lil carb Marinated Salt Block Shrimp

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  In true Hart fashion- Jason and I said we weren't exchanging gifts. Which is what we say every year and every year we both end up with a new toy. lol This year we both broke the rules yet again. I got J a Food Saver food vacuuming and marinating system! I usually buy gifts that I can also benefit from and I am guilty for this gift.  And Jason gave me a Himalayan salt block to cook on! I was so excited to experiment with it. I have never used one before so I did some research online about the general use and care and came across very few recipes without buying a whole cookbook. So I decided to incorporate Jason's gift and my gift and cook something new for Valentines Day dinner.
The best part- you can use this recipe even if you don't have the fancy air- sucking-marinate-machine or the Himalayan salt block. lol  Sometimes just simple, fresh ingredients are what makes a meal seem fancy.  I am being completely honest when I say this is the best shrimp I've ever eaten and J agreed!




lil carb Shrimp Marinate- Serves 2
13-15 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/8 tsp black pepper
*If you are cooking on a salt block do not add salt- If you are cooking stove top add 1/8 tsp salt*

Combine all of the marinade ingredients and whisk together then add the shrimp and toss to coat.
At this point you can add this to a ziplock bag and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours.
You could also add to a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
Or you could vacuum seal it like we did! Then we let it chill in the fridge for about 8 hours.

Remove the shrimp from the fridge about 15 minutes before you're ready to cook them.

When I was cooking on the salt block it actually took about an hour for it to heat up. I started on medium low heat until it was very warm to the touch. That took about 25 minutes. Then I increased the heat to medium and let it warm up for another 35 minutes.

Next, I removed the shrimp from the marinade and layed them flat on the salt block.
I also put the garlic slices and rosemary bits right on the shrimp and the block.

*You could also cook these in a skillet with a little olive oil on medium high heat.

Overcooking shrimp is so easy to do. I go by a timer and when it goes off I know they are done.
2 minutes on the first side then flip and another minute and a half on the second side. Thats how quick shrimp cook! When you put the shrimp in the pan or on a salt block it should always sizzle right away.

How cool does that look!? I cooked on a block of salt!

I loved the way this shrimp came out and the crispy garlic gave so much extra flavor! 

The shrimp were kissed with a light salt flavor.  The block does not overpower with salt which is what I was afraid of. Nope, do not worry! If you are in to trying new cooking techniques I highly recommend grabbing one of these blocks!  I hope to share more recipes after I experiment with it some more. Even if you don't have one this shrimp marinade is simple, fresh, and packs so much flavor!