Fish in a Bag with Shrimp Cracklins (Fried Shrimp Head)

I first made this recipe for dinner when I lived in New Orleans, where all the shrimp are head-on. I spent a lot of time with Louisiana seafood then, at the Creole/ Alsatian restaurant where I worked. My favorite dishes at the restaurant featured lots of different seafood in one dish. New Orleans knows how to take advantage of the bounty of its Gulf and the brackish waters of the Mississippi Delta. Every Friday the restaurant served Courtbouillon (coo-bee-on), a seafood stew with red fish, oysters, and shrimp cooked in a dark roux and served over white rice. I was inspired by the fun we had with mixed seafood in the Courtbouillon when I created this recipe. Fish in a Bag (known in Italy and France as in cartoccio or en papillote) is a surprisingly simple recipe considering how fancy it looks. My recipe takes it a step further with crushed and fried shrimp heads, which I call Shrimp Cracklins. Seriously, they are crunchy and flavorful and fatty; they are damn good. Do not be afraid of the heads: it is where all the shrimpy good flavor lives. It confounds me that I tried three different grocery stores in my neighborhood before giving up and going to Chinatown to find head-on shrimp in NYC. Apparently people in New York are afraid of shrimp heads. Do not be afraid!

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 1 hourish

Ingredients:

For Fish in a Bag:

4 (4-6 ounce) cod fillets (or other firm, dense white fish)

1 pound head-on shrimp, cleaned and deveined, heads and shells reserved for shrimp cracklins

1 cup blistered cherry tomatoes*

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup thinly sliced new potatoes

½ cup thinly sliced fennel

Fresh herbs (as much as you like, I used 4-8 sprigs per bag): thyme, rosemary,chives, fennel fronds

4 tablespoons grass-fed butter (Kerrygold works)

1 lemon, sliced

Tiny splashes of fish sauce

½ cup dry white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

*NOTE: To blister cherry tomatoes heat 1 tablespoon high-heat oil (coconut or canola works) over high heat; add tomatoes and let sit for 2 minutes, agitate and stir 2 more minutes until blistered (dark) on a couple of sides

For Shrimp Cracklins:

½ cup canola or vegetable oil

Shrimp skins and heads from 1 lb. shrimp toasted at 250° for 15 minutes

3 eggs, whisked

1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs in a shallow dish

Salt to taste

Directions:

Once shrimp heads and skins are toasted, take them out and turn the oven up to 400° Fahrenheit.

Take four sheets of parchment paper (or foil), big enough to hold your ingredients. Place one fillet of cod on each sheet and evenly divide up the shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, fennel, herbs, butter, lemon, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Fold up 3 sides and then add in white wine (also split evenly) before sealing the bag. Put four bags in the oven and cook at 400 for 18 minutes.

While the bags are in the oven, get out your cracklins ingredients. Heat the oil at medium-high heat in a medium sized skillet. Crush up the toasted shrimp heads with your hands, or use a rolling pin if you prefer. Dip the shells in the egg and then coat well in the panko breadcrumbs. When the oil is hot, fry the breaded shrimp heads for 2-3 minutes until they are golden. Take them out with a slotted spoon and set on a paper-towel covered plate to cool. Salt to taste.

When the bags are done, let them sit on the counter for a minute before opening them.

Sprinkle the cracklins on top. Serve in the bags, it’s more fun that way.