America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 22, Episode 7 - Shrimp, Fast and Slow - full transcript
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-Today on
"America's Test Kitchen"...
Keith shows Julia a foolproof
recipe for pan-seared shrimp
with peanuts, black pepper,
and lime.
Adam reveals his top pick
for petty and utility knives.
And Elle makes Bridget
the ultimate shrimp risotto.
It's all coming up right here
on "America's Test Kitchen."
♪♪
-17 years ago,
I cooked our recipe
for pan-seared shrimp,
and it was a great method.
The first thing, before we start
pan-searing the shrimp,
is that we like
to take the whole peel off.
And, in fact, that old recipe
was developed
by Mr. Keith Dresser
and he's back today to show us
an updated way to do it.
-Yeah. That's what I love
about the test kitchen --
we never stop innovating
and learning.
So, even though I created
a recipe so many years ago,
that was really great,
we've learned more
and we've actually created
an even better recipe,
which I'm going
to show you today.
I have 1 1/2 pounds
of extra large shrimp here.
That means 21 to 25 shrimp
per pound.
I just have a couple more that I
need to peel and devein here.
Really quite a simple process.
I start
with taking the legs off.
Kind of scraping down there,
and then I just take
the side of my thumb
and kind of hook it
over the side of the shell,
peel it off
in one big fell swoop,
then come back and we actually
want to take the tail off here.
-Interesting.
-We're not going to leave
the tail on here, so.
-Makes them easier to eat.
-Yeah. No spitting shells
out of your teeth.
-[ Laughs ]
But also, shell on shrimp
will have a fresher,
more moist texture.
-Okay,
that's looking pretty clean.
Now, I want to stress
that we're using shrimp
that aren't treated,
so, no salt,
no other additive,
just plain old shrimp here.
-Right. That means,
when you go to the store
and you look at the back
of a package in the freezer,
you should only see one
ingredient, and that's shrimp.
-Again, pinch that,
take that off.
And one final step of deveining.
So just take a tip
of a paring knife.
Run it down the back.
You don't want to cut
too, too deep in here.
You just kind of lay it down,
hold it with a paring knife,
and pull that right out.
Okay.
So, this is our first
improvement right here,
is we're actually going
to season the shrimp
with some salt
before we cook it.
So I have 1/2 teaspoon
of kosher salt here.
That salt is going to work
into the muscle fibers
of the shrimp,
help it retain moisture,
and also season it.
Okay, so we're just going
to let that sit
at least 15 minutes,
up to a half an hour,
let that salt do its job.
-Okay.
-So, while that's happening...
-Mm-hmm!
-...I'm going to make
a spice mixture
that's going to season
the shrimp after we sear it.
So, I'm going to start
with 2 teaspoons
of coriander seed,
1 teaspoon of black pepper.
You can use a spice grinder,
if you want to,
but I really find,
with a small amount like this,
it's really easy to use
a mortar and pestle.
Plus, we're not looking
to really break it down
super, super fine.
We want it to have a little bit
of coarseness to it,
so it's much easier to do that
in the mortar and pestle
than it is a spice grinder.
I'm just going to let
the weight of this do its job.
You really don't have
to press very hard.
If you have any stubborn bits,
you can kind of push down on it,
but you don't want
to pound up and down
because what you'll
end up with is
seeds all over the countertop.
-Oh!
That's very fragrant.
-The coriander is going
to be great.
A little bit of a citrus flavor.
Okay, that's good.
You can hold onto that,
so it doesn't roll
off the counter.
-[ Laughs ]
-Just going to transfer this
over to a bowl.
Now, I'm going to add
1 teaspoon of paprika,
one minced garlic clove,
to this.
1 teaspoon of sugar,
for some sweetness.
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt,
to help season.
And 1/8 teaspoon
of pepper flake,
for a little bit of heat.
Just going to work this in here.
-Mmm!
-Okay, so,
that's our spice mixture.
It's been 15 minutes
and that salt has penetrated
into the shrimp,
seasoned it,
and it's going to keep it moist.
But, I want to get rid
of any excess moisture
before we sear
because we know that,
if there's moisture
on the outside,
it's not going to sear well.
Put it onto
a paper-towel-lined plate.
I just want to get
the tops of these
and make sure
it's super, super dry.
Okay, I think
that is looking good.
Going to transfer these
over to a bowl.
This is one departure from my
old recipe way back when.
We're going to actually add
some oil to the shrimp,
rather than oiling the pan.
-Ha!
-And so the idea here is that,
if you put the oil
on the shrimp,
everything is really well-coated
and, once it gets
into the skillet,
you have really perfect contact.
So, if you've ever cooked
in a nonstick skillet,
you know how the oil
kind of spreads over the sides
and you're kind of
chasing it around.
Here, if we put the oil
on the shrimp,
we get good contact
right from the get-go.
So I have 1 tablespoon
of vegetable oil
and I'm also going to add
just a little bit of sugar here,
1/8 teaspoon of sugar,
and that's going to help
with browning
and kind of bring out
the sweetness of the shrimp.
-A little bit of sugar goes
a long way to help the shrimp,
which cook pretty quickly,
get a little browning.
-Now, here is the other
really weird thing,
is I'm going to put the shrimp
into a cold pan.
-Wow!
That's not saut��ing.
-No, it's not saut��ing.
-[ Laughs ]
-So, usually, you put the shrimp
into a ripping hot skillet
to get it brown
and, by the time
you get the last shrimp in,
the first one's overcooked.
-[ Laughs ]
True.
-So, by starting
in a cold skillet,
we ensure that they have
really good contact
right from the beginning.
You get a nice even layer,
so it's not going
to buckle as much.
It's all about ensuring
good contact
with the shrimp
and the pan surface.
-Hard to believe you can start
with a cold skillet
and still get a good sear
because they're so small,
they're going to cook through
so quickly.
-Yeah, you're going to have
to trust the process.
-[ Laughs ]
-Okay, so I'm just going
to turn this on high heat
and what we're looking for is
that first side
to get spotty brown and start
to turn pink around the edges.
-Okay.
