OK, so, in reality, this recipe by Al Roker from Parade Magazine calls for the shrimp to be grilled, but, we were not grilling that afternoon and, truly, these cook in the air fryer so nicely, and with so little fuss – you don’t even need to turn the suckers over! – that I choose to believe that the call for grilling was simply an oversight on some editor’s part somewhere.
I didn’t even change the recipe much, just cut the amounts back to serve the folk I had in the house the shrimp I had on hand.
Easy-peasey!
INGREDIENTS
Sauce/Marinade:
•4 tbsp butter
•1/4 cup diced onion
•2 cloves garlic
•1/4 cup ketchup
•1/4 cup olive oil
•1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
•1 tbsp brown sugar
•2 tsp lemon juice
•1/2 tsp chili powder
•1 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/4 tsp dried oregano
•1/4 tsp dried thyme
•1 bay leaf
Rub and Shrimp:
•2 tsp chili powder
•2 tsp salt
•1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
First, make the sauce; by tossing all of the ingredients together in a medium pot over medium heat.
Cook, stirring, until the butter and brown sugar has melted and the sauce is nicely combined, then bring to a boil and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes, until it has reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Toss the shrimp with the salt and the chili powder until coated, then pour the cooled sauce over, cover, and stash in the fridge for one or two hours.
Note 1: do not try to marinate the shrimp for hours and hours or overnight, the acid in the sauce will start to “cook” the shrimp and you will end up with a rubbery munchie.
Note 2: if you are doubling, tripling, whatever this recipe, you can transfer some of the sauce to a small jar and stashing in the fridge to use as a dipper.
Once ready to cook, heat your air fryer to 400º and brush a little olive oil on the rack.
Remove the shrimp from the sauce (discard the sauce) and arrange in a single layer on the rack.
Air fry for eight minutes – there is no need to turn the shrimp over – then transfer to a platter and serve. I chose to use ranch dressing as a dipper; I thought it was perfect with the zippy shrimp, and some Persian cucumber spears on the side added another level of cooling crunch.
Really tasty, really easy munchie!