An Age Old Classic Turned EBC Style

Ahhhhh.  Finally it is summer.  Our transition months are behind us; all the bi-polar weather should be in the past now.  Hopefully your gardens are starting to supplement your dinner table, and your lawns have slowed a bit to grow at a much more manageable pace.  It is a simple fact of life here in Ellicottville: we all love winter, but we yearn for the summertime change.  For us here at EBC, we look forward to the warmer weather … our beer garden opens up in beautiful bloom, the A/C kicks on inside for those in need of some reprieve, and the ice cold beers flow like ice cold beers should, thanks to mixmaster Dan Minner.

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to entice your senses on a little creation we’ve come up with, known as our grilled shrimp cocktail.  It’s a simple dish with a very summery twist. Our thoughts: why not take something people have enjoyed for generations and add some depth to the flavors?  We want to really get our customers drooling! Right off the bat you will notice a unique eye appeal compared to your everyday shrimp cocktail.  (We are definitely striving to jazz it up a great deal!)

 

In preparing this dish, you will want to leave some extra time to cool the shrimp down. (We aren’t going with the traditional ice bath and its shocking nature; the shrimp will need to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.) Okay here we go!  Let’s jump in …

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

2-½ lb. jumbo shrimp

2T Old Bay

1T Cumin

1/2T Chili Powder

1/2T Paprika

1/4c Brown Sugar

1/4c oil

2c Pico de Gallo

2c Guacamole

Lots ‘n lots of tasty tortilla chips

1 flaming hot grill

2-3 jugs of EBC Summer Hefe

Lime wedges for garnish

 

PREPARATION:

This, as with all of my recipes, falls under the “very simple” category.  Simply mix all of the seasonings and sugar together in a bowl to create a rub.  Toss the shrimp in the oil and season with the rub.  (We probably won’t need the entire rub, so we can save some for the next time we grill a nice piece of salmon.)  Once our grill is good and hot, throw the shrimp on there and char ‘em up, making sure to cook them all the way through.  Then, simply place the shrimp on a dish to chill in the fridge.  While the shrimp are chilling, we recommend cracking into those jugs of Summer Hefe and chilling out.  Once the shrimp have cooled down completely, place the pico and guacamole in a bowl with the shrimp lined around the edge, garnish with lime wedges, and serve with lots of tortilla chips.

 

BEER PAIRING:

Our beer choice here is a perfect summertime treat.  EBC’s Hefeweizen is brewed in the traditional German style, using only German noble hops, wheat, barley, yeast and water.  The Hefe is yellow in color with hints of banana and clove … in my opinion it has just the right amount of unfiltered sweetness that will go amazingly well with our dish.  So fire up the grill, get on down here for some jugs of Hefe, and do you best to avoid those pesky mosquitoes!  Until next month, be safe and have fun!