[ Sizzling ]
-So it's been about 3 minutes
and what I'm looking for is just
a little bit of browning on this
and you can see
it's starting to turn pink.
-Oh, wow!
-That's great.
-That's incredible,
just 3 minutes,
starting in a cold skillet.
-I'm going to shut
the heat off now
and we've gotten browning
on one side,
but we don't want to continue
over really high heat.
We're going to quickly
turn these over
and get the second side
to cook through.
All we need is a couple minutes
with residual heat from the pan
to finish cooking.
-Those look beautiful.
-Yeah. So, even though the pan
was quite crowded...
-Mm-hmm.
-...and we had a cold start,
that little bit of sugar
and that high heat
has really turned these
nicely brown.
So we're just going to let
the pan do its business
and come back
and we'll take the shrimp out.
It's been 2 minutes
and you can see
that the shrimp
is nicely cooked.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's juicy.
It's plump.
We have this nice brown side,
but it's not overcooked.
So, I'm just going to transfer
this over to the platter.
We want to get the shrimp out
of here so they stop cooking.
So, remember that spice mixture
we made earlier.
We want to cook that out
and get that warm.
Remember, we had a clove
of garlic in there.
We don't want raw garlic.
We want to cook that out.
So I'm just going
to turn our heat back to high
and add 1 teaspoon
of vegetable oil
and that spice mix
that we made earlier.
Take a rubber spatula
and cook this.
We're not going to cook this
for long, just about 30 seconds,
and we just want that
to become fragrant
and cook that garlic out.
Smells good already, doesn't it?
-Smells delicious.
-Yeah. It's been 30 seconds,
and this is nice and fragrant.
I'm going to shut the heat off.
Take this off.
Now, I'm going to add
the shrimp back to the pan,
but I'm going to keep it
off the heat.
[ Sizzling ]
Again, we don't want
any more cooking here.
We just want to marry
the spices to the shrimp.
I'm going to add
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro,
1 tablespoon of lime juice.
-Mmm!
Those are some bold flavors.
I like that.
-You just want
to toss this together.
Again, this is off heat.
We're not really looking
to cook the shrimp any more.
We just want to make sure that
everything is well-coated.
Okay, I think we are ready
to go back to our platter here.
Scrape all this goodness
out of here...
-Mmm!
-...right onto our shrimp.
I have one last addition.
I have 3 tablespoons
of roasted salted peanuts.
-Ooh!
-A little crunchy,
a little salty.
That's it.
-Load 'er up.
-Load 'er up, okay.
-Oh, yeah.
-Let's go. [ Laughs ]
-For me? Definitely. [ Laughs ]
This is my kind of food.
-I like that.
I'm going to give you
a lime wedge,
in case you want a little bit
more lime on there.
-Oh, peanuts, lime,
and cilantro?
Great combination.
Alright, I'm going in.
Mmm!
Perfectly cooked and tender.
You get that seared flavor,
that browning,
that spice mixture.
-Yeah.
-That's something else.
Well, they're nice, fresh,
interesting flavors, too.
-Yeah.
-It's not just the same old
garlic, butter, and lemon.
I mean,
this has real flavor to it.
Keith, I'm really digging these
new flavors on this shrimp.
Thank you.
-Oh, I'm glad you liked it.
-So, if you want to make Keith's
all-new, fabulous seared shrimp,
salt the shrimp
for 15 minutes before cooking,
start the shrimp
in a cold skillet,
and let them finish cooking
off the heat.
From "America's Test Kitchen,"
a brand-new recipe
for pan-seared shrimp
with peanuts, black pepper,
and lime.
♪♪
Nice job.
-It should last
for another 15 years, right?
-[ Laughs ]
Here's hoping.
♪♪
-You know, there's room
in that knife block
for more than just a chef's
knife or a paring knife.
So, Adam's here
and he's going to tell us more
about utility or petty knives,
and why we should
include those, as well.
-You know, Bridget, a chef's
knife and a paring knife
are both kitchen essentials...
-True.
-...and, to be perfectly honest,
a petty knife
or a utility knife,
which slots in between the two,
size-wise,
not a kitchen essential.
But, now that we've tested them,
I am so smitten
with these knives.
-It's your essential.
-They are really
pleasurable to use
and they're really handy.
So, we had this lineup
of 10 different petty
or utility knives.
They used to be shaped
differently historically,
but those differences
have diminished over time
and now, petty and utility
are used interchangeably.
-Okay, gotcha.
-So we have our lineup of 10.
The prices that we paid ranged
from $28 to $215.
And we had a squad of testers
with different hand sizes
and dominances
try a bunch of different tasks.
-Okay.
-They minced parsley.
They quartered mushrooms.
They broke down
whole raw chickens.
And they also used them to slice
hard salami, hard cheese,
as well as tomatoes
and chicken breasts that were
cooked with the skin on.
Not to put too fine
a point on it --
sorry about that...
-Nice.
Boy you're sharp.
-...testers loved
[ Laughing ] these kni--
That's good.
Testers loved these knives.
They were really,
really great to use.
They were all impressively sharp
right out of the gate.
I want you to try --
try this one.
-Alright.
-And make slices out of that
cooked chicken breast
right there.
-Which is hard to do, when you
have the skin still on there.
-And, if you want it
really pretty,
with a little sliver
of skin attached,
that's not easy to do.
-Now, that's actually
quite nice.
-Isn't that great?
The knife is sharp.
Also, the blades were slender.
They ranged from 1.4 to 2.3
millimeters at the spine,
and testers loved that
about them.
They also loved them for tasks
where you use the point
of the knife
for a finer kind of thing.
Why don't you try
slicing a shallot with that one.
-Okay.
Same knife?
-Yeah, same knife.
That's fine.
-Alright. So it's more
about using the tip.
-Right. You're not using
the whole blade.
You're using the tip.
-It's quite nice, as well.
-Isn't that incredible?
-Yeah.
I certainly don't mind that.
-They're so fantastic that way.
So, because all these knives
were so pleasurable to use,
it was really
small design factors
that made the difference
for testers.
One of them was weight.
Why don't you use this one
to cut a couple more slices
of chicken
or mince shallot --
whichever you want to do.
