Gambas al Whiskey

a white bowl with cooked shrimp tossed in parsley

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4.50 from 2 votes

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Servings: -6

Author: Alex Snodgrass

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, plus more to garnish
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail and head left on
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup whiskey
Flaky salt, for garnish
Crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a small blender or in a wide-mouth jar with an immersion blender, add the olive oil, parsley, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Pat the shrimp dry and arrange them in a large oven-safe skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the butter cubes evenly over the shrimp, then drizzle the parsley oil over the top.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the shrimp are just about cooked through, mostly pink and opaque, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on their size.
Remove the skillet from the oven and set it over medium heat on the stovetop. Carefully pour the whiskey into the skillet.
Use a long lighter to carefully ignite the whiskey in the pan. Allow the flames to flare and burn off naturally (this will take about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Do not move the skillet while the alcohol is burning.
Once the flames have subsided, toss the shrimp gently to coat in the pan sauce. Remove from the heat and garnish with more parsley and flaky salt. Serve immediately with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Notes

Flambé Alternative: You can kip the flambé entirely and let the whiskey simmer for a bit longer (2 to 3 minutes total) on the stove over medium heat to further reduce it.

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