Scampi: It’s all about the garlic, or should be.

Odds are if I tallied all the meals I’ve eaten in restaurants (excluding fast food and pizza joints), shrimp scampi would be the entree I ordered most. I tried making a recipe of it years ago and was unsatisfied. When I saw the gang on America’s Test Kitchen take a crack at it by poaching the shrimp rather than sauteing it, I expected it to be a solid winner.

While MT enjoyed the finished product very much, I was a tad disappointed with my first try at this, though I blame myself and not the recipe. When I cook it again I’ll be sure to make three changes.

First, I left the shrimp in the brine way too long, completely forgetting about it in the fridge. MT didn’t seem to notice, but I thought it was too salty once it was done.

Second, I hesitated to add any pepper (it calls for a little bit of red pepper flakes and even less of black pepper), but put it anyway. I usually try not to tamper with a new recipe the first time, to see how I like it the chef’s way. For one thing, that gives me a better idea of whether I’ll be interested in trying other recipes from the chef. I’ve almost completely scratched one or two celebrity chefs off the list of those I’ll try after a few recipes that looked good on paper but turned out less than satisfying.

All that said. No pepper next time. It’s something you can always put on the table for guests to add if they (or you) want. Regular readers know MT and I are big fans of the king of herbs. In our house, the primary directive about a garlic dish is don’t interfere with the garlic, and for me scampi is all about the garlic. I felt the pepper — particularly the red stuff — took away from that.

Which is the same reason I’ll skip the parsley the next time I try this recipe.

This isn’t to say you should skip any of the ingredients. If you like the heat of a little red pepper and the flavor of some parsley amid your garlic, go to town. The rule with all recipes is pretty simple: Adjust to taste.

And believe me when I say I’ll revisit this scampi concoction again. The sauce avoids the frequent separation of butter from the rest of it by using a cornstarch and lemon juice binder to keep it all emulsified, while poaching the shrimp keeps them from getting rubbery or dried out. I just have to remember to set the timer for that 15 minutes in the brine.

Shrimp Scampi (America’s Test Kitchen)

1 -1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled, save the shells

1 cup white wine

4 sprigs thyme

8 cloves garlic sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Lemon juice (3 tablespoons for sauce, more to finish)

1 teaspoon corn starch

4 tablespoons butter, cubed and kept cold

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

To brine the shrimp, mix 3 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons sugar in one quart of water. Whisk, add peeled shrimp, cover and keep in refrigerator 15 minutes. Remove from brine onto paper towel and pat dry.

To make shrimp stock, heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet, add shells and cook until they start to brown and show spots. Remove the pan from heat and add the wine and thyme sprigs. Simmer about 5 minutes. Strain stock into bowl, pressing shells to get extra flavor out of them.

To cook the shrimp, wipe out the skillet with a paper towel (no need to wash it). Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat, add garlic and pepper. Cook, stirring occassionally, 3-4 minutes until garlic begins to brown. Add the shrimp stock and the shrimp. Cover and poach 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.

To make the sauce, remove the pan from heat and remove the shrimp from pan. Combine the lemon juice and cornstarch to make a thickener (or binder, if you prefer). Return the pan to the heat, add thickener and whisk in, cooking about 1 minute. Take pan off heat, whisk in butter and parsley

Add the shrimp back in and you’re ready to go.