-Let's go with this chicken.
It's a little
different grip there.
-Right. It's not downright
heavy, is it?
-Oh, no.
-None of these knives
were heavy,
but, the first one you used
was closer
to about 3 ounces in weight.
The second one you used
was closer
to 4 1/2 ounces.
-Okay.
And testers really preferred
the lighter knives
because they just felt
that much more nimble.
-It feels almost effortless.
-Exactly.
Handles -- testers liked handles
that were
about 4 1/4 inches long.
Another word
about the handles --
for some of the testers
with larger hands,
they found that a few of them
didn't have a ton of clearance
underneath the handle
for their knuckles.
-Knock your hand.
-So they're knocking their hands
on the cutting board.
They liked them to have
at least 1/2 inch.
And this one actually had
the most, at 3/4 inch,
so that was the best
for big-handed testers.
You know, any of the knives
that landed
in the top of the rankings,
I would love to have
in my knife block at home,
but we were forced
to make choices here...
-As we do.
-...and there was
an overall winner, and it was
this knife right here.
This is the Tojiro 150mm
petty R2 powdered-steel knife.
It was $117, and we loved it.
-And I love it.
-And you love it, too!
-Yeah.
-However, if you want to spend
a little less money,
there was also a best buy,
which is this one.
This is the Mac PKF-60
pro utility knife.
It's 6 inches,
and this one was $72.
-There you go.
Petty knife,
but a big help in the kitchen.
And our winner is
the Tojiro 150mm
petty R2 powdered-steel knife,
and it retails for $117.
Phew! That was a mouthful.
-It is.
But it's a great knife.
♪♪
-You'd think that shrimp risotto
would actually taste
like shrimp,
but, no, it's like restaurants
that serve it to you
have taken a vacation
from the crustacean.
Well, we're going to make
an excellent version here
and show you how
to make it at home,
and Elle is the perfect
person for the job.
-That's right. Well, this recipe
is all about the shrimp.
-Okay.
-So I have here
1 pound of extra large shrimp.
We have to peel it
and devein it
and I have my good
deveining shears here.
I love this
because it makes it so easy.
-Just making that slit
down the back.
-That's right.
And then, just peeling off here.
We're also taking the tails off.
Tails and shells.
-[ Laughs ]
-And we're going to save those
for later.
-Alright.
-Okay?
So I'm just going
to use my knife
to get this vein out of here.
Also going to cut these shrimp
into thirds,
make sure that every spoonful
has shrimp.
And also, they cook faster...
-Right.
-...when they're cut
into pieces.
To this shrimp, I'm going to add
1/2 teaspoon of salt
and I'm just going to toss
the shrimp and salt together.
What this does is it seals in
the moisture for the shrimp,
so that, when we cook it,
it's not all dry,
rubber shrimp balls.
-Nobody wants dry rubber
shrimp ball risotto.
-I don't.
-[ Laughs ]
-I definitely don't.
So that's good.
And we're going to start working
on our shrimp stock.
That's how you really get
that flavor of the sea
in your risotto.
It's not just risotto
and shrimp.
-Right.
-It's a shrimp risotto.
-Love it.
Putting the "shrimp"...
-Yeah.
-...in "shrimp risotto."
-That's right. And also,
because we don't want
to waste anything,
we're going to use our shrimp
shells to make that stock.
-Tons of flavor in there.
-So I have in my Dutch oven
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
over high heat.
Okay, Bridget, it looks like
our oil is shimmering.
I'm going to add
our shrimp shells.
-Mmm!
-Yeah.
And I'm just going to cook these
for about 2 to 4 minutes,
until they're spotty brown.
-Alright. Starting to develop
some flavor there.
[ Crackling ]
-Oh, yeah.
-Popcorn shrimp.
-[ Laughs ]
Okay, so, it looks like
our shrimp shells
are nice and spotty brown.
I'm going to add
to the shrimp shells
7 cups of water.
[ Sizzling intensifies ]
Little deglaze.
-Yes!
-Right?
I have two bay leaves,
1 teaspoon of salt,
and 15 peppercorns.
-Exactly?
-Exactly 15 peppercorns.
-I've known a few chefs
that would count that.
-It was counted.
-[ Laughs ]
-Okay, Bridget, so,
our stock has come to a boil.
I'm just going to reduce
the heat to low...
-Okay.
-...and let it simmer
for only 5 minutes.
The flavor compounds
are very volatile,
and, if we let it go
over five minutes,
we lose it all into the air.
-Alright.
Okay, Bridget,
it's been 5 minutes
and our stock has come
to a really good simmer.
It's time to get it
out of the pot.
If you could turn it off for me.
Thank you!
-You've got it.
-And I'm just going
to take everything out.
I'm ladling for safety.
-Especially when you have
a bunch of solids,
like big,
chunky pieces in there,
it's a good idea
to start with a ladle.
-Yeah. Alright, so I'm just
going to use my spatula
and press any remaining juices
out of the shrimp shells.
So I'm just going
to leave this here.
So, in the same pot,
I'm just going to put
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
over medium heat.
-Great.
-And, while that's melting,
I'm going to keep building
flavors with vegetables.
I have here fennel.
-Mmm.
-I'm going to just
cut off the stalks.
We don't need that.
I love the licorice smell
of fennel.
I'm halving it lengthwise
and I'm going
to remove the core.
I'm just using the tip
of my knife,
following the outline
of the core.
I kind of love that
about fennel --
it just tells you what to do.
You don't even have
to think about it.
Alright.
Pop out that core.
Okay, so, now, I'm just going
to finely dice this fennel,
treating it like an onion.
Okay, so, we have all
of our prep done.
Let's start building
shrimp risotto.
I'm going to add the fennel bowl
that we just chopped fine.
One onion, medium onion,
also chopped fine.
Alright, I'm going to add
1/4 teaspoon of salt
and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda.
And this baking soda is going
to cause the pH in the fennel
to rise.
It's going to make it soft.
It'll probably make
the onions disintegrate,
but we want a nice,
tender vegetable...
-Mm.
-...so that's perfectly fine.
