Pan Smoked Shrimp with Butter
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These pan smoked shrimp with lots of butter and cut up pieces of sausage are reminiscent of shrimp scampi and I think you'll find that these are wonderful enough to do time and time again.
Some of our users have modified this recipe by adding small potatoes to this. Another user used the leftover butter in the pan to make Alfredo noodles when the smoking process was finished.
If you make any changes to this, let me know or include it in a comment so we can share it with everyone else.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Marinate Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45-60 minutes (varies based on size of shrimp)
- Smoker Temp: 225°F
- Meat Finish Temp: N/A
- Recommended Wood: Hickory/Pecan
- 2 lbs shrimp (colossal 16-22)
- 1-2 lbs of smoked link sausage, sliced
- Jeff's original rub
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/2 poblano pepper, chopped (jalapeno also works great)
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 2 sticks of butter (½ pound)
If the shrimp are frozen, which is very likely, put them in a colander and run cold water over them until they are thawed. This should only take a few minutes.
Peel the shrimp and remove the vein that runs under the surface of the skin on the back of the shrimp. If you did not grow up doing this or do not have experience with this, you can probably find some videos online to make this a much easier learning experience.
I cut about ¼ inch into the back of the shrimp with a small knife. You can use the tip of the blade to remove the vein.
If you buy them locally and they are already shelled and/or deveined then you can save yourself some work, however, the best shrimp, in my opinion, are from the Texas gulf and are fresh and still in the shell.
It is important to get the seasoning and/or marinade onto the shrimp several hours before you plan to cook them. There is nothing better than my original rub on these shrimp so that is obviously what I highly recommend.
Place the shrimp into a disposable aluminum pan.
Sprinkle the top with my original rub .
Toss the shrimp or you can just manually turn each one over to ensure a more even coverage.
Sprinkle my original rub on the shrimp again making sure all of them are well coated.
I also decided to add about 1.5 lbs of smoked link sausage to the shrimp. You can use more or less depending on how much you like link sausage. I sliced the sausages about ¼ to ½ inch thick.
Chop the poblanos, jalapeños or whatever pepper you choose to use depending on how spicy you want it to be. My favorite is jalapeño but if you have tender mouths eating, poblanos are a milder option.
Add the chopped peppers to the top of the shrimp.
Note: You can also use about 2 TBS of red pepper flakes if you prefer.
Chop ¼ cup of parsley and add half of it to the top of the shrimp.
Cut the lemon and orange in half and squeeze the juice from the halves onto the shrimp.
Give the shrimp a good toss and place the shrimp in the fridge for about 2 hours to marinate.
I never said this recipe was healthy and butter is a very important ingredient in this recipe. I have not tried using artificial butters so if you need to do that, proceed cautiously.
One thing to remember is that most of the butter stays in the pan in the end, not on the shrimp.
I used 2 sticks (½ pound) initially and realized that it needed another stick (¼ pound) to cover properly. If you don't use sausage in yours, 2 sticks may be plenty.
Melt the butter in a pan on the stove or in the microwave to make it easier.
Pour the melted butter over the shrimp, add another sprinkling of my original rub and it's ready for the smoker.
Setup your smoker for cooking at about 220°F using indirect heat.
If your smoker has a water pan, fill it with hot water.
These shrimp will only take about an hour or less if you keep the heat really low so no need to overdo the smoke.
Once the smoker is ready, place the pan of shrimp in the smoker and close the door/lid.
I used the Smokin-it electric smoker.. you can use whatever smoker you have. Pellet smokers also work well with this recipe.
Check the smoked shrimp at about 35-40 minutes into the cooking session so as to not overcook them.
When the flesh is slightly opaque (no longer transparent) and the tail has turned pink, they are done. When you bite into it, it should be crisp, not rubbery.
Garnish with the remaining chopped parsley just before serving.
Serve immediately as an appetizer with the barbecue cocktail sauce (below) or with a side or two if you want to make it an entree.
- 1/2 cup of Jeff's barbecue sauce
- 2 TBS raw horseradish, finely grated
Mix until well blended.
Notes: I really like horseradish, if you don't like it as much as I do, you might want to start with 1 TBS, taste it, then add more to taste.
Pan Smoked Shrimp with Butter
Ingredients
- 2 lbs shrimp (colossal 16-22)
- ¼ cup Jeff's original rub
- ¼ cup parsley (chopped))
- ½ poblano pepper (chopped (jalapeno also works great))
- 1 orange (halved)
- 1 lemon (halved)
- 3 sticks butter (¾ pound)
- 1.5 lbs smoked link sausage
Instructions
- Peel and devein shrimp.
- Place shrimp into a foil pan.
