Q: One of my boyfriend’s favorites is Old Bay peel-and-eat shrimp from Southport Raw Bar in Fort Lauderdale. We adore sitting out by the water. Any chance they will part with the recipe? We’ve tried the recipe on the back of the Old Bay container, but it is not the same! Thanks for your help and hope to hear from you. — Andrea Gentry, Fort Lauderdale
A: With a history dating back to the ’70s, Southport Raw Bar (1536 Cordova Road, Fort Lauderdale; 954-525-2526; southportrawbar.com), has developed a loyal seafood following. Andrea’s boyfriend is one of many who love the shrimp and the views. On any given week, it’s not unusual for Southport to go through 60 pounds of shrimp a day, according to co-owner Buddy Sherman. This request took a little finagling. Eventually Sherman acquiesced and added: “The secret ingredient to our Old Bay peel-and-eat shrimp is the broth that is created by the combination of clams, crab, oysters and shrimp that are steamed together. The seafood broth creates a flavorful steam that imparts a delicious taste into the shrimp.”
Recipe: Southport Raw Bar’s Old Bay shrimp
1 pound 36-40 shrimp
Seafood broth, for steaming
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup Old Bay seafood seasoning
Cocktail sauce, for serving
Lemon wedges, for serving
1 Using a large sauce pan over high heat, bring to boil seafood broth. Add shrimp and boil until they float to the top, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain shrimp and transfer to a large bowl.
2 Pour butter over shrimp and sprinkle with Old Bay. Toss until evenly coated.
Serve with cocktail sauce and lemon.
Makes two generous servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 468 calories, 70% calories from fat, 37 g fat, 23 g saturated fat, 377 mg cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 32 g protein, 4,878 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