Okay, so it's been
about 8 minutes.
All we wanted was
for the vegetables
to get soft, not brown.
-They are soft.
-Yeah, they're ready to go.
So I'm going to add
2 minced cloves of garlic
and just let that cook
for 30 seconds,
just till it's fragrant.
Oh, yeah.
Smell that?
-Soon as you smell it,
it's done, right?
-Yeah. It's done. That's right.
Now, I'm going to add
1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice.
We're using Arborio rice
because it's high
in amylopectin,
which is the thing that gives it
its creaminess in the risotto.
-Kind of made for the job.
-Yeah, yeah.
Now, I'm going to make sure
that all the grains are coated
and we're looking for the edges
to be translucent.
-Okay.
-Okay?
You can actually see it.
It has happened already,
so I'm going to go ahead
and add 3/4 cups of white wine
for deglazing.
-Alright.
-Alright,
and I'm just going to...
-Ugh!
-...yeah, get like all
of this good flavor
from the bottom
and the sides of the pot.
And we're still just building
flavor here, right?
We're going to have
the flavor of the sea.
We have the flavor of the herbs.
We have a little bit of acidity
from the white wine.
-We've covered
all the food groups...
-All the food groups.
-...land, sea, wine.
-That's it.
Alright, so we're looking
for the wine to be
fully absorbed.
That'll take
about 2 to 3 minutes.
-Okay.
-Okay, so, now, we're ready
to add our shrimp stock.
So we're going to start
with 4 cups.
For me, that's going to be
4 ladles.
I love that we made this quick
stock for the risotto.
-Five minutes.
-Yeah, yeah.
We won't have to be
cooking it very long.
That's kind of the joy
of this recipe.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's not the kind of risotto
you have to babysit.
It comes together
really quickly.
-I mean, you kind of broke
a risotto rule
at the beginning there,
you know?
It's like a little bit of stock
at a time.
Wait till it's reduced.
That was 4 cups
that just went in there.
-That's right. And it's going
to come together super fast.
Okay, so this vigorous simmer
we have going on here,
it's kind of acting as the stir
that we would do
for a traditional risotto.
-Great.
-Yeah. It's going to release all
of that starch on our behalf...
-Ah!
-...so that's it.
We only need to stir it twice.
We're going to cover it,
let it go for 16 to 18 minutes,
and we'll be ready to roll.
♪♪
Okay, so it's been
about 16 to 18 minutes.
We've stirred this
a couple of times.
-Alright.
-Right?
And it's time to finish it off
with 3/4 cups of stock.
-Look how creamy it already is.
-I know.
I'm going to keep stirring,
gently,
for another 3 minutes,
to get more creaminess...
-Alright.
-...out of this risotto.
-Ugh!
-Yeah.
It's already looking
pretty amazing.
-There's some goodness
going on in there.
-Oh, yeah.
Alright, so gentle stirs
for 3 minutes.
Bridget, this risotto
is practically done.
-It's creamy and dreamy.
-Yes, it is.
I'm going to amplify that dream
by adding our salted shrimp
that we made earlier,
and we're going to take it
off the heat.
If you could turn that off
for me.
-You got it.
-The shrimp is just going
to cook from the residual heat
of the risotto.
I'm going to put in here
1/2 cup of Parm
because it's only appropriate.
-It's the law.
-Yes, it is.
Alright? And I'm going...
-[ Gasp ]
-...to cover it...
-Ohhh.
-...and let it sit
for 5 minutes.
-Sounds good.
-Okay, so it's been cooking
for 5 minutes off-heat, right?
-That's right.
-Letting the shrimp cook...
-[ Gasp ]
-...in the residual heat
of the risotto.
Look how beautiful that is.
-The shrimp are all
plump and pink.
-Oh, man.
And that Parm in there.
So I want to finish this off
with a little bit of brightness.
I'm adding 1/2 teaspoon
of lemon zest.
1 tablespoon of lemon juice,
because we're using
all the ingredients
of everything in this recipe.
-[ Laughs ]
-2 tablespoons
of unsalted butter.
-A little bit
more creaminess there.
-More creaminess.
And then,
1/4 cup of chopped chives.
Alright, I'm going to just...
-Ugh!
-...stir that all in.
Isn't it gorgeous?
-That is beau-ti-ful!
-Mm-hmm.
Now, this is what
a shrimp risotto
is supposed to smell like.
-You're right.
It smells like shrimp.
-Alright, I'm just going
to give it a little taste.
Okay, so a little salt.
-Okay.
Always a good idea to season
right before serving.
-Mm-hmm.
A little pepper.
-Mmm!
-That looks great.
Alright.
Just give it a little stir.
I think we are ready
to have risotto.
-Every time you stir that,
it just releases more...
-[ Laughs ]
-...and more of that smell
into the air.
-I know you love risotto,
so I'm not...
-[ Laughs ]
-...going to be shy about it.
Okay, so, I have
some lemon wedges. Alright.
Some Parm to top.
-[ Gasp ]
[ Contented sigh ]
-I think we're ready.
That shrimp is so juicy
and tender.
-It almost melts.
-Yes. A little salt
goes a long way.
-There's zero
rubber bounciness going on.
-Zero.
-I love that.
It was that last-minute addition
of the shrimp.
But you did so much cooking
with the shrimp stock,
that was the backbone.
-That's the backbone.
The risotto is tender.
It's creamy,
even though we didn't cook it
for a long time.
-You could've just stuck
with onion,
but you put that little bit
of that anise flavor in there.
-I mean, go big or go home.
-[ Laughs ]
Thanks, Elle.
This is spectacular.
-Thank you.
-Well, if you want to make
this luxurious
shrimp risotto at home,
create a flavorful shrimp stock,
using just the shells,
soften onion and fennel
with a little baking soda,
and add the shrimp to the pot
and cook off-heat
during the final minutes.
So, from
"America's Test Kitchen,"
a creamy, delicious, easy,
and dreamy, shrimp risotto.
And you can find this recipe
and all the recipes
from this season,
along with product reviews
I thought maybe this was going
to be gone
by the time I got back.