- Slice sausage about ¼ inch thick and place into pan
- Add ¼ cup of chopped parsley to the top of the shrimp.
- Add ½ chopped poblano or 1 chopped jalapeno to the top of the shrimp.
- Cut the lemon and orange in half and squeeze the juice from the halves over the shrimp.
- Sprinkle about 2 TBS of Jeff's original rub onto the shrimp.
- Turn the shrimp over or just toss them with a spoon.
- Sprinkle another 2 TBS of Jeff's original rub onto the top of the shrimp.
- Give the shrimp another toss and place the pan into the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.
- Melt 2 sticks of butter and pour it over the shrimp. If you need more to cover better, melt another stick.
- Set up the smoker for cooking at about 220°F using indirect heat.
- Keep a light hickory or pecan smoke going for at least 30 minutes.
- Check the shrimp after 40 minutes to make sure they aren't getting done to quick. When shrimp are done, the flesh will be slightly opaque (no longer transparent) and the shell will be pink to bright pink. The bite should be crisp, not rubbery.
- Serve immediately when finished.
This is an incredible recipe. The flavors were magnificent. I can’t wait to try using the butter sauce for alfredo. I realized after the fact that I used cooked shrimp. I was very surprised that they came out perfect. They had a nice crisp bit to them. Great job Jeff!
My family loves this! After the first couple of times we modified your recipe and have added crab meat (usually artificial), sea scallops, cut up Onion, baby corn, and water chestnuts. My family refers to this new recipe as seafood delight! It’s even good just cooking on your gas grill (indirect heat method) with smoke chips or smoke pellets in a tube.
I’ve made this twice and the second time it was outstanding. The first time it was good enough to make a second time. What made it so much better the second time was I used much more space… Close to the 4 tablespoons in the recipe. I also chopped an entire poblano and an entire jalapeño. I threw in a pack of Johnsonville Italian sausages and cut them into bite-size pieces before serving. Everyone absolutely loved it. Great recipe
Can this be done in a pellet grill?
Time temp., etc.?
Matt, I try almost all of my recipes in various smokers and the temp and time stays pretty consistent. This can definitely be done in a pellet smoker using the same basic time and temp. The time will vary based on the size of shrimp that you use.
Keep an eye on the shrimp to make sure they are done without being overcooked.
At what point do you add the sausage
The sausage was added from the very beginning, at the same time as the shrimp. When the shrimp were fully cooked, the sausage was heated through perfectly.
I have had a Smokin-it #1 for over 7 years now. It will never let you down. It is so tight and well insulated that you can rely on accurate cooking times without fail. I put small disposable meatloaf pans on each side of the firebox filled with water or juice. I believe an electric smoker should always use a water (juice) pan every time. This recipe was the bomb and I did use ‘Georgia Boy’ smoked sausage in this recipe. Tip: to take some of the heat out of the jalapeno, clean out seeds and membrane and soak in 7-Up (not diet) for 45 min. If you are looking for NO heat, soak 90 min.
Jeff—I took this recipe to the next step. After smoking the shrimp take the butter and make an Alfredo sauce, adding fettuccine noodles, and the shrimp sausage mixture back into the Alfredo and pasta pan, smoke for another 20 minutes and wow.
I know you mention using smoked, store-bought sausage, but you still smoke them with the shrimp anyway?
Yum yum…add small red potatoes and you’re really talkin’
Jeff, tried this recipe tonight. It was a big hit. Great flavor with the shrimp and a relatively quick cook time.
This is an excellent recipe. I made it without the sausage, but look forward to trying it with. I also did the bbq cocktail sauce….fantastic!
Btw, I highly recommend Jeff’s sauce and rub. Both are really good!
Jeff am i missing something,the shrimp looks really, any specific good butt the sausage was not included in the ingredience any specific type
I added slices of pre-cooked smoked sausage in the version where the pictures were taken.. however, in the top summary, I noted that this was an option but not featured in the text of the recipe.
I used about a pound of basic store-bought smoked sausage links but you can use almost anything you like including hot links.
I see sausage in the picture, but i don’t see a step to add or how much to add….
I added slices of pre-cooked smoked sausage in the version where the pictures were taken.. however, in the top summary, I noted that this was an option but not featured in the text of the recipe.
I used about a pound of basic store-bought smoked sausage links but you can use almost anything you like including hot links.
Just wondering. I noticed the pictures on this recipe show sausage slices, but no mention in the recipe?
I added slices of pre-cooked smoked sausage in the version where the pictures were taken.. however, in the top summary, I noted that this was an option but not featured in the text of the recipe.
I used about a pound of basic store-bought smoked sausage links but you can use almost anything you like including hot links.