Smoked Shrimp, Cheesy Grits, & Spinach Salad

Today was a nice day for cooking out. We wanted to eat about 5:30 so we could watch the Kentucky Derby at 6:30. I had some jumbo shrimp, wild caught, shells on to have. I usually do shrimp, on high heat & fast. I have read some lately on smoking shrimp & wanted to try it. I was worried about drying them out, but they turned out great.

For sides I would fix Emeril’s baked cheesy grits and make some spinach salad. The spinach salad is from my wife’s cousin & has been in the family for a long time. It is a winner with the sweet, sour dressing, some bacon & hard boiled eggs.

I had a loaf of Ecce Pene’s take home & bake bread to have with some olive oil dip. I found a jar of 4 different blends of spices & herbs for making the dipping sauce. Rachel Raye may use EVOO, extra virgin olive oil, in all her cooking; but I only use EVOO for salads or dipping sauce. I always use ELOO, extra light olive oil, for cooking. I find the EVOO burns too easily.

The wife & kids were off to an auction this morning. I stayed home with the dogs & to cook. I did some bacon on the smoker for the salad, I like doing it on the smoker, I can get it all evenly cooked. It took about 35 to 45 minutes at 300 deg. I also figured any bacon grease left on the drip pan would help flavor the shrimp.

I boiled some eggs for the salad, baked the bread, and made my salad. The spinach salad only needs to sit a couple of hours, in the fridge. It does not hold well, leftovers are best eaten the next day. The original recipe called for the bacon & eggs mixed in the salad, but I knew my veggie daughter-in-law would not want the bacon so I saved them out to add on top & it also makes for a better presentation.

At 3:30 I got my grits cooked, added the cheese & had it ready to go in the oven at 4:45.

I wanted to use Smok’n Spices Mediterranean spice pellets on the shrimp. I got the RSI fired up about 4:30 & got my shrimp in for a short cold smoke. About 4:50 I fired up the smoker & went to 225 deg. At 5:30 the shrimp were done and my supper came together pretty good.

Everything tasted great together; I loved the shrimp & thought the Mediterranean spice definitely added to the flavor. My son said they were awesome & my veggie daughter-in-law ate a couple & said they were good. My grandson liked it all too. We all thought it was a winner supper!

After supper the kids were off to the neighbors for a Derby party, crazy hats too. The wife & I settled in and watched an exciting Kentucky Derby race.

Printable Shrimp Recipe

Printable Salad Recipe

My Bread

Dipping sauces

Bacon for the salad

The Salad

The Dressing

Shrimp

Shrimp Seasoned

Shrimps on the smoker

Ready to serve

My Salad

My Plate

Smokin Don