-That's because I like you.
-[ Laughs ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
-Today on
"America's Test Kitchen"...
Keith shows Julia a foolproof
recipe for pan-seared shrimp
with peanuts, black pepper,
and lime.
Adam reveals his top pick
for petty and utility knives.
And Elle makes Bridget
the ultimate shrimp risotto.
It's all coming up right here
on "America's Test Kitchen."
♪♪
-17 years ago,
I cooked our recipe
for pan-seared shrimp,
and it was a great method.
The first thing, before we start
pan-searing the shrimp,
is that we like
to take the whole peel off.
And, in fact, that old recipe
was developed
by Mr. Keith Dresser
and he's back today to show us
an updated way to do it.
-Yeah. That's what I love
about the test kitchen --
we never stop innovating
and learning.
So, even though I created
a recipe so many years ago,
that was really great,
we've learned more
and we've actually created
an even better recipe,
which I'm going
to show you today.
I have 1 1/2 pounds
of extra large shrimp here.
That means 21 to 25 shrimp
per pound.
I just have a couple more that I
need to peel and devein here.
Really quite a simple process.
I start
with taking the legs off.
Kind of scraping down there,
and then I just take
the side of my thumb
and kind of hook it
over the side of the shell,
peel it off
in one big fell swoop,
then come back and we actually
want to take the tail off here.
-Interesting.
-We're not going to leave
the tail on here, so.
-Makes them easier to eat.
-Yeah. No spitting shells
out of your teeth.
-[ Laughs ]
But also, shell on shrimp
will have a fresher,
more moist texture.
-Okay,
that's looking pretty clean.
Now, I want to stress
that we're using shrimp
that aren't treated,
so, no salt,
no other additive,
just plain old shrimp here.
-Right. That means,
when you go to the store
and you look at the back
of a package in the freezer,
you should only see one
ingredient, and that's shrimp.
-Again, pinch that,
take that off.
And one final step of deveining.
So just take a tip
of a paring knife.
Run it down the back.
You don't want to cut
too, too deep in here.
You just kind of lay it down,
hold it with a paring knife,
and pull that right out.
Okay.
So, this is our first
improvement right here,
is we're actually going
to season the shrimp
with some salt
before we cook it.
So I have 1/2 teaspoon
of kosher salt here.
That salt is going to work
into the muscle fibers
of the shrimp,
help it retain moisture,
and also season it.
Okay, so we're just going
to let that sit
at least 15 minutes,
up to a half an hour,
let that salt do its job.
-Okay.
-So, while that's happening...
-Mm-hmm!
-...I'm going to make
a spice mixture
that's going to season
the shrimp after we sear it.
So, I'm going to start
with 2 teaspoons
of coriander seed,
1 teaspoon of black pepper.
You can use a spice grinder,
if you want to,
but I really find,
with a small amount like this,
it's really easy to use
a mortar and pestle.
Plus, we're not looking
to really break it down
super, super fine.
We want it to have a little bit
of coarseness to it,
so it's much easier to do that
in the mortar and pestle
than it is a spice grinder.
I'm just going to let
the weight of this do its job.
You really don't have
to press very hard.
If you have any stubborn bits,
you can kind of push down on it,
but you don't want
to pound up and down
because what you'll
end up with is
seeds all over the countertop.
-Oh!
That's very fragrant.
-The coriander is going
to be great.
A little bit of a citrus flavor.
Okay, that's good.
You can hold onto that,
so it doesn't roll
off the counter.
-[ Laughs ]
-Just going to transfer this
over to a bowl.
Now, I'm going to add
1 teaspoon of paprika,
one minced garlic clove,
to this.
1 teaspoon of sugar,
for some sweetness.
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt,
to help season.
And 1/8 teaspoon
of pepper flake,
for a little bit of heat.
Just going to work this in here.
-Mmm!
-Okay, so,
that's our spice mixture.
It's been 15 minutes
and that salt has penetrated
into the shrimp,
seasoned it,
and it's going to keep it moist.
But, I want to get rid
of any excess moisture
before we sear
because we know that,
if there's moisture
on the outside,
it's not going to sear well.
Put it onto
a paper-towel-lined plate.
I just want to get
the tops of these
and make sure
it's super, super dry.
Okay, I think
that is looking good.
Going to transfer these
over to a bowl.
This is one departure from my
old recipe way back when.
We're going to actually add
some oil to the shrimp,
rather than oiling the pan.
-Ha!
-And so the idea here is that,
if you put the oil
on the shrimp,
everything is really well-coated
and, once it gets
into the skillet,
you have really perfect contact.
So, if you've ever cooked
in a nonstick skillet,
you know how the oil
kind of spreads over the sides
and you're kind of
chasing it around.
Here, if we put the oil
on the shrimp,
we get good contact
right from the get-go.
So I have 1 tablespoon
of vegetable oil
and I'm also going to add
just a little bit of sugar here,
1/8 teaspoon of sugar,
and that's going to help
with browning
and kind of bring out
the sweetness of the shrimp.
-A little bit of sugar goes
a long way to help the shrimp,
which cook pretty quickly,
get a little browning.
-Now, here is the other
really weird thing,
is I'm going to put the shrimp
into a cold pan.
-Wow!
That's not saut��ing.
-No, it's not saut��ing.
-[ Laughs ]
-So, usually, you put the shrimp
into a ripping hot skillet
to get it brown
and, by the time
you get the last shrimp in,
the first one's overcooked.
-[ Laughs ]
True.
-So, by starting
in a cold skillet,
we ensure that they have
really good contact
right from the beginning.
You get a nice even layer,
so it's not going
to buckle as much.
It's all about ensuring
good contact
with the shrimp
and the pan surface.
-Hard to believe you can start
with a cold skillet
and still get a good sear
because they're so small,
they're going to cook through
so quickly.
-Yeah, you're going to have
to trust the process.
-[ Laughs ]
-Okay, so I'm just going
to turn this on high heat
and what we're looking for is
that first side
to get spotty brown and start
to turn pink around the edges.
-Okay.
[ Sizzling ]
-So it's been about 3 minutes
and what I'm looking for is just
a little bit of browning on this
and you can see
it's starting to turn pink.
