By Tyson Blake
For my first contribution to San Diego Beer News, I want to touch on what you can expect me to bring to the table, literally and figuratively. I will, of course, be featuring amazing San Diego chefs, restaurants and breweries with an affinity for thoughtful plates that pair well with draft, canned or bottled ales and lagers. But I want to go beyond that to create meaningful collaborations: brewers discussing their favorite meals and beers, chefs sharing family recipes that inspired them to enter the culinary world, and friends from all walks of life contributing in their own unique ways. That’s the big idea here, and each post will include a recipe that you can rock out at home along with an accessible beer or style that you can find in San Diego. I am excited to take this journey with you and hope you’ll hit me up with suggestions for can’t-miss places you think I should work with. (Just email me here.)
Now, let’s get down to business…the business of backyard barbecues with your best homies, because that, my friends, is how you summer! OK, it might not be quite that way this year due to the current state of the state, but absence makes the heart grow fonder and the memory grow stronger. I keep finding myself thinking back to some of my favorite times and dishes spawned by collaborating with friends on a mackin’ meal on the patio. Family, friends, food and beer…that’s the ultimate pairing, and the inspiration for the first recipe I’d like to share with you.
Me and my old roommate, Keith Blankenship, used to battle for ping pong supremacy (I’m pretty sure we could have been competitive on the pro circuit, but I’ll just leave that there), drink a lot of beer and do a lot of cooking on the grill. One afternoon, we decided to barbecue some shrimp and Keith had an idea for a glaze where he melted orange marmalade and butter with garlic, salt and pepper, then brushed it onto the shrimp. It was so simple and so, so good! But it got even better.
The two of us would take road trips to Alpine for a little-known rye IPA spiked with lovely New Zealand hops. OK, at the time (circa 2003) the game-changing Alpine Beer Co. phenomenon that was Nelson IPA was little known. But we had the inside track and the citrusy notes from those Nelson Sauvin hops were the perfect pairing for the sweet, caramelized orange magic adorning those shrimp. It’s another instance of good food enhanced by good beer with good friends.
Cheers to Keith for the inspiration for this dish and cheers to you, friend, for joining me on this beer-and-food adventure.
Orange Marmalade-glazed Shrimp with Citrus-Pepper Herb Salad
Paired with Latchkey Brewing Alrye’ght Alrye’ght Alrye’ght Hazy IPA
Yield: 2 servings
For the Glaze:
- 7 oz orange marmalade
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 6 to 10 cloves garlic, minced (it’s up to you how much to use, but I love garlic, so I say to for it)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the Salad:
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp orange marmalade
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- juice of 1 orange
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 large handful arugula
- 1 large handful spinach leaves
- ½ sweet onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp slivered almonds (or your favorite nut)
- 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on (the largest you can find…U10-12 is great. You deserve it!)
- parsley or cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Prepare grill and bring to medium-high heat.
For the Glaze: Combine all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Place in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. (I know…the microwave?! Hey, it’s not all bad and this is a perfect way to put it to good use.) Stir the mixture then microwave for another 15 seconds. Stir to ensure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated, then set aside.
For the Salad: In a mixing bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, marmalade, vinegar and orange juice. In a slow, steady, thin stream, whisk in the olive oil, being careful not to break the mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your preference. Add the arugula, spinach, onion and almonds, toss to coat and apportion on a pair of serving plates.
For the Shrimp: Arrange 3 shrimp onto 4 metal or pre-soaked wooden skewers. Brush with 3 to 4 ounces of the glaze, doing your best to fully coat them. Place the shrimp on the grill and cook for 2 to 2½ minutes on each side, brushing more of the glaze onto the shrimp after the first flip. (Caramelizing the glaze will create the most amazing sweet and savory flavors, so make sure not to skip this step. I like to hit them with a last glaze and then quickly flip them one last time before taking them off. So good!)
To serve, remove the shrimp from the skewers and place them atop the salad. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve immediately.
The Pairing: Enjoy this dish with Alrye’ght Alrye’ght Alrye’ght, a hazy IPA that’s heavy on the hop of the moment, Strata. It’s produced by my homies over at Latchkey Brewing, who are making great beer in the old Mission Brewery Plaza facility on Washington Street in Mission Hills (or the Five Points community if you want to get all technical).