Pellet Smoker Cooking: 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