-Oh, wow!
-That's great.
-That's incredible,
just 3 minutes,
starting in a cold skillet.
-I'm going to shut
the heat off now
and we've gotten browning
on one side,
but we don't want to continue
over really high heat.
We're going to quickly
turn these over
and get the second side
to cook through.
All we need is a couple minutes
with residual heat from the pan
to finish cooking.
-Those look beautiful.
-Yeah. So, even though the pan
was quite crowded...
-Mm-hmm.
-...and we had a cold start,
that little bit of sugar
and that high heat
has really turned these
nicely brown.
So we're just going to let
the pan do its business
and come back
and we'll take the shrimp out.
It's been 2 minutes
and you can see
that the shrimp
is nicely cooked.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's juicy.
It's plump.
We have this nice brown side,
but it's not overcooked.
So, I'm just going to transfer
this over to the platter.
We want to get the shrimp out
of here so they stop cooking.
So, remember that spice mixture
we made earlier.
We want to cook that out
and get that warm.
Remember, we had a clove
of garlic in there.
We don't want raw garlic.
We want to cook that out.
So I'm just going
to turn our heat back to high
and add 1 teaspoon
of vegetable oil
and that spice mix
that we made earlier.
Take a rubber spatula
and cook this.
We're not going to cook this
for long, just about 30 seconds,
and we just want that
to become fragrant
and cook that garlic out.
Smells good already, doesn't it?
-Smells delicious.
-Yeah. It's been 30 seconds,
and this is nice and fragrant.
I'm going to shut the heat off.
Take this off.
Now, I'm going to add
the shrimp back to the pan,
but I'm going to keep it
off the heat.
[ Sizzling ]
Again, we don't want
any more cooking here.
We just want to marry
the spices to the shrimp.
I'm going to add
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro,
1 tablespoon of lime juice.
-Mmm!
Those are some bold flavors.
I like that.
-You just want
to toss this together.
Again, this is off heat.
We're not really looking
to cook the shrimp any more.
We just want to make sure that
everything is well-coated.
Okay, I think we are ready
to go back to our platter here.
Scrape all this goodness
out of here...
-Mmm!
-...right onto our shrimp.
I have one last addition.
I have 3 tablespoons
of roasted salted peanuts.
-Ooh!
-A little crunchy,
a little salty.
That's it.
-Load 'er up.
-Load 'er up, okay.
-Oh, yeah.
-Let's go. [ Laughs ]
-For me? Definitely. [ Laughs ]
This is my kind of food.
-I like that.
I'm going to give you
a lime wedge,
in case you want a little bit
more lime on there.
-Oh, peanuts, lime,
and cilantro?
Great combination.
Alright, I'm going in.
Mmm!
Perfectly cooked and tender.
You get that seared flavor,
that browning,
that spice mixture.
-Yeah.
-That's something else.
Well, they're nice, fresh,
interesting flavors, too.
-Yeah.
-It's not just the same old
garlic, butter, and lemon.
I mean,
this has real flavor to it.
Keith, I'm really digging these
new flavors on this shrimp.
Thank you.
-Oh, I'm glad you liked it.
-So, if you want to make Keith's
all-new, fabulous seared shrimp,
salt the shrimp
for 15 minutes before cooking,
start the shrimp
in a cold skillet,
and let them finish cooking
off the heat.
From "America's Test Kitchen,"
a brand-new recipe
for pan-seared shrimp
with peanuts, black pepper,
and lime.
♪♪
Nice job.
-It should last
for another 15 years, right?
-[ Laughs ]
Here's hoping.
♪♪
-You know, there's room
in that knife block
for more than just a chef's
knife or a paring knife.
So, Adam's here
and he's going to tell us more
about utility or petty knives,
and why we should
include those, as well.
-You know, Bridget, a chef's
knife and a paring knife
are both kitchen essentials...
-True.
-...and, to be perfectly honest,
a petty knife
or a utility knife,
which slots in between the two,
size-wise,
not a kitchen essential.
But, now that we've tested them,
I am so smitten
with these knives.
-It's your essential.
-They are really
pleasurable to use
and they're really handy.
So, we had this lineup
of 10 different petty
or utility knives.
They used to be shaped
differently historically,
but those differences
have diminished over time
and now, petty and utility
are used interchangeably.
-Okay, gotcha.
-So we have our lineup of 10.
The prices that we paid ranged
from $28 to $215.
And we had a squad of testers
with different hand sizes
and dominances
try a bunch of different tasks.
-Okay.
-They minced parsley.
They quartered mushrooms.
They broke down
whole raw chickens.
And they also used them to slice
hard salami, hard cheese,
as well as tomatoes
and chicken breasts that were
cooked with the skin on.
Not to put too fine
a point on it --
sorry about that...
-Nice.
Boy you're sharp.
-...testers loved
[ Laughing ] these kni--
That's good.
Testers loved these knives.
They were really,
really great to use.
They were all impressively sharp
right out of the gate.
I want you to try --
try this one.
-Alright.
-And make slices out of that
cooked chicken breast
right there.
-Which is hard to do, when you
have the skin still on there.
-And, if you want it
really pretty,
with a little sliver
of skin attached,
that's not easy to do.
-Now, that's actually
quite nice.
-Isn't that great?
The knife is sharp.
Also, the blades were slender.
They ranged from 1.4 to 2.3
millimeters at the spine,
and testers loved that
about them.
They also loved them for tasks
where you use the point
of the knife
for a finer kind of thing.
Why don't you try
slicing a shallot with that one.
-Okay.
Same knife?
-Yeah, same knife.
That's fine.
-Alright. So it's more
about using the tip.
-Right. You're not using
the whole blade.
You're using the tip.
-It's quite nice, as well.
-Isn't that incredible?
-Yeah.
I certainly don't mind that.
-They're so fantastic that way.
So, because all these knives
were so pleasurable to use,
it was really
small design factors
that made the difference
for testers.
One of them was weight.
Why don't you use this one
to cut a couple more slices
of chicken
or mince shallot --
whichever you want to do.
