Spicy Shrimp

Directions

1. 1
   Start a grill or preheat the broiler or oven.
2. 2
   Make the fire as hot as it will get and put the rack close to the heat source.
3. 3
   Mince the garlic with the salt; mix with the cayenne and paprika, then make into a paste with olive oil and lemon juice.
4. 4
   Smear the paste on the shrimp.
5. 5
   Grill, broil, or roast the shrimp, 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning them once.
6. 6
   Serve immediately or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.
7. 7
   You can take this dish in a completely different direction by substituting curry powder for the paprika, peanut oil for the olive oil, and lime juice for the lemon juice.
8. 8
   Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale.
9. 9
   So unless youre in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.
10. 10
    There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium dont mean much.
11. 11
    Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do.
12. 12
    Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound.
13. 13
    Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).
14. 14
    On deveining: I dont.
15. 15
    You can, if you like, but its a thankless task, and there isnt one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.