For the Fourth of July, Ben and I took a quick road trip to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We rented a 200-year-old cabin in the middle of nowhere, a perfect fit for anyone who enjoys escaping the hustle and bustle of a city. The cabin had the basics: TV, air conditioning, bathroom and a fire pit. There was even a hot tub where you can enjoy 20 private acres of silence. During the trip we visited the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge and spent most of the day in downtown Gatlinburg whiskey and wine tasting.
OK – on to the food! Part of the experience of staying in a cabin is to eat camp-style. I planned for two meals: a shrimp bake for Friday night dinner and an egg casserole for Saturday morning breakfast. While both were excellent, the star of the show was the shrimp bake I cooked on an open flame using our fire pit. The smoke from the wood gave the seafood a natural oak flavor that you can’t get if you cook the meal as a boil instead of a bake and it took less that 30 minutes to pull together. I’ll break it down for you below:
INGREDIENTS
1 lb tail-on, uncooked shrimp (if you’re traveling, frozen uncooked is fine and serves as an extra ice pack)
1 lemon
1 package of andouille sausage, cut into ½ inch slices
6 uncooked red potatoes, skin on, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ears of uncooked sweet corn, cut in half
1 stick salted butter
Creole seasoning
Minced garlic
Salt & pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Using natural wood, start your campfire. The goal is for small flames or smoldering embers.
In an aluminum baking tin, add potatoes, andouille sausage, a teaspoon of minced garlic and a half stick of butter. Lightly dust the ingredients using the creole seasoning, salt and pepper. Place the full tin on the open flame for approximately 10-15 minutes or until potatoes begin to soften. Add the halved ears of corn to the tin. Stir as needed to cook ingredients evenly.
As the potatoes and corn begin to brown, add in the shrimp, another tablespoon of minced garlic and the last half of the stick of butter. Squeeze half of the lemon over the items in the tin. Remember, shrimp cook very quickly! Use the other ingredients as a timer before adding the shrimp. On the open flame, the temperature will naturally be hotter, so it’s best to stay by the tin and stir throughout the process. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Finally, add another dusting of the creole seasoning to the tin and squeeze the rest of the lemon. Add more butter to taste if needed.
For those who want the true experience, eat out of the tin in which the items were baked to allow for additional soaking time. But be careful, it’ll be hot! Make a whiskey ginger while you wait for the bake to cool.
Thanks for following along!
Kristen
Comments