I haven't made shrimp in years: A Sous Vide Adventure

A nice thing about living solo is seafood to feed the household doesn't break the bank if I shop carefully. This week, shrimp were on sale. One of my favorite restaurant dishes is shrimp & grits. Grits are effectively the same as polenta, and I always have it in the house.

Then it occurred to me that I never tried to do shrimp sous vide, so why the hell not? I looked up timing on a few different sites. The temperature range was pretty large, as you can see on this chart on Serious Eats. I decided to not be too terribly adventurous the first time and cook the shrimp (which came already peeled) at 137 F, which is a little over 58 C. It's also 331.5 K, but I digress.

I didn't follow the recipe on the page, just the timing and temperature. Here's what I did with the shrimp:

• 8 ounces of shrimp, cleaned. I also took the tails off because I hate de-tailing shrimp while I'm eating and it's easier to do it when they're raw. I realize some people consider this an abomination, and I can live with that.  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
• 6 roasted garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked a few times with a mortar and pestle
• Zest of half a lemon

I mushed the ingredients together and used a plastic knife leftover from takeout food to spread the butter all over the inside of the bag. Before loading the shrimp, I tossed the shrimp with the baking soda (I put them in a ZipLoc plastic container and shook it for thirty second), then added the shrimp to the bag, pressing the shrimp into one layer. I started up the immersion circulator to get the water bath to temperature. I decided on 137 F, to give it a slightly softer texture, but still with a delicious pop. I cooked them for 30 minutes, then finished them on a grill pan on the stove. I'd like to try a torch next time, but I still need to buy one.

For the polenta:

• 1/2 Cup polenta
• 3 cups water
• 1 Cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 Cup Chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter (for the shallots)
• 1 Tablespoon butter (for the polenta)
• 3/4 Cup grated Grana Padano cheese
• sea salt

I sprinkled the tomatoes with a bit of salt, then tossed with 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a glass casserole dish, roasted at 400 F for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 or so.

While that was happening, I melted the 1/2 Tablespoon butter in a small pan and cooked the shallots on low, stirring constantly until they were brown. Once both of these were done, I set them aside.

For the polenta, I had a package with no directions. I boiled 2 Cups of water, stirred in the polenta, brought it back to a boil, then put it on to simmer for about 30 minutes. It needed a little longer than planned, though the results were soft, creamy, and a bit stuck to the bottom f the pot. Once all the water had been absorbed (about 45 minutes total, your mileage may vary) I stirred in the tomatoes and shallots, the butter and then 1/3 of the cheese. I added the rest of the cheese in slowly, then once that was done, assembled my plate.

The garnish is a sprinkling of oregano, more for color, and then some Calabrian chiles in oil, which was a delicious last-minute impulse.

Look for more shrimp recipes from me because this was deliciously easy!