-Let's go with this chicken.
It's a little
different grip there.
-Right. It's not downright
heavy, is it?
-Oh, no.
-None of these knives
were heavy,
but, the first one you used
was closer
to about 3 ounces in weight.
The second one you used
was closer
to 4 1/2 ounces.
-Okay.
And testers really preferred
the lighter knives
because they just felt
that much more nimble.
-It feels almost effortless.
-Exactly.
Handles -- testers liked handles
that were
about 4 1/4 inches long.
Another word
about the handles --
for some of the testers
with larger hands,
they found that a few of them
didn't have a ton of clearance
underneath the handle
for their knuckles.
-Knock your hand.
-So they're knocking their hands
on the cutting board.
They liked them to have
at least 1/2 inch.
And this one actually had
the most, at 3/4 inch,
so that was the best
for big-handed testers.
You know, any of the knives
that landed
in the top of the rankings,
I would love to have
in my knife block at home,
but we were forced
to make choices here...
-As we do.
-...and there was
an overall winner, and it was
this knife right here.
This is the Tojiro 150mm
petty R2 powdered-steel knife.
It was $117, and we loved it.
-And I love it.
-And you love it, too!
-Yeah.
-However, if you want to spend
a little less money,
there was also a best buy,
which is this one.
This is the Mac PKF-60
pro utility knife.
It's 6 inches,
and this one was $72.
-There you go.
Petty knife,
but a big help in the kitchen.
And our winner is
the Tojiro 150mm
petty R2 powdered-steel knife,
and it retails for $117.
Phew! That was a mouthful.
-It is.
But it's a great knife.
♪♪
-You'd think that shrimp risotto
would actually taste
like shrimp,
but, no, it's like restaurants
that serve it to you
have taken a vacation
from the crustacean.
Well, we're going to make
an excellent version here
and show you how
to make it at home,
and Elle is the perfect
person for the job.
-That's right. Well, this recipe
is all about the shrimp.
-Okay.
-So I have here
1 pound of extra large shrimp.
We have to peel it
and devein it
and I have my good
deveining shears here.
I love this
because it makes it so easy.
-Just making that slit
down the back.
-That's right.
And then, just peeling off here.
We're also taking the tails off.
Tails and shells.
-[ Laughs ]
-And we're going to save those
for later.
-Alright.
-Okay?
So I'm just going
to use my knife
to get this vein out of here.
Also going to cut these shrimp
into thirds,
make sure that every spoonful
has shrimp.
And also, they cook faster...
-Right.
-...when they're cut
into pieces.
To this shrimp, I'm going to add
1/2 teaspoon of salt
and I'm just going to toss
the shrimp and salt together.
What this does is it seals in
the moisture for the shrimp,
so that, when we cook it,
it's not all dry,
rubber shrimp balls.
-Nobody wants dry rubber
shrimp ball risotto.
-I don't.
-[ Laughs ]
-I definitely don't.
So that's good.
And we're going to start working
on our shrimp stock.
That's how you really get
that flavor of the sea
in your risotto.
It's not just risotto
and shrimp.
-Right.
-It's a shrimp risotto.
-Love it.
Putting the "shrimp"...
-Yeah.
-...in "shrimp risotto."
-That's right. And also,
because we don't want
to waste anything,
we're going to use our shrimp
shells to make that stock.
-Tons of flavor in there.
-So I have in my Dutch oven
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
over high heat.
Okay, Bridget, it looks like
our oil is shimmering.
I'm going to add
our shrimp shells.
-Mmm!
-Yeah.
And I'm just going to cook these
for about 2 to 4 minutes,
until they're spotty brown.
-Alright. Starting to develop
some flavor there.
[ Crackling ]
-Oh, yeah.
-Popcorn shrimp.
-[ Laughs ]
Okay, so, it looks like
our shrimp shells
are nice and spotty brown.
I'm going to add
to the shrimp shells
7 cups of water.
[ Sizzling intensifies ]
Little deglaze.
-Yes!
-Right?
I have two bay leaves,
1 teaspoon of salt,
and 15 peppercorns.
-Exactly?
-Exactly 15 peppercorns.
-I've known a few chefs
that would count that.
-It was counted.
-[ Laughs ]
-Okay, Bridget, so,
our stock has come to a boil.
I'm just going to reduce
the heat to low...
-Okay.
-...and let it simmer
for only 5 minutes.
The flavor compounds
are very volatile,
and, if we let it go
over five minutes,
we lose it all into the air.
-Alright.
Okay, Bridget,
it's been 5 minutes
and our stock has come
to a really good simmer.
It's time to get it
out of the pot.
If you could turn it off for me.
Thank you!
-You've got it.
-And I'm just going
to take everything out.
I'm ladling for safety.
-Especially when you have
a bunch of solids,
like big,
chunky pieces in there,
it's a good idea
to start with a ladle.
-Yeah. Alright, so I'm just
going to use my spatula
and press any remaining juices
out of the shrimp shells.
So I'm just going
to leave this here.
So, in the same pot,
I'm just going to put
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
over medium heat.
-Great.
-And, while that's melting,
I'm going to keep building
flavors with vegetables.
I have here fennel.
-Mmm.
-I'm going to just
cut off the stalks.
We don't need that.
I love the licorice smell
of fennel.
I'm halving it lengthwise
and I'm going
to remove the core.
I'm just using the tip
of my knife,
following the outline
of the core.
I kind of love that
about fennel --
it just tells you what to do.
You don't even have
to think about it.
Alright.
Pop out that core.
Okay, so, now, I'm just going
to finely dice this fennel,
treating it like an onion.
Okay, so, we have all
of our prep done.
Let's start building
shrimp risotto.
I'm going to add the fennel bowl
that we just chopped fine.
One onion, medium onion,
also chopped fine.
Alright, I'm going to add
1/4 teaspoon of salt
and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda.
And this baking soda is going
to cause the pH in the fennel
to rise.
It's going to make it soft.
It'll probably make
the onions disintegrate,
but we want a nice,
tender vegetable...
-Mm.
-...so that's perfectly fine.
Okay, so it's been
about 8 minutes.
