making a thing: Shrimp Thing

Shrimp Thing is the first of the Things my friends started requesting all of the time. Every time there is a grill at a party, anyone who knows about shrimp thing makes the funniest face at me, a combination of beseeching and utter addiction. Yes, everyone loves shrimp thing. It's best on the grill, but you can make a slightly different version for inside cookin. (It's good with grits. As all things are.)

There's two challenges to shrimp thing: it's time-intensive, and the secret ingredient is butter. (and it makes a holy mess of the grill. No one cares.)

Shrimp Thing

a bunch of large shrimp, shells on, not frozen.
butter
more butter
cilantro
garlic
lemon juice & zest
a couple of chilis - dried or fresh
salt & pepper
other stuff as you see fit: sub in basil for the cilantro if you have one of those weirdos around who hates cilantro, srihacha, like I said, the secret ingredient is butter. Basically, you're aiming for a good balance of spicy/tangy. I like more lemon/lime than most folks, so I grill those along with them. Mmmmsmokeylimeygoodness.

Directions:
Chop, mix everything in a bowl. (except the shrimp, smartass.) You'll want that butter to soften first, so don't get one of those friends who wants you to make it too excited yet.

Recruit someone to help you with this step - you're going to sort of leave the shrimp in their shells, but devein them as well as you can.

Make a cut though the back of the shell straight down.

Send someone to bring you some wine. This next step takes forever.

Then, you stuff each side of the shrimp with that butter mixture. It's messy. I've used a spoon with some success, most mostly, it's just gettin in there with your hands. Your hands will be soft after this! Yay!

Put the shrimp on a cookie sheet or something like that. Put the shrimp away in the fridge for a couple of hours so that when they hit the grill, the butter doesn't just melt out everywhere.

Enjoy your newfound fame as someone who makes Shrimp Thing.