Food & Cooking Recipes Appetizers Lemon-Chile Pickled Shrimp 4.3 (7) Bright and briny, they're the ultimate pre-dinner bite. Close Credit: Jake Sternquist Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 5 mins Total Time: 9 hrs Servings: 12 Yield: 12 Serves Jump to recipe Shake up your appetizer game with our easy pickled shrimp recipe. Bright and briny, pickled shrimp are an iconic Southern snack—and they pair as well with cocktails and crostini as they do saltines and ice-cold beer. Our version gets a citrusy punch from lemon juice and zest and aromatic depth from thyme, bay leaves, and scallions. You’ll need to set aside at least eight hours for the brine to work its magic. Once they’re made, these pickled shrimp can hang out in the fridge for up to five days before serving, making them the ultimate make-ahead snack. Just as poppable as shrimp cocktail but snappier and more seasoned, these pickled shrimp deserve a place at your next party. 15 Make-Ahead Cold Appetizer Recipes for the Busy Host Pickled Shrimp's Spanish Roots Pickled shrimp may be a low-country staple, but the roots of the dish lie in the Spanish cooking method called escabeche. Originally conceived as a way to preserve food (typically fish), escabeche involves marinating cooked items in a tangy, vinegar-based mixture for a few hours, enhancing both their flavor and texture. The same goes for pickled shrimp: After a quick, gentle poach, the shrimp are transferred to an acidic brine and left for anywhere from a few hours to overnight. This brining firms them up while infusing them with plenty of puckery flavor. How to Buy and Prep Shrimp for This Recipe Seek out large shrimp (16 to 20 per pound) for this recipe. If you're lucky enough to find wild Gulf shrimp, snatch them up—they'll have the best flavor and texture. Buying them peeled and deveined will cut down on prep time, but it's easy enough to do at home if not: Peel: Use kitchen shears to cut along the back side of each shrimp, stopping when you reach the tail; peel off the shell. (You can opt to leave the tail on for a more attractive presentation or discard it along with the shell.)Devein: Switch to a pairing knife and use it to pull out the vein, discard; repeat with the remaining shrimp. A quarter cup of chopped fresh chile pepper adds a fiery boost to the shrimp brine. We like jalapeños or fresnos, which contribute a welcome kick without over-the-top heat. If using a hotter chile like serrano, use half as much. Directions Credit: Jake Sternquist Make scallion mixture: Stir together scallions, thyme, chiles, lemon zest and juice, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Credit: Jake Sternquist Boil water, add bay leaves, salt, and sugar; stir in shrimp: Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add bay leaves, sugar, and 2 tablespoons salt, stirring until sugar and salt have dissolved. Stir in shrimp, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes. Credit: Jake Sternquist Strain shrimp; add scallion mixture: Strain shrimp and bay leaves; immediately transfer to a nonreactive container. Pour in scallion mixture; let cool completely. Cover and shake vigorously to ensure shrimp are evenly coated. Credit: Jake Sternquist Chill: Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 5 days. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Credit: Jake Sternquist How to Store Pickled Shrimp Pickled shrimp can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. As with all seafood, it's not advised to let pickled shrimp sit at room temperature for longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour if it's very hot in the room or at a cookout). How to Serve Pickled Shrimp You can serve pickled shrimp on their own with toothpicks for skewering, but we love adding a crunchy side of crackers, crostini, or toasts. Some aioli and plenty of lemon wedges would also be a welcome accompaniment. To round out your appetizer spread, consider making a batch of creamy-tangy deviled eggs, crispy cheese straws, or these savory sausage-cheddar balls. 5 More Shrimp Appetizer Recipes to Try Spicy Shrimp Dip Crunchy Shrimp Fritters Shrimp and Crudite Platter With Two Sauces Spicy Grilled Shrimp Bacon-Wrapped Ginger Shrimp Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.