All we wanted was
for the vegetables
to get soft, not brown.
-They are soft.
-Yeah, they're ready to go.
So I'm going to add
2 minced cloves of garlic
and just let that cook
for 30 seconds,
just till it's fragrant.
Oh, yeah.
Smell that?
-Soon as you smell it,
it's done, right?
-Yeah. It's done. That's right.
Now, I'm going to add
1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice.
We're using Arborio rice
because it's high
in amylopectin,
which is the thing that gives it
its creaminess in the risotto.
-Kind of made for the job.
-Yeah, yeah.
Now, I'm going to make sure
that all the grains are coated
and we're looking for the edges
to be translucent.
-Okay.
-Okay?
You can actually see it.
It has happened already,
so I'm going to go ahead
and add 3/4 cups of white wine
for deglazing.
-Alright.
-Alright,
and I'm just going to...
-Ugh!
-...yeah, get like all
of this good flavor
from the bottom
and the sides of the pot.
And we're still just building
flavor here, right?
We're going to have
the flavor of the sea.
We have the flavor of the herbs.
We have a little bit of acidity
from the white wine.
-We've covered
all the food groups...
-All the food groups.
-...land, sea, wine.
-That's it.
Alright, so we're looking
for the wine to be
fully absorbed.
That'll take
about 2 to 3 minutes.
-Okay.
-Okay, so, now, we're ready
to add our shrimp stock.
So we're going to start
with 4 cups.
For me, that's going to be
4 ladles.
I love that we made this quick
stock for the risotto.
-Five minutes.
-Yeah, yeah.
We won't have to be
cooking it very long.
That's kind of the joy
of this recipe.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's not the kind of risotto
you have to babysit.
It comes together
really quickly.
-I mean, you kind of broke
a risotto rule
at the beginning there,
you know?
It's like a little bit of stock
at a time.
Wait till it's reduced.
That was 4 cups
that just went in there.
-That's right. And it's going
to come together super fast.
Okay, so this vigorous simmer
we have going on here,
it's kind of acting as the stir
that we would do
for a traditional risotto.
-Great.
-Yeah. It's going to release all
of that starch on our behalf...
-Ah!
-...so that's it.
We only need to stir it twice.
We're going to cover it,
let it go for 16 to 18 minutes,
and we'll be ready to roll.
♪♪
Okay, so it's been
about 16 to 18 minutes.
We've stirred this
a couple of times.
-Alright.
-Right?
And it's time to finish it off
with 3/4 cups of stock.
-Look how creamy it already is.
-I know.
I'm going to keep stirring,
gently,
for another 3 minutes,
to get more creaminess...
-Alright.
-...out of this risotto.
-Ugh!
-Yeah.
It's already looking
pretty amazing.
-There's some goodness
going on in there.
-Oh, yeah.
Alright, so gentle stirs
for 3 minutes.
Bridget, this risotto
is practically done.
-It's creamy and dreamy.
-Yes, it is.
I'm going to amplify that dream
by adding our salted shrimp
that we made earlier,
and we're going to take it
off the heat.
If you could turn that off
for me.
-You got it.
-The shrimp is just going
to cook from the residual heat
of the risotto.
I'm going to put in here
1/2 cup of Parm
because it's only appropriate.
-It's the law.
-Yes, it is.
Alright? And I'm going...
-[ Gasp ]
-...to cover it...
-Ohhh.
-...and let it sit
for 5 minutes.
-Sounds good.
-Okay, so it's been cooking
for 5 minutes off-heat, right?
-That's right.
-Letting the shrimp cook...
-[ Gasp ]
-...in the residual heat
of the risotto.
Look how beautiful that is.
-The shrimp are all
plump and pink.
-Oh, man.
And that Parm in there.
So I want to finish this off
with a little bit of brightness.
I'm adding 1/2 teaspoon
of lemon zest.
1 tablespoon of lemon juice,
because we're using
all the ingredients
of everything in this recipe.
-[ Laughs ]
-2 tablespoons
of unsalted butter.
-A little bit
more creaminess there.
-More creaminess.
And then,
1/4 cup of chopped chives.
Alright, I'm going to just...
-Ugh!
-...stir that all in.
Isn't it gorgeous?
-That is beau-ti-ful!
-Mm-hmm.
Now, this is what
a shrimp risotto
is supposed to smell like.
-You're right.
It smells like shrimp.
-Alright, I'm just going
to give it a little taste.
Okay, so a little salt.
-Okay.
Always a good idea to season
right before serving.
-Mm-hmm.
A little pepper.
-Mmm!
-That looks great.
Alright.
Just give it a little stir.
I think we are ready
to have risotto.
-Every time you stir that,
it just releases more...
-[ Laughs ]
-...and more of that smell
into the air.
-I know you love risotto,
so I'm not...
-[ Laughs ]
-...going to be shy about it.
Okay, so, I have
some lemon wedges. Alright.
Some Parm to top.
-[ Gasp ]
[ Contented sigh ]
-I think we're ready.
That shrimp is so juicy
and tender.
-It almost melts.
-Yes. A little salt
goes a long way.
-There's zero
rubber bounciness going on.
-Zero.
-I love that.
It was that last-minute addition
of the shrimp.
But you did so much cooking
with the shrimp stock,
that was the backbone.
-That's the backbone.
The risotto is tender.
It's creamy,
even though we didn't cook it
for a long time.
-You could've just stuck
with onion,
but you put that little bit
of that anise flavor in there.
-I mean, go big or go home.
-[ Laughs ]
Thanks, Elle.
This is spectacular.
-Thank you.
-Well, if you want to make
this luxurious
shrimp risotto at home,
create a flavorful shrimp stock,
using just the shells,
soften onion and fennel
with a little baking soda,
and add the shrimp to the pot
and cook off-heat
during the final minutes.
So, from
"America's Test Kitchen,"
a creamy, delicious, easy,
and dreamy, shrimp risotto.
And you can find this recipe
and all the recipes
from this season,
along with product reviews
I thought maybe this was going
to be gone
by the time I got back.
-That's because I like you.
-[ Laughs ]