very gently to make sure all are coated. Let the shrimp marinate in the oil and rub mixture for thirty minutes.

Place your cast iron pan on either your stove top or BBQ grill and heat to a high temperature. Once the pan is very hot and slightly smoking, pour in the remaining olive oil and carefully tilt the pan to distribute the oil across the entire surface. Using tongs, place each shrimp on its side inside the pan. Make sure to give each shrimp space and do not overcrowd the pan. Shrimp cook very fast, (around 2-3 minutes total) so after a minute, flip the shrimp and let the other side “blacken.” After another minute, squeeze one half of the lemon directly into the pan and toss the shrimp gently in the liquid. Remove the shrimp from the cast iron pan and serve immediately.