Ingredients:
- 4 lbs. Alaskan spot prawns rock salt or course kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F
Thaw, rinse and drain shrimp.
Use a cast iron skillet or other heavy pan. Lay a ½” thick bed of course salt in the pan.
Place the pan in oven until hot (approx. 3 minutes). Remove from oven and lightly press shrimp in salt. Return to oven and roast 4-8 minutes depending on size of shrimp. If using colossal shrimp, turn halfway through cooking.
Lemon Caper Butter Sauce
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- A few drops of water
- ½ lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks), sliced and chilled
- 1 tbsp. capers, rinsed, pressed dry between towels and chopped
- 1 tbsp. finely diced shallots
- 1 tbsp. rinsed, minced preserved
- lemon, seeds removed
- 3 tbsp. fi sh/chicken stock (optional)(don’t substitute fish sauce for stock)
NOTE: Choose a heavy saucepan 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
First measure 2 tbsps. of wine into the pan and tilt it; try to remember what that amount looks like in that pan. Add remaining wine and reduce by 1/2. The reduced wine should be deep yellow, not amber. Don’t hesitate to start over, if it tastes acrid vs. pungent. Then add the shallots, onions, preserved lemon and fish/chicken stock until warmed thoroughly.
As soon as the wine mixture is warmed, pull the pan from the heat and immediately add a few drops of water and a few slices of the cold butter.
Swirl, reduce the heat slightly, and return the pan to the burner. Whisk, continuing to swirl the pan on the burner, until the first pats of butter are nearly melted. Add another few and continue whisking to encourage emulsion.
The emerging sauce will gain body as you add more butter. Don’t allow it to boil; if it starts to, quickly pull the pan from the burner, add a drop, or a few drops, of water at the edge, and swirl the pan to restabilize the emulsion.
The sauce will taste under-seasoned at first, but it will get saltier as the condiments infuse it.