Buffalo Shrimp with Bacon, Blue Cheese & Celery Salad

When it comes to entertaining, the easier the dish is to prepare, the better. Fortunately for you, these buffalo shrimp couldn’t be easier and it makes for the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer.

The spicy shrimp pairs super well with the cooling, yet rich salad making it a huge win for any game day event you might be hosting! While you can really use whatever size shrimp you’d like to make this dish, I’d highly recommend going big as they’re much easier to sear without overcooking.

Buffalo Shrimp with Bacon, Blue Cheese & Celery Salad

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lbs U15 shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail-on.
• 1/4 cup butter + 2 tablespoons
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 lbs bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the salad, combine the bacon, blue cheese, celery, onion, and parsley into a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine the vinegar and the mustard and whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in about 1 up of olive oil and whisk until the dressing is fully emulsified. Dress the salad with the dressing and season with salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate until needed.
2. For the shrimp, place a skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the butter is melted and frothy, add in your shrimp and sear and each side (approx 1 minute per side), or until golden brown. Remove the shrimp from the pan and add the wine to deglaze. Lower the temperature to low and cook until the wine has reduced down to about 1 tablespoon. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the rest of the butter. Gently melt it, placing back over the heat only as needed ensuring that the butter doesn’t split. Once melted, add the hot sauce and stir to combine. Add the shrimp back into the sauce and toss to coat. Place back over the heat to warm through as needed.
3. Plate the salad on a serving platter and top with the shrimp. Drizzle over any additional buffalo sauce if desired.