Sumac Brown Butter Shrimp with Charred Lemon 🍤🇱🇧

Description

Restaurant-style shrimp seared fast in nutty brown butter with sumac and charred lemon, finished with a silky herby tahini drizzle 🍋

Hook

Clear heat cues, exact timing, and the right temperatures so you get juicy shrimp and never burn the butter ✨

Ingredients

• Shrimp and seasoning
• 🍤 700 g large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (1.54 lb / 24.7 oz)
• 🧂 6 g fine sea salt (1 tsp / 0.21 oz)
• 🥄 2 g baking soda (½ tsp / 0.07 oz), optional but recommended
• 🌺 10 g ground sumac (1 tbsp / 0.35 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• Brown butter pan sauce
• 🧈 60 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp / 2.1 oz)
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil (1 tbsp / ½ fl oz)
• 🧄 10 g garlic, thinly sliced (3 cloves / 0.35 oz)
• 🌶️ 2 g Aleppo pepper or chili flakes, optional (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🍋 30 ml fresh lemon juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• Charred lemon
• 🍋 1 lemon, halved
• Herby tahini drizzle
• 🥄 60 ml tahini, well stirred (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🍋 20 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 0.7 fl oz)
• 💧 45–60 ml cold water, as needed (3–4 tbsp / 1.5–2 fl oz)
• 🧄 4 g garlic, finely grated (1 clove / 0.14 oz)
• 🧂 2 g fine sea salt (⅓ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌿 10 g parsley, finely chopped (⅓ cup / 0.35 oz)
• 🌿 5 g mint, finely chopped (2 tbsp / 0.18 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Equipment and heat setup
2. Use a large skillet, 28–30 cm (11–12 in), preferably stainless steel or cast iron. This recipe is cooked on the stovetop, no oven. Have a thermometer if possible, but you can also follow the visual cues below.
3. 2️⃣ Quick brine for better texture
4. Toss shrimp with salt and baking soda. Rest 15 minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water for 5–10 seconds, then pat extremely dry with paper towels until no moisture is visible. Dry shrimp is the difference between searing and steaming.
5. 3️⃣ Make the tahini drizzle
6. Whisk tahini, lemon juice, grated garlic, and salt. It will thicken. Whisk in cold water 1 tbsp at a time until smooth and drizzleable. Stir in parsley and mint. Set aside.
7. 4️⃣ Char the lemon
8. Heat a dry skillet over medium high. Place lemon halves cut side down and press lightly. Char 2 minutes until deeply browned. Set aside.
9. 5️⃣ Brown the butter safely
10. In your main skillet, add butter and olive oil over medium heat. Swirl often. In 3–4 minutes the butter will foam, then the foam settles, and the milk solids turn amber with a nutty smell. If it turns dark brown or smells sharp, it is burned and you should restart.
11. 6️⃣ Add garlic without burning
12. Reduce heat to low. Add sliced garlic and stir 20–30 seconds until fragrant and just starting to pale golden, not brown.
13. 7️⃣ Protect the sumac and bloom it
14. Turn the heat off. Add sumac and optional Aleppo pepper and stir 10 seconds. This blooms the spice in fat without scorching it.
15. 8️⃣ Sear the shrimp at the right temperature
16. Turn heat back to medium high. You want the pan surface around 200–230°C (392–446°F). Add shrimp in a single layer. Cook 60–75 seconds, flip, then cook 45–60 seconds more. The shrimp are done when just opaque and curled, or when the thickest shrimp reaches 60–63°C (140–145°F). Remove from heat immediately to avoid overcooking.
17. 9️⃣ Finish the sauce, then plate
18. Off heat, add lemon juice and squeeze a little juice from the charred lemon halves. Toss 10 seconds until glossy. Plate shrimp on a warm platter and drizzle the herby tahini on top. Serve with the charred lemons for squeezing at the table.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 8 min
🛋️ Rest: 15 min
⏰ Total: 43 min

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