# Marinating Shrimp?



## mackeeg

I want to marinate 3 pounds of shrimp for tomorrow night in a mixture of hot sauce and BBQ sauce. Can I put the shrimp in the marinaide tonight? Or do you think it would break down the shrimp? The shells will be left on.


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## Andy M.

I'd wait and marinate the shrimp an hour or two before cooking.


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## ironchef

Do what Andy said, but it might also be better to just marinate the shrimp in some oil, seasonings, the hot sauce, etc. but not the bbq sauce. I would serve the bbq sauce on the side, because it will be extremely messy to eat when you're peeling the shrimp, and it will also create a mess on your grill when you cook them.


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## amber

I agree with Andy R and IC.  It wont take long to marinade shrimp, compared to say beef, pork, etc.  I think if you were to marinade it tonight it would make the shrimp a bit mushy.  Good point about the BBQ sauce and messiness when people peel and eat it!  Serve it on the side.


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## VeraBlue

The vinegar in the hot sauce will have cooked your shrimp by then.  Any additional cooking time will produce a very tough shrimp.  

Are you dead set on those ingredients for the marinade?   It sounds like you are interested in a bbq shrimp dish.   New Orleans is famous for it's barbecued shrimp, but there is no barbecue sauce in it.  

If you do a search for an authentic recipe you might find something you'd be happier with.  


If it's buffalo shrimp you're looking for, you don't have to marinate at all.  But you should remove the shell, leaving the tail intact.   Bread and fry them, like wings...and then, toss the fried shrimp into a mixture of melted butter and hot sauce.


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## Seven S

VeraBlue said:
			
		

> The vinegar in the hot sauce will have cooked your shrimp by then.



this gal and I think alike. just jumped ahead of my observation!


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## ChefJune

There is no need to marinate shrimp at all for barbecued shrimp.  The sauce will impart lots of flavor just in the cooking process!

Marinating shrimp for more than about 2 hours (that's the ABSOLUTE max) will effectively "cook" your shrimp -- as in ceviche.  The acid cooks the shrimp quuite quickly, where it doesn't do that to beef...  Overnight marinating of shrimp or other fish at any time will result in mushy and inedible product.  I _know_ that's not what you're after!


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## marmalady

I've had this recipe for over 25 years - gasp!, lol - from a friend of mine; there's no vinegar in it, but it sure is good!  When I've marinated it for less than 24 hours, it just doesn't taste the same!

PEGGY'S MARINATED SHRIMP
 ​2 lbs. shrimp *                
2/3 cup oil                    
1T salt              
4T ketchup
2 tsp. paprika              
 6 cloves minced garlic               
1 ½ tsp. cayenne  (more or less to your taste. 
 
Blend together, add shrimp, marinate overnight.  Place on shallow baking pan, bake at 450 10 minutes.
 
* You can shell the shrimp or not - depending on what kind of party you're having!


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## jennyema

VeraBlue said:
			
		

> Are you dead set on those ingredients for the marinade? It sounds like you are interested in a bbq shrimp dish. New Orleans is famous for it's barbecued shrimp, but there is no barbecue sauce in it. .


 
And I was just goona say this! VB beat me to it.



			
				Andy M. said:
			
		

> They're available frozen as well. Most shrimp (over 95%) sold in the US has been frozen. Unless you live near a shrimp fishng center, the odds of getting fresh shrimp are very low.


 
This is why it's almost always better to buy frozen shrimp rather than the thawed shrimp sitting in the fish case.


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## ChefJune

marmalady said:
			
		

> I've had this recipe for over 25 years - gasp!, lol - from a friend of mine; there's no vinegar in it, but it sure is good!  When I've marinated it for less than 24 hours, it just doesn't taste the same!
> 
> PEGGY'S MARINATED SHRIMP
> ​2 lbs. shrimp *
> 2/3 cup oil
> 1T salt
> 4T ketchup
> 2 tsp. paprika
> 6 cloves minced garlic
> 1 ½ tsp. cayenne  (more or less to your taste.
> 
> Blend together, add shrimp, marinate overnight.  Place on shallow baking pan, bake at 450 10 minutes.
> 
> * You can shell the shrimp or not - depending on what kind of party you're having!


  There's no acid in your marinade, Marmalady, that's why it doesn't turn the shrump to mush.


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## marmalady

ChefJune said:
			
		

> There's no acid in your marinade, Marmalady, that's why it doesn't turn the shrump to mush.


 
I know - I was just offering the recipe as an alternative.


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## kitchenelf

Well darn, everyone said everything I would have said!  

Marm - thanks for the marinade and again, I was going to say the same thing about "lack of acid" - well, I guess I'll just have a cup of coffee and relax!


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