Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Colossal shrimp are stuffed with cracker and crab filling, then drizzled with butter and baked until cooked through but still moist.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Crab, crackers, mushroom, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, stuffed

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Servings

Calories 240kcal

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 cups diced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
¼ cup minced yellow onion
3 tablespoons minced celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¾ pound jumbo lump crab meat
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided
½ cup chicken stock
30 buttery snack crackers*, finely ground, about 1½ cups
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1½ pounds colossal U/15 shrimp, shelled & deveined, leaving tail intact
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 lemon, cut into wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190ºC).
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of butter and allow to melt. Add the mushrooms, onions, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the liquid the mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 6 minutes.
Add the crabmeat and half of the parsley, and stir gently on medium heat until combined but the crab remains in large pieces, about 1 minute.
Stir in the chicken stock and crushed cracker crumbs and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the shrimp from head to tail along the backside to butterfly the shrimp. Open each butterflied shrimp, so they are flat with the cut side facing up.
Mound about 2 tablespoons of stuffing on each shrimp, press gently to adhere. Place the shrimp stuffed-side up in a 12 x 9 baking pan.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and brush it on the shrimp. Sprinkle with paprika and bake until the shrimp are pink and no longer translucent, about 20 minutes.
Serve the baked stuffed shrimp immediately topped with the remaining parsley and with the lemon wedges on the side.

Notes

*Note: This recipe has been tested using Ritz crackers. 30 crackers is about 1 sleeve of crackers. Using crackers instead of plain breadcrumbs will create a moist buttery flavor.

Nutrition